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What are the driving rules in each European country?

By Gallivanting GadaboutBuilt from official dataSource: European Commission (Your Europe), checked 5 Oct 2026Contains affiliate links
TL;DR

There are no EU-wide road traffic laws, but some rules apply in every EU country: everyone must wear a seat belt and drivers must not use a hand-held phone.1 Cyprus, Ireland and Malta drive on the left.1 Alcohol limits differ, and the table gives each country's exactly as the European Commission's pages list them.

Which rules apply in every EU country?

  • Seat belts must be worn in all vehicles.1
  • Using a hand-held phone while driving is forbidden.1
  • Cyprus, Ireland and Malta drive on the left.1
  • A fine for an offence abroad can be sent to you at home.1
  • Alcohol limits, speed limits, required safety equipment, daytime lights and winter tyres differ from country to country.1

What are the drink-driving limits in each country?

Alcohol limits are written exactly as each country's Your Europe page writes them, units included, so they are not all in the same unit. Speed limits are shown on those pages as road-sign pictures rather than text, so we do not copy them here: open the country's page, linked in its row's source, to see them.

Drink-driving limits by country, as listed on the European Commission's Your Europe pages
CountryAlcohol: standard driversAlcohol: novice driversPage last checked
Austria< 0,5 mg/ml20,1 mg/ml229/10/20242
Belgium0.5 mg/ml30.5 mg/ml318/09/20243
Bulgaria0,5 mg/ml40,5 mg/ml418/09/20244
Croatia0,5 mg/ml50,0 mg/ml518/09/20245
Cyprus0,5 mg/ml60,2 mg/ml618/09/20246
Czechia0,0 mg/ml70,0 mg/ml718/09/20247
Denmark0,5 mg/ml80,5 mg/ml824/04/20258
Estonia0,2 mg/ml90,2 mg/ml918/09/20249
Finland0,5 mg/ml100,5 mg/ml1018/09/202410
France0,5 mg/ml110,2 mg/ml1118/09/202411
Germany0.5 mg/ml (blood) or 0.25 mg/l (breath)12total ban (novice drivers in their probation period and drivers under 21)1201/07/202512
Greece0,5 mg/ml130,2 mg/ml1301/10/202613
Hungary0,0 mg/ml140,0 mg/ml1418/09/202414
Ireland0.5mg/ml150.2mg/ml1518/09/202415
Italy0,5 mg/ml160,0 mg/ml1618/09/202416
Latvia0,5 mg/ml170,2 mg/ml1718/09/202417
Liechtenstein0,8 g/l180,8 g/l1818/09/202418
Lithuania0,4 mg/ml190,0 mg/ml1924/04/202619
Luxembourg0,5 mg/ml200,2 mg/ml2018/09/202420
Malta0,5 mg/ml210,5 mg/ml2118/09/202421
Netherlands0,5 mg/ml220,2 mg/ml2218/09/202422
Norway0,2 g/l230,2 g/l2318/09/202423
Poland< 0,2 mg/ml24< 0,2 mg/ml2418/09/202424
Portugal0,5 mg/ml250,2 mg/ml2518/09/202425
Romania0,0 mg/ml260,0 mg/ml2618/09/202426
Slovakia0,0 mg/ml270,0 mg/ml2718/09/202427
Slovenia0.5 g/kg (blood) or 0.24 mg/l (breath)280.0 g/kg or 0.0 mg/l2818/09/202428
Spain0,5 mg/ml290,3 mg/ml2901/10/202629
Sweden0,2 mg/ml300,2 mg/ml3018/09/202430
Switzerland0,5 mg/ml310,1 mg/ml3118/09/202431

The Commission says these country pages are supplied by national authorities and points to national websites for the binding rules. This is not legal advice.

Which countries are not covered?

Your Europe has no road-rules page for Albania, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia or Türkiye, so they are not in the table. Check those countries' own official sites.

What this page cannot tell you

  • Pages are not all current. Each country's page shows the date it was last checked.
  • Speed limits are on the official pages as road signs; we do not copy them.

Related: Driving in Japan with a foreign licence · Emergency numbers in Europe and Japan.

Key takeaways

  • Seat belts and no hand-held phones are rules in every EU country; alcohol limits are in the table, speed limits on each country's official page.
  • Cyprus, Ireland and Malta drive on the left.
  • What we would skip: relying on any table, ours included, for a limit: check the country's official page before you drive.

Sources

Every limit comes from the European Commission's Your Europe pages, saved on 5 October 2026; each country's own page is cited in its row. See how we research.

  1. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety. Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  2. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Austria (last checked 29/10/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  3. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Belgium (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  4. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Bulgaria (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  5. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Croatia (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  6. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Cyprus (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  7. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Czechia (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  8. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Denmark (last checked 24/04/2025, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  9. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Estonia (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  10. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Finland (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  11. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: France (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  12. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Germany (last checked 01/07/2025, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  13. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Greece (last checked 01/10/2026, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  14. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Hungary (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  15. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Ireland (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  16. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Italy (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  17. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Latvia (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  18. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Liechtenstein (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  19. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Lithuania (last checked 24/04/2026, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  20. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Luxembourg (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  21. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Malta (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  22. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Netherlands (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  23. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Norway (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  24. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Poland (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  25. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Portugal (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  26. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Romania (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  27. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Slovakia (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  28. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Slovenia (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  29. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Spain (last checked 01/10/2026, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  30. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Sweden (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.
  31. European Commission, Your Europe, Road rules and safety: Switzerland (last checked 18/09/2024, as the page states). Read it. Accessed 5 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; we summarised it.

Changes made. We summarised the Commission's pages (CC BY 4.0) and arranged the drink-driving limits into one table, keeping each page's own wording and units. We list no fines and no speed limits.