Driving licence
handbook
European Union and European Economic Area
Transport
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More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).
Version 1.0 – October 2015
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015
MI-04-15-175-EN-N
ISBN 978-92-79-46281-8
doi: 10.2832/747683
© European Union, 2015
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
!
Introduction
The Directive on driving licences 1 ensures mutual recognition of driving licences issued in all Member
States. Member States shall recognise licences issued in other Member States without any
formalities.1 Annex I to the Directive established a common model of driving licence — a plastic card
driving licence.
The principle of mutual recognition guarantees full recognition of any driving licence valid in a
country in the European Economic Area (EEA). This includes those issued before the entry into force
of the Directive and that therefore may not comply with the requirements set out in Annex I to the
Directive. There are currently over 170 different models valid and in use across the EEA, which
makes the question of recognising and understanding driving licences challenging for both the
authorities and for individuals.
The Directive requires that Member States, with the agreement of the Commission, are to establish
equivalences between entitlements obtained before the implementation of Directive 2006/126/EC
and the vehicle categories set out in this Directive.
These tables of equivalences are set in
Commission Decision 2014/209/EU but will be subject to further revision and adaptation.
There is, however, a need for additional and more user-friendly information on driving licences
currently in use, beyond that provided in the tables of equivalences. In 2000, the Commission
therefore decided to publish a book on driving licence models, to provide a clear overall view of all
licence models valid and in use. A second edition of the book was published in 2005. In order to
make it easier to update the information regularly, and to make it easier for users to access it, the
Commission has now decided to publish the information on a website. It is primarily targeted at
administrative and enforcement authorities in Member States, but may also be of use to individuals
and other interested parties (e.g. car rental agencies). The two main purposes in providing this
information remain the same: upholding the principle of mutual recognition of all licences issued by
Member States, and thus ensuring the free movement of licence holders; and explaining the various
models for the benefit of supervisory and enforcement authorities.
1
Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on
driving licences (OJ L 403, 30.12.2006, p. 18).
1
ECJ Case C-246/00, Commission v Netherlands, points 60-61.
<<
The legend
The legend for old licence models allows users to find relevant information more easily on the
licence. The meaning of each number is explained below:
1
Surname of the holder
2
Other name(s) of the holder
3
Date and place of birth
4a
Date of issue of the licence
4b
Date of expiry of the licence
4c
Name of the issuing authority
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Number of licence
Photograph of the holder
Signature of the holder
Permanent place of residence
Category(ies) of vehicle(s) the holder is entitled to drive
Date of first issue of each category(ies)
Date of expiry of each category
12
Additional information/restriction(s)
The period of issue of the
licence model
(0 1/07/1996 – 13/04/1997)
The period of issue is indicated in brackets and represents the period during which a particular model
was issued by the national authorities in a country.
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The arrow after a date indicates that this model is issued since the 19 January 2013.
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