Reducing driving licence costs – without risk

What to expect

The Federal Ministry of Transport (Bundesverkehrsministerium) puts the average for class B at around €3,400 (as of May 2026). In large cities prices vary widely; comparison portals report lower averages for Berlin – usually without exam retakes. All of these are estimates, not prices. Do the sums with your own assumptions in the cost calculator.

According to the industry association MOVING, about three quarters of the costs are for practical training.

1. Compare the whole price list

Every driving school must display its prices (§ 32 FahrlG): base fee, driving lesson, rural road, motorway and night drives, and the presentation fee for the theory exam and for the practical exam. A low base fee helps little if the presentation fee is high.

2. Plan with realistic hours

According to an analysis by the Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen, the median is 35 driving lessons, including the 12 compulsory special drives. Offers that assume significantly fewer lessons are not automatically cheaper.

3. Avoid retakes

A failed exam is expensive: for theory, roughly €25 to €160 is added; for the practical test, roughly €280 to €420 plus usually further driving lessons. Only register when you and your driving instructor are convinced that you are ready.

4. Don't pay twice for smaller items

• The first-aid certificate does not expire – once is enough.
• The eye test is free at some opticians; but it may be no more than two years old when you apply.
• In Berlin you need a paper passport photo for the application – a digital photo taken at the Bürgeramt is not sufficient for this. In other cities, it is best to ask the authority beforehand.

5. Decide before the application

Every change to a pending application costs fees – in Berlin €12.80 per change, for example when switching from B to BF17, changing driving school or adding a companion. Decide beforehand which route and which driving school you will take.

6. Keep appointments

If you do not turn up for the exam without a sufficient excuse, the exam fee still falls due. Whether and how your driving school charges for driving lessons cancelled at short notice is governed by your training contract (Ausbildungsvertrag).

7. Consider BF17

Significantly fewer exams are failed in BF17 than for class B from 18 (in 2025 nationwide 24.0% instead of 41.4% in the practical exam, according to KBA). Whether this is due to the longer driving practice is not something the statistics can tell us. Also allow for possible extra costs for car insurance for accompanied driving (Begleitetes Fahren).

Better not

• Driving without a companion in BF17 – the entitlement to drive (Fahrerlaubnis) must then be revoked.
• Apps with questionable question catalogues – the official questions are only available from licensed providers.

Draft – not yet in force: The planned reform (BR-Drs. 365/26 and BT-Drs. 21/7404) is intended to make the driving licence cheaper, for example through digital theory and fewer compulsory drives. As of October 2026, it has not been adopted. Under the draft, training that begins before 1 January 2027 is to be able to be completed under the old rules. Nobody can say reliably whether waiting is worthwhile.