Overview
- The Bundestag approved the amendment to the Fahrlehrergesetz on Thursday, clearing the first legal step to allow digital theory lessons, fewer bureaucratic rules for driving schools and new transparency requirements.
- The law creates legal space for a capped form of 'laienausbildung' that would let relatives provide supervised practice under strict conditions, but each of Germany’s 16 states must opt in through their own rules.
- A Bundesverkehrsministerium Verordnung will spell out operational details such as required special drives and exam lengths, and that regulation must pass the Bundesrat before most changes can take effect.
- Ministers project learners could save 'several hundred up to 1,000 euros' through digitization and fewer mandated drives, a claim disputed by SPD politicians, driving‑instructor groups and road‑safety organizations who warn of unclear savings and safety risks.
- About 800,000 people train for a Class B licence each year at an average cost near €3,400, so implementation choices by the federal ministry and the Länder will determine how much prices, access and regional equity actually change.