B196: The 125cc upgrade for motorists – all the facts

B196 is no licence of one's own, but a code that will be added to your car driving licence (category B) (§ 6b FeV). With it, you are allowed to Light motorcycles up to 125 cm³, 11 kW and 0.1 kW/kg drive – the same machines as with A1. The prerequisites: at least 25 years old and for at least 5 years hold a category B licence. Instead of taking tests, you complete a Driver training of at least 9 sessions of 90 minutes each (at least 4 theory + 5 practical, practical as one-to-one training). At the end there is a certificate of attendance – which is Valid for 1 year, within this time you must have the registration done at the driving licence authority. B196 does not trigger a new probationary period.

As of July 2026: B196 is valid exclusively in Germany (§ 6b FeV) – even on holiday just across the border, you are not allowed to ride a 125cc motorcycle with it. Austria does not recognise the German endorsement (and vice versa, Germany does not recognise the Austrian Code 111). The outlook: The new EU driving licence directive (which entered into force at the end of 2025) provides for the first time for a Europe-wide harmonised A1 licence extension with mutual recognition. However, until this becomes applicable law, member states must implement it nationally – realistically at the earliest 2028/2029. Until then, anyone who regularly wants to drive abroad is well advised to use the real A1 better served.

Here lies the second major catch: No. B196 counts legally not as prior licence holding a motorcycle category – the tiered progression (A1 → A2 → A) is only open to actual A1 license holders (§ 15 FeV). If you want to move up to A1 or A2 later, you take the regular extension training with theory and practical examination. Your B196 training hours will also not be credited by law – of course you still benefit practically: experience shows that anyone who already rides a 125cc bike safely needs fewer training lessons. A reform of this rule has been debated for years, but nothing has been decided. Rule of thumb for the decision: B196 for commuting in Germany, A1/A2 for everything that's to come afterwards.

An honest question that deserves an honest answer: The 9 sessions of 90 minutes each are a compact, legally defined introductory course – with at least 5 sessions One-to-one practical training you learn the basics properly: balance, braking, cornering, city traffic. What is missing is what test preparation forces: many repetitions under changing conditions. Whether you are safe on the road afterwards depends heavily on you: anyone who only takes the compulsory lessons and starts straight into rush hour traffic has fewer reserves than someone who voluntarily two or three extra lessons or deliberately rides on quiet routes for the first few weeks. At the end of the training, a good driving instructor will tell you honestly where you stand – take this assessment seriously. The certificate is given for completion; the safety you provide yourself.

No. B196 is not a separate driving licence category, but an extension of your existing category B – that is why with it no new probationary period (Section 2a StVG only applies when acquiring a driving licence for the very first time). Anyone who has long since completed their probationary period – practically always the case with at least 5 years of category B as a prerequisite for B196 – therefore rides the 125cc motorbike without any probationary period restrictions. Naturally, all other rules continue to apply, from the helmet to the blood alcohol limit.