The workshop card is a tachograph card for
- authorized tachograph manufacturers,
- vehicle manufacturers,
- workshops, and
- their authorized specialists, such as installers and technicians.
Your authorized specialists use the workshop card to install, test, and calibrate digital tachographs and to download their data.
If you have lost your workshop card, you—as a business owner or as an authorized representative—can apply for a replacement card from the competent authority. To do so, you must submit a current certificate confirming the workshop’s accreditation or authorization to inspect tachographs. This certificate must not be more than 3 years old.
Your replacement workshop card remains valid until the same date as the lost original card—provided the original card would have been valid for more than 6 months. The validity period does not start over from the beginning.
However, if the remaining validity period of the card is less than 6 months, you will receive a renewed card. This card is then valid for another year.
Once the replacement card is issued, your previous card loses its validity. If you do find the workshop card again, you must return it to the relevant authority or the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). You may not continue to use it.
When applying for a replacement workshop card due to loss, your company must provide proof that the designated specialist is still employed by you and has been trained in accordance with the Tachograph Cards and Control Devices Training Guidelines. The training certificate must not be more than 3 years old.
The workshop card is PIN-protected. The specialist will receive their personal PIN number by mail at their home address. Specialists may possess only one workshop card per employment relationship and may use it only at that place of employment. The workshop card is the property of the company.
District administrations or municipal administrations of independent cities and large district-affiliated cities
