Germany Cuts Red Tape for Foreign HGV Drivers: Multilingual Exam and Faster Licensing in 2026

Germany's federal cabinet has approved a major reform to its professional driver qualification rules, making it significantly easier for foreign nationals to qualify as HGV drivers in the country. The changes — approved on 27 May 2026 — come as Europe's largest economy battles an accelerating shortage of commercial vehicle drivers.

What Changed and Why It Matters

The centrepiece of the reform is the introduction of a multilingual written exam for the accelerated initial qualification — the fast-track entry route that allows candidates to become professional drivers without completing a full driving school programme. From later this year, the exam will be available in nine languages: German, English, Modern Standard Arabic, Croatian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

For freight operators across Germany, this is a direct solution to a persistent hiring bottleneck. Until now, recruits from Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, and other major driver-source countries faced a German-only qualification test, forcing employers to fund German language training before onboarding could even begin. Under the new rules, a Romanian driver can sit the qualification exam in Romanian and begin working far sooner.

Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder put it plainly: “Without professional drivers in logistics and public transport, Germany would come to a standstill.”

Licence Recognition Expanded

The reform also tackles a separate but equally practical barrier: licence conversion. Ukraine and Montenegro are added to the list of countries whose driving licences can be converted to a German licence without a fresh practical test. More significantly, third-country licences that were previously exchanged through another EU member state — for example, a Ukrainian driver who swapped their licence in Poland — will now be recognised in Germany. This closes a longstanding loophole that forced many experienced drivers to requalify from scratch.

The theory driving test is also being expanded to include Ukrainian and Kurmanji, a Kurdish language spoken widely by migrants from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

Shorter Practical Test

In a further efficiency gain, the practical driving test duration is being reduced from 210 minutes to 120 minutes — a cut of 90 minutes. Shorter tests mean lower cost per candidate for driving schools, more available test slots for examiners, and faster throughput for fleets trying to certify drivers at scale.

The Bigger Picture

Germany's driver shortage is structural and worsening. According to the IRU's 2024 Global Truck Driver Shortage Report, Europe had 426,000 unfilled HGV driver positions that year. In Germany specifically, around 45% of truck drivers are over 55, while just 2.6% are under 25 — a demographic cliff that no domestic training programme alone can fix.

The reforms signal a deliberate shift: Germany is now actively competing for international driving talent by removing administrative friction. For logistics companies and fleet operators, the practical implication is a shorter hiring runway for drivers from the EU's eastern and south-eastern labour markets, as well as from Turkey and the Arab world.

The amending regulation still needs to complete remaining legislative steps before taking effect, but cabinet approval is the decisive hurdle. Industry bodies and transport operators expect the changes to be in force later in 2026.