Caught drink-driving in Germany? Here is what happens next.

Germany treats drink-driving on two tracks. Below a certain level it is an administrative offence with a fine, points and a short driving ban. Above it, or with any sign that the alcohol affected your driving, it becomes a crime, and the question stops being how long you cannot drive and becomes whether you keep your licence at all.

1. The limits: 0.0, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.1

German limits are measured in per mille (‰) of alcohol in the blood.

• 0.0 ‰ for drivers in their probationary period and anyone under 21 (§ 24c StVG).
• 0.3 ‰ is enough for a criminal offence if the alcohol shows in your driving or you cause an accident.
• 0.5 ‰ is the general limit. Reaching it is an administrative offence even if you drove perfectly (§ 24a StVG).
• 1.1 ‰ is where courts treat any driver of a motor vehicle as unfit to drive, whatever their driving looked like. That is a crime.

2. 0.5 and above: the administrative offence

Between 0.5 and 1.1 ‰, with no signs of impaired driving and no accident, the case is handled as an administrative offence. Under the national fines catalogue the first one generally means a €500 fine, a one-month driving ban and two points in Flensburg. A second rises to €1,000 and three months, a third to €1,500 and three months.

The ban is a Fahrverbot: you keep your licence and hand it in for the period. How and when that starts, and how to time it, is covered in our guide to the Fahrverbot. The points follow the rules in our guide to Flensburg points.

Novice drivers and under-21s caught above 0.0 ‰ face a separate fine and a point, and for probationary drivers an advanced seminar and a longer probationary period.

3. When it becomes a crime

Driving while unfit through alcohol is a criminal offence under § 316 StGB, punishable by a fine or up to a year in prison. It applies from 1.1 ‰, or from 0.3 ‰ when there are signs the alcohol affected you: weaving, missing a red light, an accident. If other people or significant property were put in danger, the more serious offence of endangering road traffic under § 315c StGB can apply.

The consequence that matters most is not the fine. In a criminal case the court normally withdraws the licence altogether (§ 69 StGB) and sets a period, usually between six months and five years, before you may apply for a new one (§ 69a StGB). The licence does not come back automatically when that period ends; you apply again.

Many of these cases are decided by a penalty order sent by post rather than at a hearing. It becomes final after two weeks unless you object; see our guide to the Strafbefehl before you pay or ignore one.

4. At the roadside

The preliminary breath test at a traffic stop is generally voluntary. Declining it usually means the police order a blood sample instead, which can be taken without your consent (§ 81a StPO). The blood test, not the roadside device, is normally the evidence a court relies on.

You have the right not to make statements about the offence. What you say at the roadside about when and how much you drank ends up in the file, and it is often what decides the difficult cases: a drink shortly before driving, or after. Defence lawyers generally advise saying nothing about the facts until they have seen the file.

5. 1.6 and the MPU

At 1.6 ‰ or more, or after repeated alcohol offences, the licensing authority will normally require a medical-psychological assessment (MPU) before issuing a new licence (§ 13 FeV). People call it the "idiot test". It is an assessment of whether you are likely to drink and drive again, and many fail the first time because they arrive unprepared. Preparation often starts long before the ban ends.

6. Foreign licences, bikes and e-scooters

• Foreign licence. A German court cannot cancel a licence issued abroad, but it can take away your right to use it in Germany (§ 69b StGB). The practical effect here is the same.
• E-scooters count as motor vehicles, so the car limits apply.
• Bicycles. Courts treat cyclists as absolutely unfit from 1.6 ‰, and lower with signs of impairment. It is still a crime, and it can still lead to an MPU and questions about your car licence.

7. What to do next