The alcohol limits in Germany: which one applies to you
Germany has five alcohol thresholds rather than one, and the one that counts depends on your vehicle, your age and how long you have held a licence.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Which limit applies to you?
A fine applies from
0.5 ‰
| Crime if impaired | 0.3 ‰ |
| Crime in any case | 1.1 ‰ |
| MPU | 1.6 ‰ |
The main drink-driving limit in Germany is 0.5 per mille in the blood, or 0.25 mg/l in breath, and it applies to anyone driving a motor vehicle: a car, a motorbike or an e-scooter. Below it, there is a lower line at 0.3 per mille, from which a criminal case is possible if you drive erratically or cause an accident. Drivers in their 2-year probation and everyone under 21 must not drink at all before or while driving, which is usually described as a zero limit. From 1.1 per mille every driver of a motor vehicle is treated as unfit to drive, and from 1.6 the licensing authority orders an MPU assessment. Cyclists have no 0.5 limit; for them, riding becomes a crime at 1.6 per mille, or from 0.3 with unsafe riding. For comparison, 0.5 per mille equals 50 mg per 100 ml of blood.
Five lines, not one
Visitors often ask what "the" German limit is. The honest answer is that there are several. Two come from the Road Traffic Act: the 0.5 per mille line in Section 24a and the zero rule for new drivers in Section 24c. The 0.3, 1.1 and 1.6 lines were developed by the courts when applying Section 316 of the Criminal Code, and the German police prevention programme lists them in its guidance. The 1.6 line also appears in the Driving Licence Ordinance as the trigger for an MPU.
| Line | Car, motorbike, e-scooter | New driver or under 21 | Bicycle, e-bike |
|---|---|---|---|
| zero | no consequence | offence: €250, 1 point | no consequence |
| 0.3 per mille | crime if driving impaired | crime if driving impaired | crime if riding impaired |
| 0.5 per mille / 0.25 mg/l | fine €500, ban | fine €500, ban | no specific limit |
| 1.1 per mille | crime in every case | crime in every case | crime if riding impaired |
| 1.6 per mille / 0.8 mg/l | crime, MPU | crime, MPU | crime in every case, MPU |
This page is about where the lines fall and whom they bind. The fines for repeat offences, the period without a licence after a conviction and the points are covered on the drink-driving penalties page.
Units: per mille, per cent and mg/l
Germany states blood alcohol in per mille (Promille), grams of alcohol per kilogram of blood. 0.5 per mille is 0.05 per cent, or 50 mg per 100 ml, A limit quoted at home in milligrams per 100 millilitres or in per cent can be converted this way; check your home country's rule in its official source rather than in a summary. Breath readings are given in milligrams per litre. For the fine limit and the MPU threshold, the law sets both values side by side: 0.25 mg/l alongside 0.5 per mille, and 0.8 mg/l alongside 1.6. The criminal thresholds have no breath equivalent, which is why a blood sample is taken in criminal cases. If you are used to reading a breathalyser at home in a different unit, convert before you compare, and remember that a home device is no evidence for a German authority.
The zero rule: who exactly
Section 24c of the Road Traffic Act covers two groups. The first is everyone in the probation period (Probezeit), the first 2 years after a first licence, extended by 2 years after a remedial course. The second is everyone under 21, however long they have been driving. The text has no number; it forbids drinking while driving and starting a drive under the influence of alcohol. "Zero" is the practical result.
For newcomers, this has a twist. If you passed your test in another EU country less than 2 years before moving, German probation applies for the remaining time, and with it the zero rule. The probationary licence page explains how the remaining time is worked out. The rule covers motor vehicles only, so a new driver on a bicycle is bound by the general cycling lines instead.
0.3: the line that catches people out
Many drivers treat 0.5 as a safe ceiling. It is not. From 0.3 per mille, a criminal case is possible if there is evidence that alcohol affected the driving: drifting across lanes, hitting a parked car, slow reactions at a check. The line applies to every vehicle, including bicycles. A minor accident at 0.4 can therefore end in court even though no fine limit was reached.
0.5 and the accompanied driver
Section 24a applies to all motor vehicles: cars, vans, motorbikes, mopeds, e-scooters and fast e-bikes with assistance up to 45 km/h. Reaching the limit is enough for €500, a one-month ban and two points, without any sign of impairment. A breath test on approved equipment at the police station is sufficient evidence for this offence.
Families using Germany's accompanied driving scheme from age 17 should know that the named adult companion is bound too. Under Section 48a(6) of the Driving Licence Ordinance, the companion may not accompany the young driver with 0.5 per mille, 0.25 mg/l or 3.5 ng/ml of THC or more.
1.1 and 1.6: absolute unfitness and the MPU
From 1.1 per mille, anyone driving a motor vehicle is treated as unable to drive safely, with no further proof needed; driving is then a crime under Section 316 of the Criminal Code. For cyclists the same line sits at 1.6. Separately, Section 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance requires an MPU from anyone who drove "a vehicle" at 1.6 per mille or 0.8 mg/l or more. A bicycle is a vehicle, so a late ride home at 1.7 can lead to the authority reviewing your car licence. The MPU page explains the assessment.
Which limit applies to you?
A fine applies from
0.5 ‰
| Crime if impaired | 0.3 ‰ |
| Crime in any case | 1.1 ‰ |
| MPU | 1.6 ‰ |
Cannabis and mixed use
THC has its own limit of 3.5 ng/ml in blood serum, also in Section 24a. Above it, any alcohol at the wheel is banned, with higher fines than for alcohol alone, and under-21s and new drivers must have no THC at all. See the cannabis driving page.
Five people, five answers
- A 20-year-old exchange student driving on a US licence is under 21, so the zero rule applies whatever the home state allows. One beer before driving means €250 and a point.
- A 29-year-old engineer who moved from Madrid with an 18-month-old licence is on probation for the remaining six months and bound by the zero rule until it ends.
- A 50-year-old manager at 0.4 per mille who clips a bollard leaving a restaurant car park is below the fine limit, but the collision can be treated as an alcohol-related driving error under the criminal law.
- A commuter on a rental e-scooter at 0.7 after a beer festival pays €500, gets two points and a one-month ban that covers the car as well.
- A parent acting as the named companion for a 17-year-old must stay below 0.5 per mille, or the young driver is driving without a valid companion.
The question "how much can I drink?" has no single answer in Germany. It depends on age, licence history and vehicle, which is why many residents simply separate drinking from driving altogether.
Professional drivers and company cars
German road traffic law has no separate, lower limit for lorry, bus or taxi drivers; the same five lines apply to them. Employers often go further. Company car policies and works agreements commonly set a zero rule during working hours, and breaking it can lead to a warning or dismissal even when no fine is due. If your contract comes with a car, read that clause, because it is easy to assume the national limit is the only one that matters. For anyone who drives for a living, a ban or the loss of a licence is also a direct threat to the job, which is one more reason the thresholds deserve a margin.
Pedestrians and passengers
German traffic law sets no alcohol limit for pedestrians or ordinary passengers. That does not remove liability: a drunk pedestrian who causes a crash can be held responsible for the damage. Passengers become relevant only as a named companion in accompanied driving. To check what a specific reading means, use the blood alcohol calculator, which starts from the value rather than from a list of drinks.