Submit driving license: what you should know about it

An offense in road traffic may result in you having to hand in your driver's license. Where and how you do this and more information about this is covered in this article.

Operation when handing in the driver's license

If you have committed an offense in road traffic, the authority will send you a notice of fine asking you to agree to it within two weeks.

• If you do not do this, you will still have to hand in your driver's license. You only have the option to object to the decision within these two weeks.
• If the decision to impose a fine is legally binding, the driver's license will be handed over to the authority that issued the driving ban. However, you can also hand in your driver's license to the relevant police department.
• If the responsible enforcement authority is not in your place of residence or in your area, you can apply there for the enforcement of your driver's license fee to be carried out by your city administration, for example.
• You can either send the driver's license to the authority by post or take it personally. The letter usually contains information about where the driver's license should be sent.
• As soon as the authority has received your driver's license for safekeeping, the period of your driving ban begins. This means that you can still drive your car to the authorities to hand in the certificate. You are not allowed to drive home afterwards.

How long you have to hand in your driver's license

There are different deadlines for how long you have to hand in your driver's license, depending on the administrative offense. The driving ban is usually a secondary penalty in a fine procedure.

• Unlike a driver's license withdrawal, in which you have to give up your driver's license in the long term and have to apply again after a long time, the driver's license can usually only be given for a few months.
• A period of one to three months is often imposed. In some cases a few months longer.
• How long you actually have to hand in your driving license depends on your misdemeanor in road traffic. The duration is based on paragraph 25 of the Road Traffic Act.
• If you have been asked to hand in your driver's license for the first time, the authority usually grants you a freely selectable point in time for the driver's license. However, you must hand in your driver's license within four months.