Young woman at the wheel of a car with a passenger next to her (illustration)


    Car
    (Class B)

    Here is a quick overview:
    What you may drive with class B, how BF17 works and what the differences between B197 and B78 are – plus a short outline of the training.

    What may you drive with class B?

    This is the basis – BF17, B197 and B78 are variants within class B.

    • Cars up to 3,500 kg maximum permissible weight
    • Up to 8 seats in addition to the driver’s seat
    • Trailers up to 750 kg maximum permissible weight
    • Heavier trailers are possible if the combination stays at max. 3,500 kg in total

    Standard training and the driving test take place in a manual car.

    Good to know: Training for class B also covers classes AM and L.

    BF17 – Accompanied driving from age 17 (Begleitetes Fahren)

    • You can get your class B licence at 17 – but until you turn 18 you may only drive with a registered accompanying person.
    • After passing the test, you first receive a test certificate (Prüfungsbescheinigung) that replaces the licence card.
    • The test certificate is generally only valid in Germany

    You can find more details on accompanied driving on the ADAC website (in German).

    Licence codes (Schlüsselzahlen): B197 & B78

    Both belong to class B – the difference lies in the rules on the type of gearbox.

    B197 (our recommendation) – test in an automatic, still drive manual cars afterwards

    With B197 you combine training on manual and automatic transmission. The test can be taken in an automatic – and afterwards you may still drive manual cars without restriction.

    For this, at least 10 driving lessons of 45 minutes must take place in a manual car during training.
    With us, most of this training is done in a manual car. This way we make sure you will have no problems driving a manual later. The test itself is taken in an automatic car, which many learners find less stressful.

    The only disadvantage of B197 is that the “manual approval” only applies to class B. If you plan to get BE (large trailers), C (trucks) or D (buses) later and take that test in an automatic, you will get an automatic restriction for it (code 78). You can avoid this by taking the BE/C/D test in a manual vehicle or by removing the 197 entry with a manual driving test.

    You can find more details on B197 on the ADAC website (in German).

    B78 – Automatic (automatic only)

    With B78, training and test are done in an automatic only. Your licence then shows code 78 – which means you may only drive automatic vehicles.
    The advantage is that the training is usually quicker and cheaper, because no manual training is needed.

    If you later want to drive manual cars after all, there are ways to switch (e.g. by obtaining B197 – no new test would be required).

    How the training works

    1. Registration & planning (incl. documents/application) – see Registration
    2. Theory (lessons + studying) → theory test
    3. Practice (driving lessons + special drives)
    4. Practical driving test

    Compulsory theory (first licence): 12 double lessons of basic material + 2 double lessons of class-specific material.

    Compulsory special drives (Sonderfahrten) class B:

    • 5 driving lessons of 45 minutes on rural roads (federal/country roads)
    • 4 driving lessons of 45 minutes on the motorway (Autobahn)
    • 3 driving lessons of 45 minutes at dusk/in the dark
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