🛑 Driving ban and objection to a fine notice
In brief
A driving ban lasts one to three months. It takes effect only when the notice has become final and your driving licence is with the authority or the ban is entered in it. As a rule it takes effect at the latest one month after the notice becomes final; under certain conditions up to four months (§ 25 Abs. 3 StVG).
You can lodge an objection (Einspruch) against a fine notice within two weeks of delivery. You can do this in writing or by having it recorded at the authority. You can limit the objection to individual points.
Step by step
- Date the deliveryNote the day the notice reached you.
- Objection in writingSend it to the authority named in the notice, with proof of receipt.
- Get adviceAsk a lawyer or consumer advice centre whether the objection is worthwhile.
- Hand in your driving licenceIf the driving ban is final: hand your driving licence to the authority.
Deadlines
- The two-week period runs from delivery. Missing the deadline means the notice becomes final.
- If there are several driving bans, the periods are calculated one after the other.
- Since 1 June 2026 the four-month period is in § 25 Abs. 3 StVG (not in Abs. 2a; Abs. 2a governs official custody).
- Reinstatement after a missed deadline (Wiedereinsetzung) was not checked.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Objection (§ 67 OWiG)
The person concerned can lodge an objection against the fine notice within two weeks of delivery, in writing or by having it recorded at the administrative authority that issued the notice. They can limit it to individual points of complaint.
Driving ban (§ 25 StVG)
Duration one to three months. For certain administrative offences under § 24a it is usually to be ordered. It takes effect when the driving licence comes into official custody or the driving ban is noted in it within Germany, at the latest one month after the fine decision becomes final. Since 1 June 2026 (Act on the new regulation of the enforcement of driving bans), § 25 Abs. 3 StVG also applies. First-offender privilege: if no driving ban was final in the two years before the act (nor until the decision), the authority or court must determine that the driving ban takes effect at the latest four months after it becomes final (binding, no discretion). Start declaration: the person concerned can, by written or electronic declaration, name the start in the abstract in days, weeks or months within one to four months after the decision becomes final (§ 25 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 Buchst. a StVG); without a declaration it takes effect when four months have passed (Nr. 2 Buchst. b). The basic rule of § 25 Abs. 2 (one month) remains. Under Abs. 2a, German and (if resident in Germany) EU/EEA driving licences are taken into official custody, foreign driving licences are noted; those not handed over voluntarily can be seized. The period runs from official custody or the note.
Costs and prospects of success
Not checked in full text: costs of the objection, legal expenses insurance, success rates, waiving the driving ban in return for a higher fine.
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