German driver-training glossary — key terms in English.

An Ausbildungsfahrlehrer is a German driving instructor with a special qualification under the Driving Instructor Act (FahrlG, § 16) who is authorised to supervise instructor candidates during their practical training phase.

An Ausgleichsfahrt is an extra practice lesson booked to close a specific gap — for example after a weak special-purpose lesson or before the practical exam. It is not a legally defined lesson type.

The Autobahnfahrt is one of three German Sonderfahrt types in Klasse B: four mandatory hours on motorways or expressways. It covers on/off ramps, lane changes, speed handling, and following distance.

An AVV is the GDPR Article 28 data processing agreement between a controller (e.g. a driving school) and a processor (e.g. RoadReview). It defines purpose, safeguards, and responsibilities for handling personal data.

B197 is Germany's Code 197 manual-transmission allowance: pass the practical exam in an automatic, complete at least 10 manual-driving lessons and a manual sign-off, and receive a full Klasse B with manual privileges.

Beobachtungspflicht is the German concept of a continuous duty to observe traffic — mirrors, shoulder checks, surroundings. Failing to do so is graded as a safety-relevant defect in the Klasse B practical exam.

BF17 — Begleitetes Fahren ab 17 — is the German Accompanied Driving programme: a Klasse B driving licence at age 17, followed by mandatory accompaniment by registered experienced drivers until the 18th birthday.

A DATEV export produces a posting batch in the DATEV format (formerly EXTF) as CSV, usually bundled with receipt PDFs, for import at the tax adviser. It is a plain file export, not a direct cloud transfer to DATEV.

Driving-school management software digitises a school's back-office work: master data, student intake, scheduling, invoicing, staff and documents — one central cockpit instead of spreadsheets and disconnected tools.

Driving-school software is a digital platform that runs a driving school's operations — student records, scheduling, theory and practical training, invoicing, fleet and communication in a single system.

The Durchfallquote is the share of failed exams per first attempt in Germany. The Klasse B practical exam ran around 38 percent in 2024, with theory above 35 percent — both rising trends.

An e-invoice is a structured electronic invoice per EN 16931 whose data is machine-readable — not just a PDF image. Since 1 Jan 2025 German B2B businesses must be able to receive them, with issuing duties phasing in.

An e-signature is electronic data used to sign. Its requirements depend on the document; eIDAS distinguishes electronic, advanced and qualified signatures.

Exam management records theory and practical exams per student and training enrolment: date, examining organisation, attempt number and result. It supports organising and documenting exam attempts.

Fahrlehrerverbände are the professional bodies representing driving instructors in Germany — at federal-state and federal level (BVF). They handle training, advocacy, and collective-bargaining work.

The Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV) is Germany's Driving Licence Ordinance — the legal framework covering acquisition, retention, and revocation of driving licences, from category definitions to MPU and probationary period.

Fleet management covers running a driving school's vehicles: master data and licence classes per car, mileage, fuel and cost accounting, plus OBD fault-memory warnings captured during lessons.

Geofencing defines virtual zones on a map. A system configured for this purpose can trigger an action when a device enters or leaves a zone, such as displaying a notification.

GPS tracking uses satellite positioning to record vehicle locations. In a driving-school context it powers location-aware lesson documentation — for example, RoadReview's geo-feedback view.

Grundfahraufgaben are the mandatory manoeuvres in the German Klasse B practical exam, set out in Annex 7 FeV — for example reverse cornering, parking, emergency braking, and turning in a tight space.

Innerortsfahrt means driving within built-up areas. Training and exam tasks include traffic observation, lane changes, turns and interactions with other road users.

Klasse B is Germany's standard car driving licence: motor vehicles up to 3.5 t gross weight, max. 8 passenger seats, plus trailers up to 750 kg. Available from 17 (BF17) or 18 onwards.

A licensing model determines how driving-school software is billed — per instructor seat, per school, or per student. Each model creates different incentives around growth and capacity utilisation.

The MPU (Medizinisch-Psychologische Untersuchung) is Germany's authority-ordered Medical-Psychological Assessment — typically required after a licence is revoked. It evaluates driving fitness, self-reflection, and risk behaviour.

Multi-tenancy (in German Mandantenfähigkeit) means software that serves many customers (tenants) on one shared instance while strictly isolating their data. Each driving school sees only its own records.

A Nachschulung is a post-licence training course in Germany — either ordered by the authority or voluntary. Examples include the ASF aftermath seminar for novice drivers and traffic-psychology counselling.

The Nachtfahrt is one of the three German Sonderfahrt types in Klasse B: three mandatory hours at dusk or in darkness. It trains beam-switching, eye adaptation, and reduced-visibility behaviour.

The OBD fault memory is the part of on-board diagnostics that stores a vehicle's standardised trouble codes (DTCs). In the fleet view, open codes show as a warning badge — a pointer to a due workshop check.

OFSA 2 refers to the second stage of the Optimised Driving School Training reform proposed by Germany's federal transport ministry. Status, scope, and timing vary by source — no binding nationwide date is set as of this writing.

Online enrolment lets prospects register with a driving school through a digital page. Licence-class selection, admission decisions and documents depend on the process configured by the school.

The German Probezeit is a two-year probationary period after a first driving licence is issued. Violations are categorised as A or B and may trigger an aftermath seminar, an extension of the period, or revocation.

The Prüfungsfahrt is the German Klasse B practical driving exam: at least 45 minutes of driving on a route chosen by the examiner, plus basic-driving manoeuvres. Scored under Annex 7 FeV.

Exam readiness is a professional assessment of training progress before an exam. It cannot be established solely from a fixed lesson count or an app value.

The student file brings together training data and documents for each learner, such as instruction, documents and exams. The statutory training record is one part of this documentation.

A Schulterblick is a direct look over the shoulder into the blind spot. It supplements mirror checks, for example when pulling away, changing lanes and turning.

SEPA direct debit is a pull-based payment method: with a signed mandate, the payee collects due amounts from the payer's account. In a driving school it lets the school collect students' open invoices automatically.

Safe following distance is the distance to the vehicle ahead that normally allows stopping behind it even if it brakes suddenly (Section 4 StVO).

Sonderfahrten are Germany's legally required special-purpose driving lessons in Klasse B: five overland, four motorway, three at dawn or in darkness. Each is 45 minutes.

A Sprachmemo is a short audio note. In RoadReview Mobile, it preserves the instructor’s explanation of a documented situation for later lesson review.

A Standardstunde is a regular practical basic-training lesson without special-purpose status. The amount of practice and next learning goals depend on training progress.

Telematics combines telecommunications and information technology, for example to transmit and analyse location and vehicle data. RoadReview uses such data to document driving lessons.

The Theorieprüfung is the German computer-based knowledge exam taken before the practical exam. Klasse B: 30 questions, max. 10 error points (fail at 11), about 45 minutes.

Klasse B candidates in Germany must complete 14 theory double-lessons: twelve on shared subject matter and two specific to Klasse B. Each double-lesson runs 90 minutes.

“TÜV quality audit” is used for inspections of a driving school. Statutory supervision under Section 51 FahrlG rests with the competent state authority and covers records, equipment and training quality.

The Überlandfahrt is one of the three German Sonderfahrt types in Klasse B: five mandatory hours on federal, state, or county roads. Focus areas are higher speeds, overtaking, and curve anticipation.

A Wiederholungsprüfung is a retake of the German theory or practical driving exam after a fail. The earliest retake is normally two weeks later. Most schools require additional practice lessons before a practical retake.

ZUGFeRD (and its French twin Factur-X) is a hybrid e-invoice format: a PDF/A-3 document with embedded, EN 16931-compliant XML. People read the PDF, accounting systems read the structured data set.