Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance) Basic information Dates Date of document: Date of publication: Date of effect: January 19, 2007 Entry into force - Date pub. + 20 See Art 18 January 19, 2009 Partial application - See Art 18 Date of transposition: Modified by Modified by: Amendment proposed by: All documents based on this document: Modifies Repeal: Implicit repeal: Affected by case Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 29 April 2021. F. v Stadt Karlsruhe. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Transport – Driving licences – Withdrawal of the licence in the territory of a Member State other than the issuing Member State – Renewal of the licence by the issuing Member State after the withdrawal decision – No automaticity of mutual recognition. Case C-47/20. A11P4L2 A07P3 A02P1 A12L1 Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 26 October 2017. Criminal proceedings against I. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Amtsgericht Kehl. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Driving licences — Directive 2006/126/EC — Article 2(1) — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Definition of ‘driving licence’ — Driving licence pass certificate authorising its holder to drive in the Member State having awarded it before the issue of the definitive driving licence — Situation in which the holder of a test pass certificate drives a vehicle in another Member State — Obligation to recognise the test pass certificate — Penalties imposed on the holder of the test pass certificate for driving a vehicle outside of the Member State in which it was awarded — Proportionality. Case C-195/16. Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 28 October 2020. Marvin M. v Kreis Heinsberg. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Aachen. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Directive 2006/126/EC – Article 2(1) and Article 11(4) – Driving licence – Mutual recognition – Extent of the obligation to recognise – Driving licence having been the subject of an exchange – Exchange made at a time when the right to drive had been withdrawn by the issuing Member State – Fraud – Refusal to recognise the driving licence issued in the context of the exchange. Case C-112/19. Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 21 May 2015. Criminal proceedings against Andreas Wittmann. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Nürnberg. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 2006/126/EC — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Period of prohibition — Issue of the driving licence by a Member State before the entry into force of a period of prohibition in the Member State of normal residence — Grounds for refusing to recognise in the Member State of normal residence the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State. Case C-339/14. Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 21 March 2024. WU v Directie van het Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen (CBR). Request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Transport – Road transport – Directive 2006/126/EC – Driving licences – Conditions for issue or renewal – Minimum standards for physical and mental fitness – Eyesight – Point 6.4 of Annex III – Principle of proportionality – Person not meeting the field of vision requirement – Favourable opinion on fitness to drive issued by medical experts – Discretion in an individual case failing an express exception. Case C-703/22. Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 29 April 2021. AR v Stadt Pforzheim. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Transport – Driving licences – Mutual recognition – Withdrawal of the licence in the territory of a Member State other than the issuing Member State – Affixing of an endorsement to the driving licence indicating that it is not valid within that Member State. Case C-56/20. Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 25 June 2015. VAS „Ceļu satiksmes drošības direkcija“ and Latvijas Republikas Satiksmes ministrija v Kaspars Nīmanis. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administratīvā apgabaltiesa. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Driving licence — Renewal by the issuing Member State — Condition of residence in the territory of that Member State — Declaration of residence. Case C-664/13. Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 28 February 2019. Criminal proceedings against Detlev Meyn. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Karlsruhe. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Directive 2006/126/EC — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Refusal to recognise a driving licence issued in another Member State — Right to drive established on the basis of a driving licence. Case C-9/18. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 18 January 2024. IL v Regionalna direktsia ‘Avtomobilna administratsia’ Pleven. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad - Gabrovo. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Transport – Directive 2006/126/EC – Article 7(1) and (3) – Driving licences – Issue, validity and renewal – Physical and mental fitness for driving – Medical examinations – Frequency – Document certifying the psychological fitness of drivers. Case C-227/22. Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber), 26 April 2012. Wolfgang Hofmann v Freistaat Bayern. Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof. Directive 2006/126/EC — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Refusal by a Member State to recognise, in favour of a person whose driving licence was withdrawn on its territory, the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State. Case C‑419/10. Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) 1 March 2012. Criminal proceedings against Baris Akyüz. Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Gießen. Directives 91/439/EEC and 2006/126/EC — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Refusal of a Member State to recognise, in respect of a person who does not satisfy the physical and mental requirements for driving under the laws of that Member State, the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State. Case C‑467/10. A02P1 A07P1LE A11P4L2 A11P4 Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 23 April 2015. Sevda Aykul v Land Baden-Württemberg. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 2006/126/EC — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Refusal of a Member State to recognise, in the case of a person having driven under the influence of narcotic substances, the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State. Case C-260/13. Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 26 April 2017. Costin Popescu v Guvernul României and Others. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Înalta Curte de Casație şi Justiție. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Road transport — Driving licences — Directive 2006/126/EC — Article 13(2) — Concept of ‘entitlement to drive granted before 19 January 2013’ — National legislation transposing the directive — Obligation to obtain a driving licence imposed on persons who were allowed to ride a moped without a licence before the entry into force of that legislation. Case C-632/15. Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 22 May 2014. Wolfgang Glatzel v Freistaat Bayern. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Directive 2006/126/EC — Point 6.4 of Annex III — Validity — Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Articles 20, 21(1) and 26 — United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — Driving licences — Physical and mental fitness to drive a motor vehicle — Minimum standards — Visual acuity — Equal treatment — No possibility of derogation — Proportionality. Case C‑356/12. Case C-112/19: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Aachen (Germany) lodged on 12 February 2019 — Marvin M. v Kreis Heinsberg article 2 paragraph 1 article 11 paragraph 1 article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 2 Case C-632/15: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție (Romania) lodged on 30 November 2015 — Costin Popescu v Guvernul României, Ministerul Afacerilor Interne, Direcția Regim Permise de Conducere și Înmatriculare a Vehiculelor, Direcția Rutieră, Serviciul Public Comunitar Regim Permise de Conducere si Inmatriculare a Vehiculelor Case C-266/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad (Bulgaria) lodged on 26 April 2021 — Criminal proceedings against HV article 11 paragraph 2 article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 1 article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 3 article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 2 Case C-56/20: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg (Germany) lodged on 4 February 2020 — AR v Stadt Pforzheim article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 2 Case C-246/20: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank van eerste aanleg Oost-Vlaanderen, afdeling Gent (Belgium) lodged on 3 June 2020 — Openbaar Ministerie v EA article 2 paragraph 1 article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 2 Case C-9/18: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Karlsruhe (Germany) lodged on 4 January 2018 — Criminal proceedings against Detlef Meyn article 11 paragraph 6 sentence 3 article 2 paragraph 1 Case C-223/23, Redu: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Curtea de Apel Brașov (Romania) lodged on 11 April 2023 — Criminal proceedings against L.D. article 11 paragraph 4 recital 22 recital 15 recital 2 Case C-195/16: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Amtsgericht Kehl (Germany) lodged on 7 April 2016 — I. Case C-227/22: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Gabrovo (Bulgaria) lodged on 31 March 2022 — IL v Regionalna direktsia ‘Avtomobilna administratsia’ Pleven Case C-703/22: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State (Netherlands) lodged on 16 November 2022 — WU v Directie van het Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen (CBR) Case C-47/20: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Germany) lodged on 28 January 2020 — F. v Stadt Karlsruhe article 2 paragraph 1 article 11 paragraph 4 unnumbered paragraph 2 article 7 paragraph 3 unnumbered paragraph 2 Legal basis Treaty establishing the European Community (Nice consolidated version) Part Five: Institutions of the Community Title I: Provisions governing the institutions Chapter 2: Provisions common to several institutions Article 251 Article 189b - EC Treaty (Maastricht consolidated version) Treaty establishing the European Community (Nice consolidated version) Part Three: Community policies Title V: Transport Article 71 Article 75 - EC Treaty (Maastricht consolidated version) Article 75 - EEC Treaty EuroVoc Vocabulary Transport Technical standard Transport regulations Approximation of laws Driving instruction Technical and safety conditions European standard European driving licence