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
Work out whether you need a car
DSW21 runs the Stadtbahn and buses, the S-Bahn links the whole Ruhr, and Dortmund Hbf is a major ICE hub — Cologne is about an hour, Berlin under four. The Deutschlandticket covers all local and regional services nationwide for one flat monthly fee.
OnlineWho: You
2
Find your country on the exchange list
Germany maintains a country-by-country list: 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: YouBefore the six months expire
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
Apply at the Führerscheinstelle
Submit the application with your documents and surrender your foreign licence, which is usually retained. Processing takes weeks rather than days.
In personWho: You
6
Get the green badge, and understand its scale
The Umweltzone Ruhrgebiet has run as one joined-up zone since 1 January 2012 and has been green-badge-only since 1 July 2014, covering Dortmund, Essen, Bochum, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Mülheim, Oberhausen, Recklinghausen, Castrop-Rauxel, Gladbeck, Herten, Herne and Bottrop. An unbadged car is locked out of the whole conurbation, not one city centre.
In personWho: 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

Check the fixture list before you plan anything.

Signal Iduna Park holds 81,365 and fills for league matches, which means seventeen or more Saturdays a year when the U-Bahn runs a special timetable, streets around Strobelallee close, regional trains arrive full from across NRW, and hotel rooms across the city vanish. Newcomers book removal vans, viewings and airport runs into matchdays and lose the day. The fixture list is public months ahead.

Source: community-reported

The Ruhr's low emission zone is one continuous area, not thirteen separate ones.

Most German cities have a compact centre-only Umweltzone you can plausibly drive around. The Ruhr's has been joined up since 2012, so an unbadged car cannot cross the conurbation at all. It is the single most consequential driving fact in the region and no car listing mentions it.

Source: Umweltzone Ruhrgebiet — participating cities

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. 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: Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr — 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: Stadt Dortmund — Führerscheinstelle

Common mistakes to avoid

Scheduling a move, a viewing or an airport run into a home matchday.
Buying an older diesel without checking it can get a green badge.
Assuming your country exchanges freely without checking the state or province-level list.
Letting the six-month window lapse and losing your exchange rights.
Buying a car at all before testing whether the Deutschlandticket covers your life.

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