I knew I had six months to transfer my drivers license from an American one to a German one, but until now, I've had more important priorities. I thought it was silly to switch my license before I got my permission to work, because if I wasn't able to work, I would have to go back to the States and wouldn't need a German drivers license. Once I got my permission to work, I was so busy planning the lessons for my 30 hours of teaching each week, that I didn't have time to worry about much else.
Knowing that Nov 16 (my six-month mark) wasn't too far off, Alfons suggested I start studying for the driving test in early September. (My Indiana license only exempts me from the practical, on-road driving test, but not the written one. Thank goodness they offer the written test in English, although I still have to be able to read the German road signs.) So I bought a training CD in mid-September and started to go through the 900+ questions I have to master for the test. I thought studying would be the most time-intensive part, so that's where I stopped...for a bit.
Last week, Alfons suggested I go to the local county driving office to find out how the license transfer process works since he couldn't get any answers online or over the phone. So his sister and I went to the driving office (similar to the BMV) at 7am on Thursday when they opened. Luckily, we were the first ones in line, so we only had to wait a few minutes for the staff to get ready for business, then his sister explained my situation to the worker. While I couldn't understand what they were saying in German, I knew it wasn't good because their body language was not what I wanted to see. After a few minutes of wondering what was happening, his sister finally turned to me and said, there's a lot to do and the lady doesn't think you can get it done in four weeks by Nov 16. :-(
It turned out there were several steps including;
1) Get a paper stamped by the foreign office where I got my residence permit
2) Have my American drivers license translated by a certified translator
3) Return those items to the driving office to wait for an approval to take the written test
4) Schedule the written test (after approval)
5) Take the written test
6) Wait for the results to be returned to the driving office
7) Wait for the driving office to process the results and make my license
8) Pick up license!
The worker at the driving office said each step averages two weeks, and that it would be VERY unlikely that I get my license by the Nov 16 deadline.
While we knew the probable outcome, we wanted to get the process started as soon as we left the driving office that day, so we went across the street to the foreign office, but of course they didn't open until 8:30 and it was only 7:20. Alfons' sister needed to get to work, so she couldn't wait any longer. I suggested we knock on the door just to see if anyone was working early and sure enough, there was someone!!! She wasn't quick to help us, but once we explained that all we needed was a little stamp and five minutes of her time, she obliged. Step 1 complete!!!
Then Alfons' sister called the local auto club that does translations (since the driving office suggested this route), but they said it really would take nearly two weeks to get the translation. About the same time she made that call, I remembered a friend of mine in Stuttgart works for a translation company. Surely they have a "certified translator" for official government documents, I thought. So I contacted my friend that day (Thursday) and she said she could get me what I needed by Wednesday. Hallelujah!!! Step 2 in the works!!!
Sorry to end the story here, but that's as far as we've gotten...
I'm cautiously optimistic that we can expedite this process, although I'm already researching back-up ways to get to my training classes if I don't have a license for a few weeks. While I can work hard to speed up the first few steps of the process, I have no control over the length of time needed for the last few steps and will be at the mercy of the testing place and driving office.
Keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll be sure to post an updated story once the license is in-hand!
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