Truck driver CV for Germany: licence, code 95 and the CV block

First, start the six-month licence clock in your plan

Section 29 of the Driving Licence Regulation (Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, FeV) lets a licence from outside the EU and EEA count for six more months after you take up ordinary residence in Germany. The authority can extend this by up to six months only if you will stay no longer than twelve months. For a driver who moves to Germany, that makes converting the Turkish licence the first job, not the last.

Write down every class on your Turkish licence, the date each was issued, and whether you hold a Turkish SRC certificate and an ADR certificate. Those four facts decide your route and fill most of the CV block below. Rules change; check the linked official pages before you plan your move.

Converting a Turkish licence

Section 31 FeV treats licences from countries listed in Annex 11 more generously: for listed states and classes, the tests can be waived. Türkiye is not on that list, as we read it on 12 October 2026. For licences from unlisted states, section 31(2) only waives the driving-school training, so you still sit the theory and the practical test for each class.

• Apply to the driving licence office (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) where you live, with your Turkish licence and a declaration that it is still valid (section 31(3)).
• The theory test may be taken in Turkish: Annex 7 FeV lists Turkish among 14 foreign languages.
• You receive the German licence only when you hand in the Turkish one (section 31(4)).
• German C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE licences are issued for at most five years (section 23 FeV), so the expiry date belongs on your CV.

Code 95: the professional driver qualification

The Professional Drivers Qualification Act (Berufskraftfahrerqualifikationsgesetz, BKrFQG) applies to anyone carrying goods or passengers on public roads in a vehicle that needs a C or D class licence. It covers third-country nationals when they work for a company based in the EU, EEA or Switzerland.

Three ways to the initial qualification

Section 6 BKrFQG says drivers who live in Germany, or hold a German permit to work, must earn the initial qualification in Germany. The state authority then issues a Fahrerqualifizierungsnachweis, the card that proves it (section 7), and you must carry it on every trip (section 8).

Why a Turkish SRC certificate is not enough on its own

Section 7 accepts the German card, a card or code 95 from another EU or EEA state or Switzerland, an EU driver attestation with code 95, and the CEMT quality charter proof for CEMT journeys. A Turkish SRC certificate is not on that list. List it on your CV as experience, and use the equivalence assessment or the IHK route for the German proof.

Periodic training

Every five years you complete 35 lessons of periodic training, in blocks of at least seven lessons (BKrFQV). ADR driver training counts for seven of them.

Driver card and ADR certificate

The driver card (Fahrerkarte) for the digital tachograph is made by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). Cologne's service page says you apply in person where you live, need ordinary residence in Germany and an EU card-format licence, and that the card is valid for five years; Cologne charges €41, or €46 with postal delivery. So the card follows the German licence, not the other way round.

For dangerous goods, IHK Frankfurt says ADR certificates issued by an ADR contracting party in the official model must be recognised during their validity, with no need to convert them; if the issuing language is not German, English or French, the certificate must also be in one of them. Türkiye has been an ADR party since 2010, according to UN depositary data. IHK Cottbus says the certificate is valid for five years, can be refreshed in the last 12 months, and cannot be refreshed once expired.

Coming through an employer: the 15-month route

Section 24a of the Employment Regulation (Beschäftigungsverordnung) lets the Federal Employment Agency approve a job for a professional driver. It can also approve work with an employer who commits you to gain the German licence and qualifications within 15 months, if a concrete driving job with that employer follows and you hold the licence your home country requires for professional driving. Approval runs for up to 15 months, plus six in justified cases. The visa steps are on the national visa page.

The Recognition Finder lists the Berufskraftfahrer occupation as not regulated and says no German certificate is required, while adding that German matters for applications and work.

The licence and qualifications block

A haulage firm reading your CV wants to know in seconds what you may drive today and until when. Put this block directly under your name and contact details, before work history, and give every document an expiry date.

Sample work history lines

• 05/2014 bis 08/2026 Fernfahrer, Spedition Beispiel, Istanbul. Internationale Touren Türkei, Bulgarien, Rumänien, Ungarn, Österreich, Deutschland.
• Sattelzug bis 40 t, Kühlauflieger; rund 120.000 km pro Jahr; digitaler Tachograph; CMR-Frachtbriefe.
• Ladungssicherung, Be- und Entladekontrolle, Grenzabfertigung.
• Sprachen: Türkisch Muttersprache, Deutsch B1, Englisch A2.

All dates, routes and kilometres are placeholders. Write only figures you can show, for example from tachograph printouts or an employer letter, and list countries rather than a vague phrase like international experience.

Proof: sources and the date we read them

We read every source below on 12 October 2026. Links are under Sources.

Limits of this page

• Drivers employed by a Turkish haulier who only enter Germany on international trips follow other rules; this page is about working for a company in Germany.
• Bus and coach drivers: the D classes have different minimum ages in section 3 BKrFQG.
• We found no official German page on whether a Turkish SRC certificate counts in an equivalence assessment; IHK FOSA decides case by case.

Next steps

1. Run the Recognition Finder for Berufskraftfahrer and contact the IHK it names before you apply to IHK FOSA.
2. Book the theory test in Turkish once you live in Germany, and plan the practical test inside the six-month window.
3. Apply for the driver card as soon as the German licence is issued.
4. Build the block above. CitedCV can write the CV in German with German conventions from your own licence dates and routes, and job site tips are on the German job sites page.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Berufskraftfahrerqualifikationsgesetz (BKrFQG)www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bkrfqg_2020/BJNR257510020.html
2. Berufskraftfahrerqualifikationsverordnung (BKrFQV)www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bkrfqv_2020/BJNR290510020.html
3. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV), section 29: foreign licenceswww.gesetze-im-internet.de/fev_2010/__29.html
4. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV), section 31: licences from outside the EEAwww.gesetze-im-internet.de/fev_2010/__31.html
5. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV), Annex 11: list of stateswww.gesetze-im-internet.de/fev_2010/anlage_11.html
6. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV), Annex 7: driving testswww.gesetze-im-internet.de/fev_2010/anlage_7.html
7. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV), section 23: validitywww.gesetze-im-internet.de/fev_2010/__23.html
8. Beschäftigungsverordnung (BeschV), section 24a: professional driverswww.gesetze-im-internet.de/beschv_2013/__24a.html
9. Anerkennung in Deutschland, Recognition Finder: Driver (Berufskraftfahrer), Berlinwww.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de/en/interest/finder/result?location=47619&profession=22&zipSearch=0&nationality_eu=false&qualification_origin=Drittstaaten&whereabouts=Ausland
10. Stadt Köln, Fahrerkarte beantragenwww.stadt-koeln.de/service/produkt/fahrerkarte
11. IHK Frankfurt am Main, Handhabung und Anerkennung von ausländischen ADR-Bescheinigungenwww.frankfurt-main.ihk.de/branchenthemen/verkehr-logistik/gefahrgut/branchen-verkehr-und-logistik-/handhabung-und-anerkennung-von-auslaendischen-adr-5247734
12. IHK Cottbus, Schulung und Prüfung von Gefahrgutfahrernwww.ihk.de/cottbus/aus-und-weiterbildung/pruefungen/sach-und-fachkundepruefungen/schulung-und-pruefung-von-gefahrgutfahrern-6234278
13. Netherlands Treaty Database, ADR: parties (UN depositary data)treatydatabase.overheid.nl/en/Treaty/Details/006822_p