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What happens to my car insurance in Germany after my licence is revoked?

In short

What happens to your car insurance in Germany after your licence is revoked? At first nothing: the policy covers the car, not your licence, so it keeps running and premiums stay due. Others with a valid licence may drive it if the policy allows them. If you drive yourself, liability pays the victim but can reclaim up to 5,000 euros from you, and comprehensive cover pays nothing.

What happens to my car insurance in Germany after my licence is revoked?

What it costs

Published limits and costs around revocation and getting a new licence, 2026.

ExampleTypical range
Liability recourse for driving without a licenceup to 5,000 euros
Fee for a new licence after revocationabout 250 to 275 euros
Medical and psychological assessment (MPU), by reasonabout 550 to 1,100 euros
Alcohol MPU with preparation and abstinence proofabout 2,350 to 2,550 euros
Blocking period set by the court6 months to 5 years

As of November 2026, from statutes,

the model terms and figures from a motoring club and a licensing authority.

Claim amounts in the worked example are a guide value from our quoting practice.

Your terms may differ from the model; we obtain the exact quote.

Worked example

A quick drive during the blocking period ends in a rear-end crash

A keeper drives to the shops himself during the blocking period and hits the car in front. He has full comprehensive cover with a 300 euro excess.

Damage to the other car, paid by liabilityabout 12,000 euros
Recourse claimed from himup to 5,000 euros
Damage to his own carabout 6,000 euros
Comprehensive after knowingly driving without a licence0 euros
Criminal case under § 21 StVGfine or up to one year in prison

He bears around 11,000 euros himself, plus the penalty and a liability downgrade. Calculation with guide values.

Your policy keeps running

German motor insurance covers a vehicle and its keeper, not a driving licence. The policyholder does not even need a licence. If yours is revoked, the contract stays in force and you keep paying.

Revocation does not create a special right to cancel. You can cancel at the normal renewal date, after a claim, after a premium increase or when you sell the car.

Know the difference between a driving ban and a revocation. A driving ban (Fahrverbot) under § 25 StVG lasts one to three months and you get your licence back afterwards. With a revocation (Entziehung) the court sets a blocking period of six months to five years under § 69a StGB, and you must then apply for a new licence.

Who may drive your car now

Anyone with a valid licence whom your policy accepts as a driver may keep using the car. If you limited the circle of drivers to yourself, that circle is a rating factor. Under the model terms you must report a change without delay; otherwise the higher premium applies backdated, and a deliberate failure can add a contractual penalty.

If only your partner will drive from now on, a change of keeper with a transfer of the no-claims class can make sense. That step is final: you do not get the transferred years back.

Your situationLiabilityComprehensive for your car
Car parked, nobody driveskeeps running with premiumkeeps running with premium
Partner with licence drives and is a listed driverfull coverfull cover
Partner drives, driver circle not updatedcover applies, premium raised backdatedcover applies, premium raised backdated
You drive despite revocationpays victim, recourse up to 5,000 eurosno cover if done knowingly
Car deregisteredfree dormant coverpartial comprehensive only

If you drive anyway

The model motor terms of the German insurers' association (AKB D.1.1.3) only allow the car to be used on public roads with the required licence. Driving without one breaches this duty knowingly, and the insurer is released from paying.

For liability, § 5 of the Compulsory Motor Insurance Ordinance caps this at 5,000 euros. The victim is paid in full, then the insurer reclaims up to 5,000 euros from you. Comprehensive cover has no such cap: you bear the damage to your own car entirely.

On top comes criminal law. Under § 21 StVG you face up to one year in prison or a fine. The same applies to a keeper who orders or allows someone to drive without a licence. In some cases the court can confiscate the car.

Deregister and let the policy rest

If you do not need the car during the blocking period, you can deregister it. The policy then switches to free dormant cover (Ruheversicherung) with liability and partial comprehensive if you had partial or full comprehensive before. The car must be kept in a garage or on an enclosed plot.

Dormant cover ends after the number of months stated in your terms, and the contract ends with it. With a long blocking period, check this first so your no-claims class does not slip into a gap unnoticed.

When you need to change nothing

If any licensed driver may already use your car and the family still needs it, leave the policy as it is. With a short one-month driving ban you rarely need to deregister, because the policy simply keeps running.

If an accident led to the revocation, for example under the influence of alcohol, your liability class is downgraded because of that claim. That is about the claim, not about the licence.

Step by step

  1. Check whether it is a driving ban or a revocation and how long the blocking period runs.
  2. Look up the agreed circle of drivers in your policy schedule.
  3. If others will drive, report the change straight away.
  4. If nobody needs the car, deregister it and check how long dormant cover lasts.
  5. Apply for a new licence in good time before the blocking period ends.

Checklist

  • End date of the blocking period noted
  • Circle of drivers matches the people who now drive
  • Car keys out of easy reach if temptation is high
  • Length of dormant cover checked in your terms
  • Costs for MPU and new licence budgeted

Common mistakes

  • Trying to cancel the policy because the licence is gone
  • Assuming the car is no longer insured at all
  • Letting your partner drive without updating the driver circle
  • Driving short trips yourself during the revocation

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Do I have to tell my insurer about the revocation?

The model terms have no separate duty for that.

You must report any change to the circle of drivers if others will drive from now on.

Can I cancel because of the revocation?

No, it creates no special right to cancel.

You can cancel at renewal, after a claim, after a premium increase or after selling the car.

Will my premium go up because of the revocation?

Revocation alone is not a rating factor in the model terms.

Premiums rise because of an accident that leads to a downgrade or a wider driver circle.

What applies to a driving ban instead of revocation?

The same for insurance: you may not drive during the ban.

After one to three months you get your licence back without a new application.

May I lend my car during the blocking period?

Yes, to drivers with a valid licence whom your policy allows.

A keeper who lets someone without a licence drive commits an offence.

Will I lose my no-claims class?

Not through the revocation.

If the policy rests longer after deregistration, the rules on interruptions in your terms apply.

Sources

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