Driving bans in Germany: when they apply and how they work
A Fahrverbot suspends your right to drive for one to three months; you keep your licence and need no new test afterwards.
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When your driving ban starts
Latest start after the decision is final
4 months
| Choice of timing | yes, within the window |
| Length | 1 month |
A German driving ban, the Fahrverbot under Section 25 of the Road Traffic Act (StVG), stops you driving motor vehicles for one, two or three months and then ends on its own. The fine catalogue (BKatV) lists the standard cases: in a car, 31 km/h or more over the limit in a built-up area, 41 km/h or more outside towns, running a red light that had been red for over a second, using a phone and endangering someone, failing to form an emergency corridor, and driving with 0.5 per mille or more. If you had no ban in the two years before the offence, you may pick the start date yourself within 4 months of the decision becoming final. Otherwise the ban starts when you hand in your licence, at the latest one month after it becomes final. A ban always comes with two Flensburg points and the fine for the offence.
Which offences carry a ban
Section 4 of the fine catalogue ordinance names the offence numbers for which a ban is the standard consequence. Authorities and courts can depart from the rule in exceptional cases, but the default is clear. The cases expats run into most often:
| Offence | BKat no. | Fine | Ban |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 to 40 km/h over, built-up area, car | 11.3.6 | €260 | 1 month |
| 41 to 50 km/h over, outside towns, car | 11.3.7 | €320 | 1 month |
| Red light, red for more than 1 second | 132.3 | €200 | 1 month |
| Phone at the wheel, endangering others | 246.2 | €150 | 1 month |
| No emergency corridor (Rettungsgasse) | 50 | €200 | 1 month |
| 0.5 per mille or more, first time | 241 | €500 | 1 month |
For speeding, the length grows with the excess: in town two months from 51 km/h over and three months from 61 km/h; outside towns two months from 61 km/h and three from 71 km/h. Every band is set out on the page about speeding fines in Germany.
The repeat rule that surprises newcomers
Germany also bans drivers who keep breaking the same rule. If a fine for going at least 26 km/h too fast has become final and you exceed the limit by 26 km/h or more again within twelve months, a one-month ban is the norm (Section 4(2) BKatV). Neither offence would trigger a ban on its own outside towns. Many people who commute on the Autobahn meet this rule after a second camera flash; the page on 26 km/h over walks through one such case.
Timing: the four-month window
For a first ban in two years, the notice says the ban takes effect at the latest 4 months after it becomes final. Until you surrender the licence, you may drive. People use this to fit the ban into a stretch of parental leave, remote work or a long trip by train. If you had a ban in the previous two years, there is no window: the ban begins when you hand in your licence and no later than one month after the decision is final. Either way the clock only starts on the day the authority holds the licence.
Two bans in a row
Separate bans never run at the same time. Section 25(4) StVG makes them consecutive, so a two-month and a one-month ban mean three months without driving. Offences committed in one single act are treated differently: only the highest fine applies under Section 3(5) BKatV, and the bans are not stacked.
Practical steps once the notice arrives
The fine notice (Bußgeldbescheid) has to explain when the ban takes effect. Read that sentence first. If you do nothing, the notice becomes final two weeks after delivery and the window starts. Send the licence to the authority named in the notice, ideally by registered post, and keep proof of the date. Plan transport for the period: German public transport passes such as the monthly Deutschlandticket are an option many residents use. When the period ends, the licence is returned, by post if you ask for it.
When your driving ban starts
Latest start after the decision is final
4 months
| Choice of timing | yes, within the window |
| Length | 1 month |
Points and costs that come with it
Every standard ban case is listed among the offences worth two points in annex 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance, so a ban always adds two points in Flensburg. The fine itself is joined by the procedure costs under Section 107 OWiG: five per cent of the fine with a minimum of €25, plus €3.50 for delivery. For 31 km/h over in town this gives €288.50. To see where you stand, use the guide to Flensburg points or run your own case in the fine calculator.
Bans and the probationary period
New drivers in their Probezeit, the two-year probation that starts with a first licence, face a second track. Most ban offences are A offences under annex 12 of the ordinance, which means a remedial course and two extra years of probation on top of the ban. Moving to Germany with a licence from another EU country does not avoid this: the probation applies to residents and the time since you passed your test is credited. The rules are explained on the probationary licence page.