Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards driving licences which include the functionalities of a driver card
Date: 2011-11-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European driving licence, driving period, electronic component, fraud, transport licence, work schedule

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 11.11.2011 
COM(2011) 710 final 

2011/0327 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards driving licences which include the functionalities of a driver card  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

This  proposal  to  modify  Directive  2006/126/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  ("the  driving  licences  directive")  follows  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 on 
recording equipment in road transport ("the tachograph regulation") and amending Regulation 
(EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council, adopted by the Commission 
on 19 July 20111. The two proposals constitute a legislative package aimed at better enforcing 
the  social  rules  in  road  transport  and  at  reducing  frauds  and  administrative  burden,  by 
developing the technical aspects and increasing the efficiency of tachographs.  

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

Merging  the  driver  card  with  the  driving  licence  has  been  identified  in  the  course  of  the 
stakeholder's consultation and impact assessment carried out in order to amend the tachograph 
regulation,  as  a  solution  for  reducing  fraud  potential  while  at  the  same  time  limiting,  in  the 
long run, the costs (issuing and purchasing of one instead of two documents). The results of 
the stakeholder consultation and impact assessment have already been published2.  

Driving  licences  and  driver  cards  are  issued  in  credit  card  format  and  contain  very  similar 
information (driver’s details, photograph, etc). The driving licence directive already provides 
for  the  possibility  of  inserting  a  microchip  in  the  standardised  driving  licence  format. 
Moreover,  both  cards  have  a  limited  validity  period  of  five  years,  since  the  driving  licence 
directive  stipulates  that,  as  from  19  January  2013,  the  driving  licences  of  trucks  and  bus 
drivers will be valid for five years.  

Merging cards would therefore not require any change in the period of validity of the current 
tachograph cards and therefore of their durability (as they are handled on a daily basis unlike 
driving licence cards). Merging driver cards with driving licences would facilitate detection at 
the roadside check of  drivers using a card that does not belong to them or using two cards. 
Furthermore, the drivers will be less inclined to let other drivers use their driving licence to 
fraud the tachograph system. 

The impact assessment concluded that merging driver cards with driving licences would allow 
for a reduction of the administrative burden of around €100 million per year. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

Article  27  of  the  proposal  to  amend  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3821/85  foresees  that 
driver  cards  shall  be  issued  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  tachograph  regulation 
until  18  January  2018.  It  also  provides  that  with  effect  from  19  January  2018,  driver  cards 

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COM(2011) 451 final 
See Impact Assessment SEC(2011)948 

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shall  be  incorporated  into  driving  licences  and  issued,  renewed,  exchanged  and  replaced  in 
accordance with the provisions of Directive 2006/126/EC. 

This gradual process of replacing driver cards with driving licences requires a modification of 
the driving licence directive, in order to organize from a legal point of view the co-existence 
of  the  two  functions  merged  into  a  sole  document,  i.e.  the  driving  licence  having  the 
functionalities of a driver card.  

Driver  cards  are  currently  subject  to  type  approval  procedures  complementary  to  the  ones 
applicable  to  driving  licences.  From  19  January  2018,  the  type  approval  of  driving  licences 
delivered  to  professional  drivers  and  therefore  including  the  functionalities  of  a  tachograph 
driver  card  will  have  to  follow  the  applicable  requirements  concerning  the  microchip,  laid 
down in accordance with the present directive, and all additional requirements referred to in 
Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3821/85,  such  as  the  interoperability  test  or  the  logical 
functionality  test.  However,  when  implementing  measures  related  to  type  approval,  the 
duplication of tests should be avoided.  

The  proposal  will  not  have  any  consequence  on  the  driving  licences  for  private  individuals 
and concerns only professional drivers subject to the rules on driving times and rest periods 
and to the use of tachograph. Starting with 19 January 2018, any new driving licence or driver 
card will be issued as a single document.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal will not entail any additional cost for the EU budget.  

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2011/0327 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards driving licences which include the functionalities of a driver card  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 91 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee3,  

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions4,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Experience has shown that fraud and misuse of driving licences occurs less frequently 
than with the driver cards used in the recording equipment installed in vehicles used 
for the carriage of passengers or goods by road in accordance with Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport5. 
This recording equipment would therefore be more reliable if driver cards and driving 
licences were merged. Further, such a merger would reduce the administrative burden 
for drivers who would no longer need to apply for and hold two different documents. 

Driving  licences  and  driver  cards  share  an  almost  identical  design  and  set  of  data 
fields. The only notable difference is that the driver cards must contain a microchip, 
whereas for driving licences the inclusion of such a microchip is optional. It follows 
that  the  merger  of  the  two  documents  is  easily  achievable  from  a  technical  point  of 
view.  

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5 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 8. 

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(3) 

(4) 

The  rights  and  obligations  deriving  from  the  administrative  authorisations  to  hold  a 
driving licence and a driver card should not be affected by their merger. 

Driver cards are currently subject to type approval procedures complementary to those 
applicable  to  driving  licences.  From  19  January  2018  the  type  approval  of  the 
microchip  introduced  in  the  driving  licences  delivered  to  professional  drivers  and 
including  the  functionalities  of  a  driver  card  should  comply  not  only  with  the 
requirements  of  Commission  Regulation  XXXX/XXXX  implementing  Directive 
2006/126/EC with regard to driving licences including a storage medium, but also all 
relevant requirements laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85. 

(5) 

Directive  2006/126/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20 
December 2006 on driving licences6 should therefore be amended accordingly,  

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

Directive 2006/126/EC is amended as follows: 

(1) In Article 1, the following paragraph 5 is added: 

'5. As from 19 January 2018, a microchip shall be introduced in all driving licences issued in 
accordance with Article 7a.  

This  microchip  shall  comply  with  the  requirements  of  paragraphs  2  and  3  of  this  Article, 
including in particular any measures adopted under paragraph 2. It shall also contain all the 
card identification data referred to in Section IV, point 5.2 of Annex IB of Regulation (EEC) 
No 3821/85. 

A driving licence issued in accordance with Article 7a shall, as regards type approval, comply 
with  the  requirements  of  [Chapter  III]  of  Annex  IB  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3821/85.  The 
type approval information shall be stored on the microchip in the application for driver card 
purposes.’ 

(2) The following Articles 7a , 7b and 7c are inserted: 

‘Article 7a  

Driving licence incorporating a driver card 

As from 19 January 2018, when issuing, replacing, renewing or exchanging a driving 
1. 
licence  for  a  driver  engaged  in  the  carriage  of  goods  and  passengers  by  road  within  the 
meaning  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  561/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council7, 
Member States shall deliver a driving licence which incorporates the necessary functionalities 
so that the driving licence can also be used as a driver card within the meaning of Regulation 
(EEC) No 3821/85.  

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7 

OJ L 403, 30.12.2006, p. 18. 
OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p.1. 

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A  driving  licence  which  includes  the  functionalities  of  a  driver  card  shall  be  issued 

2. 
within one month of the request being received by the competent authority.  

3. 
When delivering a driving licence which includes the functionalities of a driver card 
Member States shall enter on the driving licence the harmonised EU code indicated in Annex 
I. 

4. 
A  driver  shall  not  simultaneously  hold  a  driver  card  issued  in  accordance  with 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  3821/85  and  a  driving  licence  which  includes  the  functionalities  of  a 
driver  card.  When  a  driving  licence  which  includes  the  functionalities  of  a  driver  card  is 
delivered to a driver, the driver shall surrender both his former driving licence and his former 
driver card to the issuing authority. 

5. 
If a Member State other than the issuing Member State withdraws or suspends a valid 
driving  licence  which  includes  the  functionalities  of  a  driver  card,  it  shall  return  it  to  the 
authorities of the issuing Member State, indicating the reasons for that return.' 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

'Article 7b 

Renewal of driving licences incorporating a driver card 

Where a driver wishes to renew a driving licence which includes the functionalities 
of a driver card, he shall apply to the competent authorities of the Member State of 
normal residence not later than 15 working days before its expiry date. 

In  the  event  of  a  request  for  the  renewal  of  a  driving  licence  which  includes  the 
functionalities  of  a  driver  card  whose  expiry  date  is  approaching,  the  competent 
authority shall supply a new licence before the expiry date provided that the request 
was sent within the time limits laid down in paragraph 1.' 

'Article 7c 

Stolen, lost or defective driving licences incorporating a driver card 

Member States shall keep records of issued, stolen, lost or defective driving licences 
which include  the  functionalities of a driver card for a period at least equivalent to 
their period of administrative validity. 

Theft of a driving licence which includes the functionalities of a driver card shall be 
formally declared to the competent authorities of the Member State where the theft 
occurred. 

Loss of a driving licence which includes the functionalities of a driver card shall be 
formally declared to the competent authorities of the issuing Member State and to the 
competent authorities of the Member State of normal residence if this is different. 

If  a  driving  licence  which  includes  the  functionalities  of  a  driver  card  is  damaged, 
malfunctions or is lost or stolen, the driver shall within seven calendar days apply for 
its replacement to the competent authorities of the Member State in which the holder 
has his  normal residence.  Those authorities shall provide a replacement within five 
working days after receiving a detailed request to that effect.' 

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(3) In point 3 of Annex I the following EU code is inserted after code 96: 

'97. Driving licence including the functionalities of a driver card until … [e.g. 97(01.01.18)]'. 

Article 2 

1. 

Member States shall adopt and publish, by [2 years after entering into force] at the 
latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with 
this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those 
provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive. 

They shall apply those provisions from 19 January 2018. 

When  Member  States  adopt  those  provisions,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive  or  be  accompanied  by  such  a  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their  official 
publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. 

2. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 3 

Article 4 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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