First-aid course for your driving licence: scope, providers and validity

In brief

• For your first driving licence you need proof of a first-aid course of at least 9 teaching units of 45 minutes each (Erste-Hilfe-Schulung, § 19 FeV).
• The course must include theory and practical exercises and cover the basics of organ and tissue donation.
• The certificate has no expiry date.

Which providers are recognised?

There are two routes to recognition (§ 68 Abs. 1 FeV):

1. Official recognition by the federal state. The responsible state authority publishes these bodies. In Berlin this is the Senatsverwaltung für Mobilität (SenMVKU, Berlin's Senate Department for Mobility), with a list as a PDF.
2. Authorisation by an accident insurance provider (Unfallversicherungsträger; quality assurance office for first aid, Qualitätssicherungsstelle Erste Hilfe, QSEH). Such bodies count as recognised without needing separate state recognition. The large aid organisations mostly go this way and are therefore often not on the state list.

You can find the official QSEH search at meine.bg-qseh.de. Caution: the similar-sounding address “qseh.de” (without “bg-”) is not official.

Which courses do not count?

The old training “Lebensrettende Sofortmaßnahmen am Unfallort” (life-saving immediate measures at the scene of an accident) is no longer recognised. Make sure the course is explicitly advertised for the driving licence (9 teaching units).

Do you need the course at all?

• There are exceptions for certain professions, such as doctors and other healthcare professions (§ 19 Abs. 3 FeV).
• If you have already submitted the certificate for another class, you do not have to provide it again for an extension.

What does the course cost?

Providers set the prices themselves. In Berlin we saw course prices between roughly €44 and €70 in October 2026. This is a market observation, not an official price.

Tips

• Before booking, check whether the provider is on the state list or is QSEH-authorised.
• Keep your certificate of attendance (Teilnahmebescheinigung) safe – you hand it in with your application.
• Because the certificate does not expire, you can take the course early.

Next

• First-aid courses in Berlin
• Eye test for the driving licence
• Applying for your licence