€3,400 for a licence, up to €1,000 off on paper, and the Bundesrat still to sign

A car licence in Germany costs on average about €3,400, according to the federal transport ministry, and in some regions €4,000 to €4,500^1,2. On Thursday the Bundestag approved the reform meant to bring that down². Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) says learners could save several hundred euros, and in the best case up to €1,000^1,3. Desk arithmetic: €1,000 off €3,400 would be a cut of about 29%.

The method is unglamorous, which is why it might work. Compulsory classroom attendance for theory goes; driving schools may teach digitally, including by app¹. The fixed rule of twelve 45-minute special drives, at night or on the motorway, is dropped, and schools set the number according to the learner’s ability¹. The theory test catalogue shrinks, and each question will score one point instead of two to five weighted error points, though safety-critical questions still may not be answered wrongly¹. Many documentation duties for driving schools are cut¹.

Two changes are worth more than the headline. First, lay training: after passing theory and six professional lessons, learners may practise with “a close person”, such as a parent or grandparent, as in Luxembourg and Austria; the Länder get five years to try it¹. Second, every driving school’s prices and pass rates are to be published online¹. There is no fixed price, and schools still set their own fees; the exam fees at TÜV or DEKRA are set by law¹.

The sceptics have a point, and it is a useful one. The ACE motoring club says the promised €1,000 “stands on paper so far” and that it is uncertain whether it reaches learners’ wallets². Statistics agree that the problem was real: Destatis figures cited by tagesschau show licence costs rose faster than consumer prices each year from 2021 to 2024, by 5.8% in 2024 against 2.2% overall¹.

So for you, or the 17-year-old at your kitchen table, nothing changes tonight. The law still needs the Bundesrat^1,2. Then comes the part no speech can do: hundreds of driving schools rewriting their price lists, and you comparing them. Competition needs a published number to bite on. This law prints it.