COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences
Date: 2025-09-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU national, administrative cooperation, data protection, driving licence, free movement of persons, health control, personal data, road safety, technical specification, transport accident

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.9.2025  COM(2025) 629 final 2023/0053 (COD)  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
 
2023/0053 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of 
the Council on driving licences 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council 
(document COM(2023) 127 final – 2023/0053 COD): 

1 March 2023. 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

14 June 2023. 

Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading: 

28 February 2024. 

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: 

N/A. 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

29 September 2025. 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

The Commission proposal aims to modernise the European framework on driving licences to 
improve  road  safety,  facilitate  free  movement,  and  support  the  sustainability  and  digital 
transformation of road transport. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

The  position  of  the Council  as  adopted  at  first  reading  fully  reflects  the  political  agreement 
reached  between  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  24  March  2025.  The  main 
points of this agreement are the following: 

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Member States will introduce and mutually recognize an EU mobile driving licence 
by  the  end  of  2030  at  the  latest.  The  Commission  will  assess  the  feasibility  of 
bringing this implementation date forward. 

The  default  validity  period  of  driving  licences  is  15  years.  Member  States  may 
reduce  this  period  to  ten  years  when  the  licence  is  also  used  as  an  identity  card. 
Member States may reduce the validity period from the age of 65. 

Applicants  for  any  driving  licence  must  undergo  a  medical  examination  before  a 
driving  licence  is  issued  or  renewed.  However,  Member  States  may  replace  this 
medical  examination  for  certain  licence  categories  with  alternative  measures. 

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Additionally, all applicants must undergo an eyesight check upon the first issuance of 
a driving licence.  

Member  States  have  to  introduce  an  EU-wide  accompanied  driving  scheme  for 
driving licence Category B (cars), while the scheme remains optional for Categories 
C, C1 and C1E (trucks).  

Member  States  have  to  apply  stricter  rules,  sanctions,  or  both  to  novice drivers  for 
driving under the influence of alcohol. In addition, Member States may introduce a 
second probationary period when issuing a driving licence for a new category. 

Citizens residing in a Member State other than their Member State of citizenship may 
obtain their first Category B driving licence in the Member State of citizenship – but 
only  if  their  Member  State  of  normal  residence  does  not  offer  interpretation  or 
translation in their EU language. 

Subject to conditions, holders of a category B driving licence may drive emergency 
vehicles,  motorhomes  or  alternatively  fuelled  vehicles  that  are  heavier  than  3,500 
kilograms or 4,250 kilograms when combined with a trailer (for up to a maximum of 
5000 kg depending on the vehicle). 

The minimum age for professional bus drivers is set at 21, regardless of whether they 
complete the accelerated or standard initial qualification. 

A targeted derogation will allow Member States, subject to prior agreement from the 
Commission  and  under  strict  conditions,  to  lower  the  minimum  age  for  issuing  a 
category B1 licence to 15 years.  

The Commission accepts the overall agreement, although it would have preferred a 
more  ambitious  timeline  for  the  implementation  of  mobile  driving  licences, 
particularly  given  that  the  European  Digital  Identity  Wallet  will  provide  a  secure 
platform as of end-2026. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The  Commission  accepts  the  results  of  the  inter-institutional  negotiations  and  can  therefore 
accept the Council's position at first reading. 

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