Buying a motorcycle with foreign license in Germany

Hi Everyone,

Can I buy, register and insure a motorcycle (or car) in Germany without a German driver's license ?

I am new in Germany. Have my Indian driver's license se which I can use here for 6 months. I also have an international driving permit to go with my Indian license.

Will I have to wait until I acquire German driver's license to buy a vehicle in Germany ?

As far as I know, you can own and register a vehicle if you are resident here - you don't need to have a valid driving license for that! (But what is the point if you cannot drive it?)

That's good news. My research said that I won't get insurance without German license.

As I said earlier, I can drive with Indian driver's license for six months. Meanwhile I can do the transfer and take the tests.

Thanks for replying.

There is no regulation against you having a vehicle insurance, but of course the insurers are private (for-profit) companies that have the right to decide for themselves whom they do business with and whom not.
In any case, without prior driving history in Germany, you will be classified in the highest (and thus most expensive) risk category.

Alright. So that means I will have to pay the highest band. I will try to get some quotes and decide.

Getting a vehicle and driver's license are the long term goals. I think as well that it will be problematic to find insurers if one doesn't have a German license – or EU one. And even if one can use an Indian one for 6 months, it doesn't mean you can't start the process earlier to get a German one. At the moment offices will be closed due to the Corona problem but once things are back to normal then why wait? I think it would be getting ahead of one's self to get a vehicle before the license issue is resolved. Like Beppi mentioned, with no driving record here one starts at the most expensive level, no way around that. But to get specific quotes also depends on the make, year and value of the vehicle. There are different websites like check24 or Verivox in Germany that make comparisons for things like insurance coverage and I would think that this would include vehicle insurance although I have no personal experience with this.

Or maybe your partner can put her name on the sheets.