On 18^th July 2022, the EU Council decided the regulation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for the stipulation of special and temporary measures in view of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and in reference to the driving documents issued by Ukraine in accordance with its legal regulations. EU regulation no.(EU) 2022/1280 will come into force on 27^th July 2022. However, before the regulation can become fully effective, legal regulations and technical measures need to be taken in Germany.

In accordance with Section 9 (2) of the regulation, it will be terminated on 6^th March 2025 at the latest, if the protection status is lost, it will be terminated earlier. Corresponding instruction concerning eligible persons was published by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Community (BMI) on their homepage.

• You have a valid Ukrainian driving license:

You do not have to take any action until the protection status has expired. At the moment, your Ukrainian driving license is recognized in Germany and all EU member states, based on the regulation mentioned above. Carrying along a certified translation or an international driving license is not necessary. This also applies when your Ukrainian driving license expired after 31^st December 2021.

Rewriting of the driving license
If you want to live in Germany for the long term after the protection status has expired, your driving license needs to be rewritten by the driving license authorities (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde). Please, find details on the BMDV website as well as on the leaflets linked there, available at: www.bmdv.de.

• You have a digital Ukrainian driving license:

If, on presentation of a digital Ukrainian driving license, it can be confirmed by accessing corresponding Ukrainian data that a driving authorization exists, this authorization will be recognized.

• You have lost your Ukrainian driving license or it has been stolen from you:

Please visit the driving license authority (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) at the place where you live.
Here, it can be verified by accessing the Ukrainian register if you are in possession of a valid driving license.

The following data is needed for an inquiry, which makes early copying of your driving license appear useful:

• Serial number of the Ukrainian driving license (three letters)
• Driving license number and
• Date of Birth

A search based on the last name is not possible.

For the license classes AM, A1, A2, A, B and BE, prior medical examinations are generally not necessary .
For the license classes C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E and DE, medical examinations are necessary. Please inform yourself at the local driving license authority in charge.

As far as the existence of a Ukrainian driving license can be confirmed by inquiry and as soon as you have brought the medical certificate necessary, you will receive a document with which you are temporarily permitted to drive a vehicle in Germany. As soon as the regulation mentioned above has been transposed into German law, you will receive a driving license with which you can participate in EU traffic for the duration of your protection status.

• You are a professional driver from Ukraine:

Right now, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, in cooperation with the federal states, the Federal Office for Motor Transport (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), the federal printing office and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHT), is working on the creation of the procedures and legal grounds necessary for the temporary recognition of the qualifications of professional drivers in Germany demanded by the EU . The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport will keep you informed on its homepage

Requirements for vehicles with Ukrainian number plates

For vehicles registered in Ukraine, in the spring of 2022 the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) proposed that Ukrainian cars should initially be treated as so-termed international traffic for a period of one year. If you own a vehicle with Ukrainian licence plates, according to the current regulations you need to register it in Germany no later than one year after entering the country.

This is on the condition that you have not declared that you intend to live in Germany permanently. Otherwise, you need to register your vehicle in Germany with a German number plate from the date of your declaration. Vehicle registrations are carried out by the municipalities at the vehicle registration office at your place of residence. You usually have to make an appointment for this in advance. You can find the registration office responsible for your place of residence and the opening hours (in German) in the Zulassungsstellen-Finder (registration office finder).

Requirements for vehicles with foreign number plates

Fundamentally, the following applies: A vehicle with a foreign number plate that is held and used in Germany has to be registered in Germany. As a rule, this applies to stays of longer than one month.

The application and implementation of traffic regulations is the responsibility of the Länder and the competent authorities under Land law. The assessment of specific circumstances is thus the responsibility of the registration offices of the Länder. You can find the registration office responsible for your place of residence and the opening hours (in German) in the Zulassungsstellen-Finder (registration office finder).

A final decision on what to do after the one-year period has expired, whether this will be extended under certain circumstances or whether you will have to register your car in Germany, has not yet been made. The Länder are currently working on a joint solution. As soon as the consultations are concluded, we will let you know about this.

Taking into consideration the emergency situation of those who fled from Ukraine, German motor vehicle liability insurers (Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherer) have decided to pay for all damage caused by possibly uninsured Ukrainian cars in Germany until 31^st May 2022. Thus, after an accident, the person impaired is financially protected within the framework of the minimum coverage that applies and the driver of the uninsured Ukrainian car does not have to fear that a recourse will be made against him or her. The regulation will be implemented by the Deutsche Büro Grüne Karte (DBGK).

The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport has informed the federal states and asked them to take into consideration the cover note stated in the enforcement against Ukrainian cars in Germany as fast as possible in order to enable such vehicles being allowed to be driven without a certificate of insurance verifying a valid vehicle liability insurance (Internationale Versicherungskarte für Kraftverkehr, so-called Grüne Karte) or without a frontier insurance policy taken out in Germany specifically.

For the time period after 31^st May 2022, German motor vehicle liability insurers have agreed to offer the owners of car licenses in Ukraine the possibility to take out a temporary insurance for up to a year in accordance with AuslPflVG. The precise contract conditions are incumbent upon the legal limits of contractual freedom and the decision of the insurer in question.

Drunk driving: from 500 Euro

Exceeded the speed limit by 20 km/h: from 100 Euro

Exceeded the speed limit by more than 50 km/h: from 480 Euro

Red light violation: from 90-360 Euro

Violation of “ No Overtakting”: from 30-300 Euro

Parking violation: from 10-110 Euro 

Mobile phone while driving: from 100 Euro 

Non-use of seat belt: from 30 Euro