Why this test exists for you at all

If you hold an Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi licence, none of the three countries appears in Anlage 11 FeV — the annex that lists which foreign licences Germany will swap without an exam.^{gesetze-im-internet.de} All three are treated as unlisted third countries, which means the full German test: Theorieprüfung (theory) and praktische Fahrprüfung (practical road test). There is no state-by-state shortcut, no partial exchange, no "Bavaria is stricter" folklore. The one genuine relief is that the statutory minimum number of Fahrschule lessons is waived — you take as many as you actually need.

Details of the paperwork route are in from a foreign licence to a German one. This guide is about the exam itself.

The format, precisely

You sit it on a tablet at a TÜV or DEKRA test centre. Questions come one at a time; you can go back and change answers before you submit. Some questions are single-choice, many are multiple-response ("mark everything that applies"), a few ask you to type a number (a distance, a speed, a blood-alcohol limit). A small number are short Videofragen — a clip you may replay only a limited number of times before answering.

Two mechanics catch people out, and both are worth burning into memory:

How the scoring really works

Add up the Fehlerpunkte of every question you got wrong. That total — not your percentage — decides it.

The logic behind the second rule is not arbitrary. The 5-point questions are the ones where being wrong hurts somebody — right of way, stopping distances, alcohol, children and cyclists, motorway behaviour. Getting two of those wrong is read as "not yet safe on the road", regardless of how well you did on Umweltzonen and tyre tread.

What it costs

On top of those sit the Fahrschule's Vorstellungsentgelt (the fee for entering you for the exam, typically 100–200 € per exam), the application fee at the Führerscheinstelle (roughly 40–70 €), and any lessons you choose to take. A licence-holder converting from abroad usually lands somewhere between 500 € and 1,500 € all-in, because the compulsory lesson quota is waived — a German beginner starting from zero pays 2,500–4,500 €.

How you actually book it

You cannot phone TÜV and book a slot yourself. The chain is fixed, and knowing it saves weeks:

1. 1

   Apply at the Führerscheinstelle

   4–8 weeks of processing

   You (or your Fahrschule) file the Antrag with the local driving-licence authority, plus Sehtest, Erste-Hilfe certificate, biometric photo, passport and Meldebescheinigung. Book this appointment the week you decide — it is the long pole.

2. 2

   The authority issues the Prüfauftrag

   Valid 12 months

   Once approved, the Führerscheinstelle sends an exam mandate to TÜV or DEKRA. Nothing can be scheduled before this exists.

3. 3

   Your Fahrschule enters you for the theory exam

   Days to weeks

   The Fahrschule picks the date, the language and the centre. This is the moment to say the word Englisch out loud (see below).

4. 4

   You sit it, and you know immediately

   ~45 minutes

   The tablet scores instantly. Pass and you get the Bescheinigung on the spot; fail and you may re-sit after two weeks.

5. 5

   Pass the practical within 12 months

   §18 FeV

   A theory pass expires if the practical exam is not passed within twelve months. Do not bank the theory and then disappear for a year.

Yes, you can take it in English

The Klasse B theory exam is offered in German plus roughly a dozen other languages, English among them, at most TÜV and DEKRA centres. Hindi, Urdu and Bengali are not on the list — English is the realistic choice for our readers. Say so when your Fahrschule registers you; it is a field on the form, and it cannot be changed on exam day.

What English does not do is remove German from the test. Sign plates are pictures of German signs, with German words on them. The full picture is in taking the theory test in English.

What to do this week

• Learn the logic, not the answers → sign grammar, the priority ladder, the distance formulas
• Drill by topic → 350 practice questions with explanations
• Right of way is the biggest 5-point cluster → the junction trainer
• All 150 signs, drawn and explained in English → the sign catalogue
• Then sit a real-format paper → the mock exam
• The myths that fail people → 12 rules people get wrong

Original practice questions — not the amtlicher Fragenkatalog. Everything in our trainer 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. Rules checked against StVO and FeV on 2026-08-03. Fees and fines are indicative aggregator figures, not statute — the binding number is the one on your own Bescheid.