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Germany's Digital Driving Licence Arrives in i-Kfz App in November

Germany's transport ministry says the digital driving licence will launch by the end of November, stored in the existing i-Kfz app rather than a new one.

A smartphone showing a digital driving licence in a vehicle registration app, held in front of a car steering wheel.
Image: Autos
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Germany's digital driving licence is due to launch by the end of November. The Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that no exact date has been set, but the rollout should happen within the next four weeks. Until now, the ministry had only spoken of the end of the year.

No new app needed

The ministry is not building a separate app. Licence holders will instead be able to store their licence in the i-Kfz app, which the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) and Bundesdruckerei developed together on behalf of the BMV. The app has allowed users to store a vehicle registration document for about a year, retrieve vehicle data, share the document and have it checked automatically for currency. Any number of registration documents can be stored.

Once the licence is on the phone, drivers will no longer have to carry it in paper or plastic form. The digital version is meant as a complement to the physical licence, not a replacement. It is expected to make car rental and car-sharing services easier to use.

Requirements and limits

To add the licence, users need an electronic proof of identity, which can be provided with the electronic ID card. The online ID function is used to identify oneself in the app and requires the PIN issued with the card. Anyone who has lost it can use the PIN reset service for the ID card, which the federal government brought back in early October. The service is free, and the letter with the new PIN is delivered via Post-Ident.

According to the KBA, the app is free and runs on iPhones with iOS 17 or later and on Android devices from version 12. Alternative Android systems without Google services, such as LineageOS or GrapheneOS, apparently are not supported. According to the BMV, the app also does not run on Huawei devices or older Motorola models, though the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, Edge 50 Ultra and Razr 50 Ultra are supported.

For trips abroad, the physical licence remains mandatory. An EU-wide digital driving licence valid across all member states is planned for 2030 at the latest.

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Tags:digital driving licencei-kfz appgermanykraftfahrt-bundesamteidsmartphone

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