European digital driving licence

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The European digital driving licence is a project for a standardised digital driving licence, stored on digital devices like smartphones and valid throughout the European Union and other participating countries.

Contents

History

Regulation 2025/2205
European Union regulation
Text with EEA relevance
Flag of Europe.svg
TitleDirective (EU) 2025/2205 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2025 on driving licences, amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2012
Made by European Parliament and Council of the European Union
Made underArt. 91(1) TFEU
Journal reference OJ L, 2025/2205
History
European Parliament vote21 October 2025 [1]
Council Vote2 October 2025 [2]
Date made22 October 2025
Entry into force25 November 2025
Implementation date26 November 2028
Applies from26 November 2029
Preparative texts
Commission proposal1 March 2023 [3]
Other legislation
Replaces Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
Current legislation

On 21 October 2025, the European Parliament approved the creation of a European digital driving licence with the adoption of Directive (EU) 2025/2205 (also unofficially called the 4th European Driving Licence Directive ), [4] according to the internationally recognized ISO standard (ISO/IEC 18013-5) and compatible with the upcoming EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) in accordance with eIDAS 2.0. [5] This is a standardised European digital driving licence.

Preceding digital (mobile) driving licence implementations

In July 2019, Norway was the first EU/EEA country to issue a mobile version of its driving licence using a proprietary app on a nationwide basis. This was preceded by limited trial in Finland from 2018-2020. Since then, mobile driving licences have been available in Austria, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Spain. These digital/mobile driving licences all have proprietary implementations and are not valid outside their issuing country,[ citation needed ] as they are not compliant with the current European driving licence rules before the changes of 2025 come into force.

References

  1. "Modernising EU driving rules to increase road safety | News | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  2. "Procedure File: 2023/0053(COD) | Legislative Observatory | European Parliament". oeil.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  3. Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on driving licences, amending Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2012, 2023, retrieved 24 November 2025
  4. "EU approves new driving licence rules". Euro Weekly News. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  5. "The mobile Driving License manual - EU Digital Identity Wallet -". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 22 September 2025.