Driving licence authority: duties, jurisdiction and your rights in the MPU process

The driving licence authority (Führerscheinstelle) is your most important point of contact in the MPU (medical-psychological assessment, Medizinisch-Psychologische Untersuchung) process: the order comes from it, it holds your file, and in the end it decides on your driving licence. If you know what the authority may do, what it does not do and how to deal with it, you can plan more reliably and lose less time. This page is for guidance and is not legal advice.

What is the driving licence office?

The driving licence office is the driving licence authority (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde), that is, the lower administrative authority responsible under state law that implements the Driving Licence Regulation (Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, FeV) (§ 73 Abs. 1 FeV; Abs. = subsection). In practice, it is usually part of the town or district administration, and it is sometimes also called the driving licence authority or the road traffic office (Straßenverkehrsamt).

It is important to distinguish it from the other bodies in the process. The court revokes the driving licence in criminal proceedings and sets the ban period (Sperrfrist). The assessment centre (Begutachtungsstelle für Fahreignung, BfF) carries out the MPU and writes the expert report (Gutachten). The Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, KBA) keeps the driving aptitude register (Fahreignungsregister) in Flensburg. The driving licence office, on the other hand, orders and decides, but it does not assess you itself.

What are the duties of the driving licence office?

The driving licence office is responsible for all decisions concerning your driving licence, from the first application to revocation. For the MPU, these duties are particularly relevant:

The authority is bound by final decisions. For measures based on points (Punkte) and during the probationary period, for example, it adopts the findings from the fine or criminal proceedings (§ 4 Abs. 5, § 2a Abs. 2 StVG). The page Driving licence revocation explains how revocation by the court and by the authority interact.

Which driving licence office is responsible for you?

The driving licence office responsible is the one for the place where you have your residence, or if you have more than one residence, your main residence (§ 73 Abs. 2 FeV). If you do not have a residence, the authority for the place where you are staying is responsible.

With the consent of the locally responsible authority, another authority at the same level can also process your application. Its decisions are generally valid throughout Germany. If you move during the process, you should therefore clarify early on which office holds the file and whether it will be transferred. The guide MPU and moving house: which authority is responsible? describes what you need to look out for.

Note: keep an eye on running deadlines when you move. A deadline for the expert report does not end just because the file goes to another authority.

What rights do you have towards the driving licence office?

In the MPU process, you have several rights towards the driving licence office that you should actively use. The most important follow directly from § 11 Abs. 6 and 8 FeV.

• File inspection (Akteneinsicht): the authority must inform you that you can inspect the documents it sends to the assessment centre. Only then do you know all the facts held against you and the exact question.
• Reasons and question: the order must set out the reasons for the doubts about your fitness and specify which questions are to be clarified.
• Free choice of assessment centre: you choose the officially recognised BfF yourself and inform the authority which centre you have engaged.
• Notice of the consequences: the authority must already point out in the order that it may conclude you are unfit if you refuse or submit the report late.
• Legal review: not every order is lawful. A lawyer specialising in traffic law (Fachanwalt für Verkehrsrecht) can check the reason, the deadline and whether facts may be used.

The page MPU order explains exactly what is in an order and how to read it. The guide File inspection at the driving licence authority shows how to request file inspection in practice.

How does the reissue work at the driving licence office?

At the driving licence office, the reissue of the licence (Neuerteilung) works through an application that you have to submit yourself after a revocation. The rules for a first-time issue apply to the reissue (§ 20 Abs. 1 FeV), so the authority examines your fitness to drive completely afresh.

1. Submit the application: no earlier than 6 months before the end of a ban period (§ 20 Abs. 4 FeV). About 3 months before is advisable, because processing and the MPU take time.
2. Review by the authority: it evaluates the file and register entries and, depending on the reason, orders an MPU, for example under § 11 Abs. 3 Nr. 9 FeV or § 4 Abs. 10 StVG (Nr. = number).
3. MPU and expert report: you are assessed at an assessment centre of your choice and submit a positive expert report.
4. Decision: if your fitness is proven, the authority issues the driving licence. The fee is about €140–260 (2026 guide value).

If you lack knowledge or skills after a long time, the authority can also order a driving test (§ 20 Abs. 2 FeV). It is best to ask your authority directly which documents it requires for the application. Ban period and deadlines explains the timetable around the ban period and the application.

What does the driving licence office learn about your MPU?

The driving licence office only learns about the result of your MPU what you submit to it yourself. The assessment is carried out on your instructions (§ 11 Abs. 6 FeV), the expert report is sent to you, and submitting it is voluntary.

However, the authority knows which assessment centre you have engaged, and it has set you a deadline. If you do not submit an expert report within this deadline, it may conclude under § 11 Abs. 8 FeV that you are unfit. If you still have your driving licence, revocation is then likely. The guide Not submitting a negative expert report explains what this means in practice.

In practice, authorities usually accept a positive expert report for about 1 to 3 years (guide value); there is no statutory expiry date. So submit it promptly. More on content and results under MPU expert report.

How do you best deal with the driving licence office?

It is best to deal with the driving licence office in a factual, written and deadline-conscious way. The authority decides on the basis of the file, so what counts is what is documented.

• Note the file reference (Aktenzeichen) and quote it in every letter.
• Enter deadlines immediately, especially the deadline for the expert report.
• Communicate in writing and keep copies of all letters.
• Inform the authority which BfF you have engaged as soon as you have decided.
• React early if a deadline is clearly not long enough for a required proof of abstinence (Abstinenznachweis) of 6 or 12 months, and then seek legal advice.

The authority's staff do not advise you on the content of your MPU preparation (Vorbereitung). This role is taken on by qualified traffic psychologists; legal questions are clarified by a specialist lawyer.

What happens next?

Find out which driving licence office is responsible for your main residence and request file inspection there. Note the file reference, the question and the deadline, and submit an application for reissue about 3 months before the ban period ends. For the preparation itself, you can find suitable counselling (Beratung) through MPU Plus.