European digital driving licence
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.
History
[edit]| European Union directive | |
| Text with EEA relevance | |
 | |
| Title | Directive (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 under | Art. 91(1) TFEU |
| Journal reference | OJ L, 2025/2205 |
| History | |
| European Parliament vote | 21 October 2025[1] |
| Council Vote | 2 October 2025[2] |
| Date made | 22 October 2025 |
| Entry into force | 25 November 2025 |
| Implementation date | 26 November 2028 |
| Applies from | 26 November 2029 |
| Preparative texts | |
| Commission proposal | 1 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
[edit]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
[edit]- ↑ "Modernising EU driving rules to increase road safety | News | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ↑ "Procedure File: 2023/0053(COD) | Legislative Observatory | European Parliament". oeil.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ "EU approves new driving licence rules". Euro Weekly News. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ↑ "The mobile Driving License manual - EU Digital Identity Wallet -". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 22 September 2025.