Cannabis is legal in Germany. Driving on it is a different question.

Adults in Germany may now use cannabis, but road traffic law has its own limit, and it is measured in your blood, not in how you feel. The limit is low enough that a joint the evening before can still show up, and the consequences are the same as for drink-driving: a fine, a ban and points, or a criminal case if it affected your driving.

1. The limit: 3.5 ng/ml THC

Driving a motor vehicle with 3.5 nanograms or more of THC per millilitre of blood serum is an administrative offence (§ 24a(1a) StVG). It does not matter whether you felt fine or drove well. The limit replaced a much lower threshold in 2024.

THC breaks down far more slowly than alcohol, and how long it stays above the limit varies a great deal from person to person, especially for regular users. There is no reliable rule of thumb for "safe to drive after X hours".

2. Fines, bans and points

Under the national fines catalogue, the standard penalties are:

• First offence: €500, a one-month driving ban and two points.
• With one earlier entry for alcohol or drugs at the wheel: €1,000 and three months.
• With several earlier entries: €1,500 and three months.

The ban is a Fahrverbot: you keep your licence but hand it in for the period. How to time it is in our guide to the Fahrverbot, and how the points expire is in our guide to Flensburg points.

3. Zero for new drivers and under-21s

In the probationary period, and for anyone under 21, the rule is simpler: no THC at the wheel at all, the same as the zero rule for alcohol (§ 24c StVG). The standard fine is €250 and one point. For probationary drivers it also usually means an advanced seminar and a longer probationary period. Above 3.5 ng/ml, the general penalties above apply as well.

4. Cannabis and alcohol together

If you are over the THC limit and have also been drinking, the fine doubles: the standard penalty is €1,000 and a one-month ban, rising to €1,500 or €2,000 and three months with earlier entries (§ 24a(2a) StVG). This applies even if the alcohol alone was under 0.5 ‰. At 0.5 ‰ and above, see our guide to drink-driving.

5. When it becomes a crime

Driving while unable to drive safely because of "alcohol or other intoxicating substances" is a crime under § 316 StGB, punishable by a fine or up to a year in prison. For cannabis there is no fixed value that makes you unfit; it turns on signs that the drug affected you, such as erratic driving, an accident, or what the police and the doctor taking the blood sample noted.

As with alcohol, a criminal case usually means the court withdraws the licence and sets a period before you may apply for a new one. Many of these cases are decided by a penalty order sent by post, with two weeks to object; see our guide to the Strafbefehl.

6. The licence authority and the MPU

Separately from the fine, the licensing authority can review whether you are fit to drive. For cannabis, a medical-psychological assessment (MPU) is ordered where there are signs of cannabis misuse, after repeated offences under cannabis influence, or before a licence that was withdrawn for those reasons is reissued (§ 13a FeV). Offences only against the zero rule for new drivers do not count towards the "repeated" test.

The MPU is a separate procedure with its own letters. Take any letter from the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde seriously, and read it with someone who knows the procedure.

7. At the roadside

Saliva or urine tests at a traffic stop are generally voluntary. Refusing usually leads to a blood sample instead, which the police can have taken without your consent (§ 81a StPO). The blood result is what counts.

You do not have to answer questions about when or how much you consumed. Statements like "I smoke regularly" or "only at weekends" can matter later to the licence authority, not just to the fine.

8. Medical cannabis, bikes and e-scooters

• Medical cannabis. The THC limit does not apply if the THC comes from taking a medicine prescribed for a specific illness as directed (§ 24a(4) StVG). You still must not drive if you are actually impaired, and carrying the prescription helps.
• E-scooters count as motor vehicles, so the car rules apply.
• Bicycles are not motor vehicles, so the 3.5 ng/ml limit does not apply. Riding while unfit is still a crime under § 316 StGB, and it can still prompt questions about your car licence.

9. What to do next