Before you start

Completed Anmeldung establishing your residence
Your foreign licence, with certified translation if not in German or EU format
An eyesight test certificate
A first aid course certificate for most applicants

Step-by-step

1
Book the StädteRegion's Führerscheinstelle, not the city
All driving-licence matters for people whose main residence is Aachen go to the Straßenverkehrsamt of the StädteRegion Aachen. The city's Bürgerservice and district offices can accept a replacement application after loss or theft and pass it on, but nothing else.
OnlineWho: YouBefore the six months expire
2
Find your country on the exchange list
Germany maintains a country-by-country schedule in Anlage 11 to the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung: some exchange freely, some require a theory test, some a practical, some both. For the United States, Canada and Australia the treatment depends on the individual state or province.
OnlineWho: You
3
Act inside the six-month window
A non-EU licence is valid for six months after you take up residence. Applying before it expires preserves your exchange rights; letting it lapse can push you into the full German licensing process.
In personWho: You
4
Get a translation, eyesight test and first aid certificate
Non-German licences generally need a certified translation from ADAC or a sworn translator. An eyesight test and a short first aid course are standard requirements.
In personWho: You
5
Learn the two neighbouring rulebooks before you cross
Belgium and the Netherlands have their own speed limits, their own priority conventions and their own low-emission zone schemes, and Belgian cities in particular enforce theirs with cameras against foreign plates. Check the rules for the specific city you are driving into rather than assuming German ones travel.
OnlineWho: You
6
Test whether the bus already goes where you are going
ASEAG's network runs into the Dutch and Belgian border towns, and regional trains reach Maastricht, Liège and Brussels. The Deutschlandticket at EUR 63 a month covers German regional transport nationwide but stops at the border — cross-border journeys need the euregional products instead, which is the single most common ticketing mistake newcomers make here.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and certified translation
Meldebescheinigung from your Anmeldung
Passport and residence permit
Eyesight test certificate
First aid course certificate
Biometric photograph

Things most newcomers don’t know

The licence office is the StädteRegion's, and that is not obvious from the city's website.

Aachen is a city inside a StädteRegion, and licensing sits with the regional Straßenverkehrsamt. People search the city portal, find only the replacement-application service, and conclude the exchange has to be done somewhere else entirely. It has to be done one tier up, in the same building complex as the Ausländeramt.

Source: StädteRegion Aachen — Führerscheinstelle

The Deutschlandticket stops at the border, and the border is fifteen minutes away.

EUR 63 a month buys every regional service in Germany and nothing at all in Vaals, Kelmis or Maastricht. In a city where crossing is routine this catches almost everyone once. The euregional tickets exist precisely for this and are what the local network sells alongside it.

Source: ASEAG

For US, Canadian and Australian licences the answer depends on your state or province.

Germany's exchange arrangements with federal countries are negotiated per state, and the schedule that governs it is Anlage 11 to the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung. One US state may exchange with no test while its neighbour requires both theory and practical. Look up your specific issuing jurisdiction rather than your country.

Source: FeV Anlage 11

Letting the six months lapse can cost thousands.

A non-EU licence is valid for six months from establishing residence. Applying within that window preserves exchange rights; letting it expire can put you into the full German process — theory, practical and compulsory driving school, which routinely runs past EUR 3,000.

Source: Bundesministerium für Verkehr

Common mistakes to avoid

Looking for the Führerscheinstelle on the city's website instead of the StädteRegion's.
Assuming your country exchanges freely without checking the state or province-level list.
Letting the six-month window lapse and losing your exchange rights.
Travelling into the Netherlands or Belgium on a Deutschlandticket that stops at the border.
Driving into a Belgian low-emission zone without registering the vehicle for it.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.