26 km/h over the limit in Germany: fine, point and the repeat rule
On its own this band costs money and a point; a second offence of the same size within a year usually adds a driving ban.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
26 km/h and the repeat rule
Total including fees
€178.50
| Excess after tolerance | 26 km/h |
| Points | 1 |
| Driving ban | none |
| Probation | A offence |
Driving a car 26 to 30 km/h too fast in Germany costs €150 outside towns and €180 in a built-up area, each with one Flensburg point and no driving ban. The catch is Section 4(2) of the fine catalogue ordinance (BKatV). If a fine for at least 26 km/h over has already become final and you exceed the limit by 26 km/h or more again within one year of that date, German law treats it as persistent misconduct. The usual result is a one-month Fahrverbot, a temporary driving ban, on top of the fine. Outside towns the second notice then comes to €178.50 with fees, another point and a month without driving. A first offence of only 25 km/h does not count. On a 100 km/h road, a reading of 129 km/h becomes 25 km/h over after the 3 per cent tolerance, while 130 km/h becomes 26.
A band that remembers your history
Viewed alone, 26 km/h over is just another step up the table: €150 outside towns, one point, no ban. It is also the threshold at which German law starts looking at what you did before. Under Section 4(2) BKatV, two offences of at least 26 km/h within a year count as persistent misconduct (beharrliche Pflichtverletzung), and the standard result is a one-month ban, even though neither offence would earn one on its own. People who commute long distances on the Autobahn or on fast country roads meet this rule more than anyone.
How each case plays out
Every row except the first assumes an earlier final fine for at least 26 km/h over, less than a year old:
| Case | Fine | Total with fees | Points | Ban |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First offence, 26 km/h, outside towns | €150 | €178.50 | 1 | none |
| Second 26 km/h within a year, outside towns | €150 | €178.50 | 1 | 1 month |
| Second offence, only 25 km/h, outside towns | €100 | €128.50 | 1 | none |
| Second 26 km/h within a year, in town | €180 | €208.50 | 1 | 1 month |
| Second offence, 35 km/h, outside towns | €200 | €228.50 | 1 | 1 month |
The rule needs both offences to reach 26 km/h. A second offence at 25 km/h is fined normally. A second offence at 35 km/h outside towns, a band that carries no ban of its own, picks one up through this rule. Where the catalogue already sets a ban, the repeat rule does not lengthen it.
When the twelve months start
The window opens on the day the first decision becomes final. For a fine notice that nobody objects to, that is the end of the 2-week objection period after delivery. What then matters is the date of the second offence. This produces a gap that surprises people: two flashes on the outward and return legs of the same trip do not trigger the rule, because neither notice was final yet. It also means a fine from last spring can still count against an offence this spring if the first notice only became final in summer. If your post goes to an old address or to an employer for a company car, delivery and therefore finality may happen without your noticing, so keep track.
A worked example on the commute
Take an engineer who drives from Wiesbaden to Frankfurt each day. In February a camera on a 100 km/h stretch records 129 km/h. After the 3 per cent deduction that is 125 km/h, 25 km/h over: €100 and a point, but not a first strike. Had the reading been 130 km/h, it would have been 26 km/h over. Suppose that 26 km/h notice became final in April. If the same camera catches 26 km/h again the following March, the second notice lists €150, €28.50 in costs, one point and a one-month ban. In May, the window would have closed.
What the rule leaves out
The repeat rule is narrow. It covers speeding only, both offences at 26 km/h or more, the second after the first became final. A red-light fine or a phone fine does not count as a first strike for a later camera. Several fines in the 21 to 25 km/h band do not add up to one either. The ordinance does contain a broader notion of persistent misconduct in the sentence before, which lets an authority consider a ban when someone keeps offending, but that is a case-by-case judgement and no table can predict it.
Serving the ban
A repeat-rule ban works like any other under Section 25 StVG. With no ban in the two years before the offence, you may choose when to start it within 4 months of the decision becoming final, which suits most commuters who had only fines before. You hand your licence to the authority; an EU licence held by a German resident is handed in too. The driving ban guide covers the practical side.
In town and elsewhere
In a built-up area the band costs €180 with one point, and the repeat rule applies in exactly the same way, since it only counts km/h. A town offence can be the first strike for a motorway offence and the other way round. For the out-of-town picture, see speed cameras outside towns, and the next band on the page on 31 km/h over. The fine calculator has an option for an earlier offence of 26 km/h or more.