In October 2025, the EU adopted its first overhaul of driving licence rules in more than 20 years. ChatEurope went to Brussels to ask Jutta Paulus, the German Green MEP who helped negotiate the directive, about what's actually changing, and what isn't.

One example shows why EU lawmakers felt harmonisation of licence rules was overdue. Until now, Germany required no medical check at all to renew a driving licence, not even an eyesight test, according to Jutta Paulus, who points to it as a sign of how lax the rules had become. In Italy, by contrast, the same renewal means a compulsory check by an official doctor. "What we try to do in the driving license directive is sort of harmonize it a bit," she told ChatEurope.

A digital licence, but not a mandatory one

The headline change is a digital driving licence that will live on your phone, ideally inside the EU's digital wallet. It works as a QR code that police can scan, with the licence details displayed automatically in the language of whichever country is doing the checking. A fix for drivers crossing borders, especially in countries that don't use the Latin alphabet. Crucially, Jutta Paulus notes that Parliament insisted on freedom of choice: anyone who prefers to keep a physical card can do so.

The "lifetime licence" already ended in the previous reform

Despite the recent wave of headlines, the lifetime driving licence didn't end with this directive, it ended in the previous one, and almost nobody noticed. "I wasn't aware either," Jutta Paulus admits. 

What the new rules do is set out what happens when those licences come up for renewal. Member states can choose between a medical check by a doctor, a self-assessment questionnaire covering eyesight, hearing or conditions like diabetes, or even feedback from a driving instructor during a short refresher session. The directive doesn't mandate any single method, but a non-binding recital urges all EU countries to at least test eyesight.

What stays national: cost, test format, alcohol limits

The EU sets the framework, but member states still decide on three big things: how much your licence costs, how the theory test works, and how strict drink-driving rules are for new drivers.

Prices still vary enormously across the EU, from a few hundred euros to over 3,000. The main reason is that each country decides how many compulsory driving lessons learners must take. Germany requires at least 25 hours, which is one reason licences there are so expensive. Other countries ask for far fewer hours, and charge far less.

The theory test also looks different from one country to the next. Italy uses true-or-false questions. Germany and France use multiple choice. The MEP would like to see this "better harmonised", for example, by giving member states a shared, smaller pool of questions to choose from, but not made fully identical, since road conditions differ across Europe. Finnish learners need questions about driving on snow and ice; Greek learners don't. 

This is the one area where the EU did impose a real change: a strict alcohol limit for novice drivers. Some member states wanted a hard 0.0 limit. Others pushed back, worried that lab tests can pick up tiny traces of alcohol from everyday things like fermented fruit juice, leading to unfair false positives. The compromise: the directive doesn't set a specific number, but it does require "zero tolerance" for new drivers. In practice, this means any detectable alcohol counts as a violation.

The cost gap remains a sore point for critics of the reform: consumer groups in several member states have argued that leaving prices entirely up to national systems does little for drivers who simply want a cheaper, faster path to a licence: an issue the directive doesn't attempt to solve.

Accompanied driving, camper vans, and cyclists

Accompanied driving lets learners get behind the wheel before the legal driving age. Once they pass their theory exam, learners can practice on real roads with an experienced adult next to them, even before they're old enough to drive alone. The adult must have held a licence for at least two years. Germany, France and Italy have used this system for years, and insu

rers say it helps new drivers spot danger before they're fully on their own.

Bigger camper vans now need a proper test. A standard car licence still covers camper vans up to 3.5 tonnes. Anything heavier now requires an extra exam, in every EU country.

Learner drivers will now be taught how to share the road safely with people outside cars, like opening a car door without hitting a passing cyclist, a habit that has drastically cut accidents in the Netherlands.

When does it actually apply?

Member states have until November 2029 to transpose the directive into national law. Existing licences remain valid throughout; renewal is the trigger point for new medical checks. The digital licence is expected to roll out EU-wide by 2030.

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Juliette Alfano