Member States shall introduce a national driving licence based on the Community model set out in Annex I, in accordance with the provisions of this Directive. The emblem on page 1 of the Community model driving licences shall contain the distinguishing sign of the Member State issuing the licence.
Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 71 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(1),
After consulting the Committee of the Regions,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(2),
Whereas:
Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences(3) has been significantly amended on several occasions. Now that new amendments are being made to the said Directive, it is desirable, in order to clarify matters, that the provisions in question should be recast.
The rules on driving licences are essential elements of the common transport policy, contribute to improving road safety, and facilitate the free movement of persons taking up residence in a Member State other than the one issuing the licence. Given the importance of individual means of transport, possession of a driving licence duly recognised by a host Member State promotes free movement and freedom of establishment of persons. Despite the progress achieved with harmonising the rules on driving licences, significant differences have persisted between Member States in the rules on periodicity of licences renewal and on subcategories of vehicles, which needed to be harmonised more fully, in order to contribute to the implementation of Community policies.
The possibility of laying down national provisions with regard to the period of validity provided for in Directive 91/439/EEC leads to the co-existence of different rules in different Member States and over 110 different models of driving licences valid in the Member States. This creates problems of transparency for citizens, police forces and the administrations responsible for the administration of driving licences and leads to the falsification of documents which sometimes date back several decades.
In order to prevent the single European driving licence model from becoming an additional model to the 110 already in circulation, Member States should take all necessary measures to issue this single model to all licence holders.
This Directive should not prejudice existing entitlements to drive granted or acquired before its date of application.
Driving licences are mutually recognised. Member States should be able to apply the period of validity prescribed by this Directive to a licence without a limited administrative validity issued by another Member State and whose holder has resided on their territory for more than two years.
The introduction of a period of administrative validity for new driving licences should make it possible to apply at the time of periodic renewal the most recent counter-falsification measures and the medical examinations or other measures provided for by the Member States.
On road safety grounds, the minimum requirements for the issue of a driving licence should be laid down. Standards for driving tests and licensing need to be harmonised. To this end the knowledge, skills and behaviour connected with driving motor vehicles should be defined, the driving test should be based on these concepts and the minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving such vehicles should be redefined.
Proof of fulfilment of compliance with minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving by drivers of vehicles used for the transport of persons or goods should be provided when the driving licence is issued and periodically thereafter. Such regular control in accordance with national rules of compliance with minimum standards will contribute to the free movement of persons, avoid distortions of competition and better take into account the specific responsibility of drivers of such vehicles. Member States should be allowed to impose medical examinations as a guarantee of compliance with the minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving other motor vehicles. For reasons of transparency, such examinations should coincide with a renewal of driving licences and therefore be determined by the period of validity of the licence.
It is necessary to strengthen further the principle of progressive access to the categories of two-wheeled vehicles and to the categories of vehicles used for the transport of passengers and goods.
Nevertheless, Member States should be allowed to set a higher age limit for the driving of certain categories of vehicles in order to further promote road safety; Member States should in exceptional circumstances be allowed to set lower age limits in order to take account of national circumstances.
The definitions of the categories should reflect to a greater extent the technical characteristics of the vehicles concerned and the skills needed to drive a vehicle.
Introducing a category of driving licences for mopeds will, in particular, increase road safety as regards the youngest drivers who, according to the statistics, are the hardest hit by road accidents.
Specific provisions should be adopted to make it easier for physically disabled persons to drive vehicles.
For reasons connected with road safety, Member States should be able to apply their national provisions on the withdrawal, suspension, renewal and cancellation of driving licences to all licence holders having acquired normal residence in their territory.
The model driving licence as set out in Directive 91/439/EEC should be replaced by a single model in the form of a plastic card. At the same time, this model driving licence needs to be adapted on account of the introduction of a new category of driving licences for mopeds and of a new category of driving licences for motorcycles.
The introduction of an optional microchip in the new plastic card model driving licence should enable the Member States to further improve the level of anti-fraud protection. Member States should have flexibility to include national data on the chip provided that it does not interfere with commonly accessible data. The technical requirements for the microchip should be determined by the Commission, assisted by the committee on driving licences.
Minimum standards concerning access to the profession of examiner and examiner training requirements should be established in order to improve the knowledge and skills of examiners thereby ensuring a more objective evaluation of driving licence applicants and achieving greater harmonisation of driving tests.
The Commission should be allowed to undertake the adaptation of Annexes I to VI to scientific and technical progress.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(4).
In particular, the Commission should be empowered to establish the criteria necessary for the application of this Directive. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, they should be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.
Since the objectives of this Directive cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of their scale and their effects, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
This Directive should not prejudice the obligations of the Member States relating to the deadlines for transposition into national law and application of the Directives listed in Annex VII, Part B,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1 Model licence
1.
2.
Without prejudice to data protection rules, Member States may introduce a storage medium (microchip) as part of the driving licence, as soon as the requirements concerning the microchip referred to in Annex I, which are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, by supplementing it, are laid down by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9(2). These requirements shall provide for EC type-approval, which shall only be granted when the ability to resist attempts to tamper with or alter data is demonstrated.
3.
The microchip shall incorporate the harmonised driving licence data specified in Annex I.
After consulting the Commission, Member States may store additional data, provided that it does not in any way interfere with the implementation of this Directive.
In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9(2), the Commission may amend Annex I in order to guarantee future interoperability.
4.
With the agreement of the Commission, Member States may make to the model set out in Annex I such adjustments as are necessary for computer processing of the driving licence.
Article 2 Mutual recognition
1.
Driving licences issued by Member States shall be mutually recognised.
2.
When the holder of a valid national driving licence without the administrative validity period set out in Article 7(2) takes up normal residence in a Member State other than that which issued the driving licence, the host Member State may apply to the licence the administrative validity periods set out in that Article by renewing the driving licence, as from 2 years after the date on which the holder has taken up normal residence on its territory.
Article 3 Anti-forgery measures
1.
Member States shall take all necessary steps to avoid any risk of forgery of driving licences, including that of model driving licences issued before the entry into force of this Directive. They shall inform the Commission thereof.
2.
The material used for the driving licence, as set out in Annex I, shall be made secure against forgery in application of specifications designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, by supplementing it, which are to be laid down by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9(2). Member States are free to introduce additional security features.
3.
Member States shall ensure that, by 19 January 2033, all driving licences issued or in circulation fulfil all the requirements of this Directive.
Article 4 Categories, definitions and minimum ages
1.
The driving licence provided for in Article 1 shall authorise the driving of power-driven vehicles in the categories defined hereafter. It may be issued from the minimum age indicated for each category. A ‘power-driven vehicle’ means any self-propelled vehicle running on a road under its own power, other than a rail-borne vehicle.
2.
mopeds:
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Category AM:
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Two-wheel vehicles or three-wheel vehicles with a maximum design speed of not more than 45 km/h, as defined in Article 1(2)(a) of Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2002 relating to the type-approval of two or three-wheel motor vehicles(5) (excluding those with a maximum design speed under or equal to 25 km/h), and light quadricycles as defined in Article 1(3)(a) of Directive 2002/24/EC,
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the minimum age for category AM is fixed at 16 years;
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3.
motorcycles with or without a sidecar and motor tricycles:
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‘motorcycle’ means two-wheel vehicles with or without a sidecar, as defined in Article 1(2)(b) of Directive 2002/24/EC,
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‘motor tricycle’ means vehicles with three symmetrically arranged wheels, as defined in Article 1(2)(c) of Directive 2002/24/EC;
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Category A1:
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motorcycles with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 125 cubic centimetres, of a power not exceeding 11 kW and with a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0,1 kW/kg,
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motor tricycles with a power not exceeding 15 kW,
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the minimum age for category A1 is fixed at 16 years;
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Category A2:
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motorcycles of a power not exceeding 35 kW and with a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0,2 kW/kg and not derived from a vehicle of more than double its power,
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the minimum age for category A2 is fixed at 18 years;
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Category A:
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motorcycles
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The minimum age for category A is fixed at 20 years. However, access to the driving of motorcycles of this category shall be subject to a minimum of two years' experience on motorcycles under an A2 licence. This requirement as to previous experience may be waived if the candidate is at least 24 years old.
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motor tricycles with a power exceeding 15 kW
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The minimum age for motor tricycles exceeding 15 kW is fixed at 21 years.
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4.
motor vehicles:
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‘motor vehicle’ means any power-driven vehicle, which is normally used for carrying persons or goods by road or for drawing, on the road, vehicles used for the carriage of persons or goods. This term shall include trolleybuses, i.e. vehicles connected to an electric conductor and not rail-borne. It shall not include agricultural or forestry tractors,
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‘Agricultural or forestry tractor’ means any power-driven vehicle running on wheels or tracks, having at least two axles, the principal function of which lies in its tractive power, which is specially designed to pull, push, carry or operate certain tools, machines or trailers used in connection with agricultural or forestry operations, and the use of which for carrying persons or goods by road or drawing, on the road, vehicles used for the carriage of persons or goods is only a secondary function;
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Category B1:
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quadricycles, as defined in Article 1(3)(b) of Directive 2002/24/EC,
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the minimum age for category B1 is fixed at 16 years,
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category B1 is optional; in Member States which do not introduce this category of driving licence, a driving licence for category B shall be required to drive such vehicles;
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Category B:
motor vehicles with a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 3 500 kg and designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver; motor vehicles in this category may be combined with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass which does not exceed 750 kg.
Without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, motor vehicles in this category may be combined with a trailer with a maximum authorised mass exceeding 750 kg, provided that the maximum authorised mass of this combination does not exceed 4 250 kg. In case such a combination exceeds 3 500 kg, Member States shall, in accordance with the provisions of Annex V, require that this combination shall only be driven after:
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a training has been completed, or
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a test of skills and behaviour has been passed.
Member States may also require both such a training and the passing of a test of skills and behaviour.
Member States shall indicate the entitlement to drive such a combination on the driving licence by means of the relevant Community code.
The minimum age for category B is fixed at 18 years;
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Category BE:
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without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, combination of vehicles consisting of a tractor vehicle in category B and a trailer or semi-trailer where the maximum authorised mass of the trailer or semi-trailer does not exceed 3 500 kg,
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the minimum age for category BE is fixed at 18 years;
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Category C1:
motor vehicles other than those in categories D1 or D, the maximum authorised mass of which exceeds 3 500 kg, but does not exceed 7 500 kg, and which are designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver; motor vehicles in this category may be combined with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 750 kg;
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Category C1E:
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without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, combinations of vehicles where the tractor vehicle is in category C1 and its trailer or semi-trailer has a maximum authorised mass of over 750 kg provided that the authorised mass of the combination does not exceed 12 000 kg,
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without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, combinations of vehicles where the tractor vehicle is in category B and its trailer or semi-trailer has an authorised mass of over 3 500 kg, provided that the authorised mass of the combination does not exceed 12 000 kg,
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the minimum age for categories C1 and C1E is fixed at the age of 18 years, without prejudice to the provisions for the driving of such vehicles in Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers(6);
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Category C:
motor vehicles other than those in categories D1 or D, whose maximum authorised mass is over 3 500 kg and which are designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver; motor vehicles in this category may be combined with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass which does not exceed 750 kg;
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Category CE:
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without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, combinations of vehicles where the tractor vehicle is in category C and its trailer or semi-trailer has a maximum authorised mass of over 750 kg,
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the minimum age for categories C and CE is fixed at 21 years, without prejudice to the provisions for the driving of such vehicles in Directive 2003/59/EC;
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Category D1:
motor vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of no more than 16 passengers in addition to the driver and with a maximum length not exceeding 8 m; motor vehicles in this category may be combined with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 750 kg;
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Category D1E:
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without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, combinations of vehicles where the tractor vehicle is in category D1 and its trailer has a maximum authorised mass of over 750 kg,
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the minimum age for categories D1 and D1E is fixed at 21 years, without prejudice to the provisions for the driving of such vehicles in Directive 2003/59/EC;
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Category D:
motor vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of more than eight passengers in addition to the driver; motor vehicles which may be driven with a category D licence may be combined with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass which does not exceed 750 kg;
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Category DE:
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without prejudice to the provisions of type-approval rules for the vehicles concerned, combinations of vehicles where the tractor vehicle is in category D and its trailer has a maximum authorised mass of over 750 kg,
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the minimum age for categories D and DE is fixed at 24 years, without prejudice to the provisions for the driving of such vehicles in Directive 2003/59/EC;
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5.
With the agreement of the Commission, Member States may exclude from the application of this Article certain specific types of power-driven vehicle such as special vehicles for disabled persons.
Member States may exclude from the application of this Directive vehicles used by, or under the control of, the armed forces and civil defence.
6.
Member States may raise or lower the minimum age for issuing a driving licence:
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for category AM down to 14 years or up to 18 years;
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for category B1 up to 18 years;
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for category A1 up to 17 or 18 years,
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if there is a two years difference between the minimum age for category A1 and the minimum age for category A2, and
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there is a requirement of a minimum of two years experience on motorcycles of category A2 before access to the driving of motorcycles for category A can be granted, as referred to in Article 4(3)(c)(i);
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for categories B and BE down to 17 years.
Member States may lower the minimum age for category C to 18 years and for category D to 21 years with regard to:
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vehicles used by the fire service and vehicles used for maintaining public order;
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vehicles undergoing road tests for repair or maintenance purposes.
Driving licences issued to persons at a lower age than set out in paragraphs 2 to 4 in accordance with this paragraph shall only be valid on the territory of the issuing Member State until the licence holder has reached the minimum age limit set out in paragraphs 2 to 4.
Member States may recognise the validity on their territory of driving licences issued to drivers under the minimum ages set out in paragraphs 2 to 4.