Driving in Germany

What do I need to drive in Germany?

Checked 1 October 2026 in the StVO, the StVZO and the official fines catalogue · skynomad

For many of us Germany is the country between home and the Alps, and its rules are written down unusually clearly. Every rule on this page was checked on 30 September and 1 October 2026 in the federal road traffic regulations (StVO), the vehicle equipment regulations (StVZO) and the official fines catalogue (BKatV), or on official German and UK government pages; the sources are at the bottom.

Germany's speed limits, and the famous one that isn't

The Autobahn has no general speed limit, but deutschland.de, the federally backed portal, says 130 km/h is the advisory speed, and long stretches carry a posted limit anyway. The sign is what counts, and overhead signs can change it with the traffic.

The 100 km/h limit outside towns does not apply on roads with separated carriageways or two marked lanes each way; there, as on the Autobahn, the sign decides.

In fog, snow or rain that cuts visibility below 50 metres, the limit is 50 km/h on every road, Autobahn included. That is in the regulations, not just good advice.

Germany: priority to the right, and roundabouts

At a junction with no priority sign, traffic from the right has priority. This is the default in German towns and residential streets, and visitors from countries where the bigger road wins are the ones it catches. A yellow diamond sign means you are on the priority road. Where no sign or traffic light says otherwise, the car from the right goes first.

At a roundabout signed with the circular-arrows sign under a give-way sign, traffic already on the roundabout has priority, and you must not indicate when entering.

Germany: the emergency corridor

As soon as traffic on the Autobahn, or on any road outside towns with two or more lanes in your direction, slows to walking pace or stops, you must open a corridor for police and ambulances between the far-left lane and the lane next to it. In practice: in the left lane, move left; in every other lane, move right. Do it before the sirens arrive.

Failing to form the corridor costs €200 and a one-month driving ban, and €240 to €320 if you obstruct or endanger anyone or cause damage. Driving down the corridor yourself costs €240 and the same ban.

Germany: phones and speed-camera warnings

You may only use a phone or sat nav without picking it up or holding it, by voice or with a brief glance. Holding it costs €100; with danger to others, €150 and a one-month ban.

The rule on speed-camera warnings is stricter than most visitors expect. A dedicated radar or laser detector may not be used or even carried ready for use: €75. And on any other device, including your phone, the function that warns of speed checks must not be used while you drive. Turn the speed-camera alerts off in your navigation app before the border.

Germany: drink, drugs and the zero limit for new drivers

The limit is 0.5‰ of blood alcohol, 0.25 mg/l of breath. At or above it, a first offence costs €500 and a one-month driving ban; a second, €1,000 and three months. Drivers in their probationary period, and everyone under 21, must not drink at all before driving.

Germany legalised cannabis in 2024 and, from 22 August that year, set a driving limit: 3.5 ng/ml of THC in the blood serum, with the same €500 and one-month ban. Combining cannabis with alcohol is fined up to €5,000. For probationary drivers and under-21s the cannabis limit is zero too.

Germany: your licence and papers

An EU or EEA licence is valid in Germany. So is a UK photocard licence for a visit, with no International Driving Permit and no green card (a paper licence, or one from Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar, may need a permit). A UK car needs a UK sticker unless the plate shows UK with the Union flag, and its V5C (or the VE103 for a hire or leased car). A US licence can be used for up to six months, together with a German translation or an International Driving Permit.

Germany: the warning triangle, the vest and the first-aid kit

The StVZO, the vehicle equipment regulations, require a warning triangle, a high-visibility vest and a first-aid kit to the DIN 13164 standard, the 1998 or the 2014 edition. Those rules are written for German-registered cars, which is what most hire cars in Germany are; I found no official page that says whether they bind a car registered abroad. Carry all three anyway: on an Autobahn hard shoulder you will want the vest and the triangle whatever the law says.

If you break down, switch the hazard lights on straight away, then put the triangle out where approaching drivers can see it in time, about 100 metres back on a fast road. If the car has to be towed off the Autobahn, it must leave at the next exit. The emergency number is 112.

Germany: children in the car

Children under 12 and shorter than 150 cm must travel in a child restraint suited to them. If you are hiring, book the seats with the car.

Germany: tolls, stickers and the green zones

There is no vignette and no motorway toll for cars in Germany. The car toll the government planned was stopped by the EU's Court of Justice in 2019. Lorries over 3.5 tonnes pay by the kilometre; a motorhome not used to carry goods does not.

What you may need is the green Umweltplakette for the city low-emission zones. It is not needed to enter Germany, only to drive into an Umweltzone, where driving without one costs €100 under the federal fines catalogue, plus fees. The issuers set the price, usually €5 to €10, so a website charging several times that is a reseller. Which cities have a zone, and how to order the sticker.

Germany: dashcams

A dashcam that films continuously is not allowed under German data protection rules; short recordings triggered by an incident may be. Publishing footage that shows people or number plates is almost always unlawful.

Driving an electric car in Germany

Germany is a mid-priced country for ultra-fast charging, with a typical no-subscription price of about €0.72 a kWh, and it has more ultra-fast chargers than any other country in our ranking. Electra's app price there is €0.54. Fastned's 10% app discount does not apply in Germany. What charging costs across Europe, and on your route.