Frequently asked questions about the German driving theory test
Answers to the questions learners ask most often: how many of the 30 questions you can miss, how long to study (20 to 40 hours), what Schrittgeschwindigkeit means in km/h, whether a speed sign really ends at the next junction, and whether you can sit the exam in English. Checked 2026-08-03.
How many questions are in the German theory test and how many can I get wrong?
30 questions in 45 minutes. There is no pass mark in correct answers — you collect error points, 2 to 5 per question depending on how safety-critical it is, and you fail above 10. Exactly 10 is a pass. Separately, two wrong 5-point questions fail you even if the total is 10 or under.
How long should I study for the German theory test?
Most learners need 20 to 40 hours spread over three to six weeks. The failure mode is memorising answers instead of rules: the catalogue is large enough that recognition alone breaks down under exam pressure, and every question here therefore explains the rule rather than just marking the right box.
Is Schrittgeschwindigkeit a specific speed?
No statutory number exists. Case law puts walking pace somewhere between roughly 4 and 7 km/h and the courts have disagreed — OLG Karlsruhe settled on no more than 7 km/h, OLG Naumburg accepted up to 10 — so treat it as 'slow enough to stop instantly' rather than a speedometer reading. It applies in a verkehrsberuhigter Bereich (Zeichen 325.1), when passing a bus with hazard lights at a stop, and wherever a sign or plate imposes it.
Does a speed-limit sign end at the next junction?
No, and this is the most widespread German driving myth. A Streckenverbot such as Zeichen 274 runs until Zeichen 278 or 282 lifts it, or a new limit replaces it. Passing a junction changes nothing. A zone sign (Zeichen 274.1) is different again: it covers every street inside the area until the matching end sign. OLG Hamm has treated believing otherwise as an avoidable mistake of law, not an excuse.
Can I take the German theory test in English?
Yes. The Klasse B theory exam is offered by TÜV and DEKRA in English and about a dozen other languages, and the questions are the same ones translated. The signs, the German terms and the sign texts stay German, which is why every rule on this page carries its German name — that vocabulary is what you actually need on the road afterwards.
Original practice questions — not the amtlicher Fragenkatalog. Every question, sign description and scenario here is written by us and covers the same StVO rules as the official Klasse B test. We are not TÜV, DEKRA or a Fahrschule, and we do not reproduce the official catalogue. Road signs themselves are amtliche Werke (StVO Anlage 1–3). Rules checked against StVO and FeV on 2026-08-03.
Last updated: 2026-08-03