More and more administrative services in the mobility sector are available online, such as the digital driving licence application or the electronic vehicle registration. Citizens and businesses can conveniently use these services online.

The Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) is digitalizing administrative services for mobility and travel to facilitate access for citizens and businesses. The legal basis for these measures is the Online Access Act (OZG), which obliges the Federal Government, federal states and local authorities to provide their administrative services online. The aim is to have efficient and user-friendly services. Everything is done in close cooperation with the federal states to make efficient use of available resources and avoid duplication of work. All services are developed based on the ‘one for all’ principle which means that services developed in one federal state are made available for all other federal states to use.

i-Kfz – Web-based vehicle registration

The web-based vehicle registration service (i-Kfz) (German only) developed by the federal state of Baden-Württemberg and the Federal Ministry of Transport digitalizes all administrative services from first registration and change of address to off-road notification. With about 20 million vehicle registrations per year, this service is in very high demand. Applicants are identified using the online ID function or an ELSTER certificate.

Once the vehicle is successfully registered online, it may immediately be used on public roads. The only thing left to do is attach the number plates and place the printed provisional registration in the vehicle. The final registration stickers are sent by post. The fees for online registration are much lower than those paid at the vehicle registration authority.

The ‘one for all’ online service can also be used by small and medium-sized companies. Larger companies may use the major client interface for automated vehicle registration at the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrtbundesamt - KBA) (German only). It supports the electronic processing of bulk applications.

Digital driving licence application

The digital driving licence application service (German only) developed by the federal state of Hesse and the Federal Ministry of Transport is another example of the digitalization of administrative services. With over a million requests per year, the driving licence application is one of the most frequently requested administrative services in Germany. The digital application makes it much easier to apply for or convert a driving licence. Citizens can apply for a driving licence online without having to go to a driving licence authority. They can identify themselves online, e.g. through the online ID function, and upload their picture and signature. Both uploads are automatically checked to make sure they can be used. Payment is also made online. The appropriate authority receives all the data through a direct interface. This speeds up and simplifies processing, and the Federal Printing Office (Bundesdruckerei) initiates the dispatch of the driving licence to the expert or examiner for handover.