Bundesdruckerei Wins Call for Bids for Next Generation of German EU Driving Licence Cards

Bundesdruckerei has won the pan-European call for bids for the production of the next generation of German EU driving licence cards. This means that the Berlin-based company will continue to produce German driving licences for another ten years. The new contract will commence in 2011.

In face of international competition, Bundesdruckerei succeeded in winning the contract. As of 2011, new security features will be integrated to enhance the driving licence further. Today, German driving licences already feature a host of such visible and invisible characteristics. The information on the document, for instance, is engraved at various depths into the polycarbonate card. This makes life particularly hard for forgers. The German driving licence card is one of securest world-wide. This contract warrants that citizens will continue to receive their driving licences quickly and in a secure manner. This is guaranteed by tried-and-tested logistics between Bundesdruckerei and the around 650 German driving licence authorities.

Bundesdruckerei has been producing the new driving licence in credit-card format since 1999 according to the EU’s standard. Since then, around 35 million of these documents have been issued to German motorists. The company is planning to produce up to three million driving licences annually. In addition to driving licences for Germany, Bundesdruckerei also produces driving licence cards for other European countries, such as Iceland or Lithuania.

Driving licence cards are not only handed out to “fledglings” who have just passed their driving test. Motorists still in possession of a grey or pink paper driving licence can exchange their old documents for the more practical driving licence card. Applications for the EU driving licence card can be submitted to the local driving licence office. Motorists willing to exchange their driving licences can still hold on to the old document – this is then marked as invalid and the holder can keep the old paper document. An international driving licence is now only available on the basis of the new EU driving licence card – the old paper driving licence is no longer sufficient for this. Motorists in a hurry can use the express method to get their driving licence even faster.

In addition to the usual method of sending driving licences to the driving licence office, Bundesdruckerei also offers direct delivery to the motorist’s home. If applicants wish to save themselves the trouble of going back a second time to the driving licence office, they can have the new licence card conveniently sent directly to their home for a small fee.