Tools
Driving in Germany
The rules of the road as our desk recorded them, native unit first.
Right
50 / 100 / 130 km/h · 31 / 62 / 81 mph
urban / rural / motorway
Not required
EU, UK and US licences are valid for visits; an IDP is only needed for licences not in the Latin alphabet.
0.05% (0.00% for drivers under 21 or with under two years of licence)
No tolls for cars on the autobahn network. Lorries pay; passenger cars do not.
Not required by day, though widely used.
Mandatory under 150 cm or 12 years; rentals stock them.
About half the autobahn network has no general speed limit, but the 130 km/h advisory speed matters legally - exceed it and your liability in an accident increases regardless of fault. Low-emission zones (Umweltzone) cover most city centres and require a windscreen sticker; rentals usually have one, but confirm it.