Actually, a first deadline for exchanging driving licenses expires on Wednesday. Shortly before that, the federal states decide: If you don’t make it by then, you don’t have to pay a fine.
Berlin/Munich – Older drivers should be given more time to exchange old paper driving licenses. A first deadline – for the years of birth 1953 to 1958 – would actually have expired this Wednesday.
Violations of the exchange obligation should not be sanctioned for the time being in view of the current burdens caused by the corona pandemic. That was decided by the Interior Ministers’ Conference chaired by Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), as Bavaria’s Interior Ministry announced on Monday.
The current exchange period should be extended by half a year from January 19 to July 19, 2022, it said. This affects all drivers born between 1953 and 1958 with old paper driving licenses that were issued up to December 31, 1998 – these are the gray or pink “rags” or GDR driving licenses.
Herrmann announced that Bavaria would immediately submit an application to change the driving license regulation to the Bundesrat. Until the legal solution comes into force, the police should not collect the warning fee of ten euros that would otherwise be due. “But in the meantime, all those affected should take care of the exchange immediately,” says Herrmann. You have to plan several weeks until the new driver’s license document is available.
By 2033, around 43 million driving licenses will have to be exchanged in Germany. Reason are EU requirements. In the future, driving licenses should be forgery-proof and uniform throughout the EU. In addition, all driver’s licenses should be recorded in a database to prevent misuse.
The ADAC explained that the interior ministers of the federal states were reacting to bottlenecks in the offices due to the increasing number of corona diseases. “For the affected driver’s license holders, the decision brings the certainty that they can continue to drive with their old driver’s license for the coming months without any worries and need not fear fines.” take care of the driver’s license office. The ADAC had previously announced that there were often bottlenecks in making appointments at the local driving license office due to the corona.
The Federal Ministry of Transport welcomed the interior minister’s decision. A spokeswoman said the aim is to make the driver’s license exchange as effective and at the same time as citizen-friendly as possible. Last year, the ministry took the situation during the corona pandemic as an opportunity to ask the responsible countries whether they considered it sensible and necessary to postpone the exchange deadlines because of the corona pandemic.
The Federal Council had decided on a phased schedule with deadlines for the exchange of driving licenses so that the authorities are not overburdened. A voluntary exchange of the document is possible at any time. The next deadline after the now extended one for those born between 1953 and 1958 is January 19, 2023 – by then, drivers born between 1959 and 1964 must exchange their driving licenses. The deadline is January 19, 2033. This applies to drivers born before 1953 – as well as to driving licenses issued from 2012 to January 18, 2013. Driving licenses issued after this date already comply with the new EU requirements.
According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, the old driver’s license will become invalid after the respective deadlines have expired. In addition, there is a warning fine of ten euros. However, the driving license itself remains unchanged. A new driver’s license test is therefore not necessary. With the uniform EU-wide document, the most up-to-date protection against counterfeiting should be guaranteed. During controls, owners are easier to recognize if the photo is not that old. According to the ADAC, the exchange costs a fee of 25 euros. dpa
