🧭 Wegweiser Addiction

Advice, treatment and rights for alcohol, drug, medication and gambling addiction – explained clearly, with an in-depth part for advice services and professionals.

These pages are aimed at people affected and their relatives. Each topic begins with a simple explanation („In brief“) and step-by-step guides; if you want to know more or deal with the topic professionally, „In depth“ gives you legal bases, figures and practical tips.

Germany has no single „addiction law“ – the information is based on SGB II, V, VI, VIII, IX, the Narcotics Act (BtMG) and the Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV). Legal status: September 2026. Figures, deadlines and responsibilities change often; always check important information with an advice centre or the responsible authority.

Frequently searched

🧭 Overview: help with addiction 🔍 Finding addiction counselling 🏥 Withdrawal and detoxification 💊 Substitution treatment ⚖️ Treatment instead of punishment (§ 35 BtMG) 🚗 Driving licence and addiction (MPU) 🎰 Gambling addiction ☎️ Advice and contact points

All topic areas

🧭Overview and basicsGetting started: what addiction is and how help is organised in Germany.1 topic 📞Advice and self-helpFinding advice centres, hotlines and self-help groups.3 topics 🏥TreatmentWithdrawal, substitution treatment, rehab/addiction treatment and aftercare.4 topics ⚖️Law and justiceTreatment instead of punishment and driving licence/MPU.2 topics 💼Work and JobcenterAddiction when receiving Bürgergeld/Grundsicherungsgeld and in the workplace.2 topics 💶Debt and moneyDebt counselling and personal insolvency for addiction-related debt.1 topic 👪Family and relativesSupport for relatives and children of parents affected by addiction.1 topic 🎰Gambling addictionSelf-exclusion, deposit limits and recovery of losses.1 topic

🧭 Overview and basics

Getting started: what addiction is and how help is organised in Germany.

🧭Overview: help with addictionWhat counts as an addiction, how addiction help is organised in Germany – and where to find which help on these pages.

📞 Advice and self-help

Finding advice centres, hotlines and self-help groups.

🔍Finding addiction counsellingHow to find an addiction advice centre near you – free of charge, anonymous if you wish, no referral needed. 🤝Self-help groupsSelf-help and abstinence associations in Germany: for people affected and for relatives – an overview. ☎️Advice and contact pointsThe most important nationwide hotlines and online contact points for addiction – for acute cases as well as for first orientation.

🏥 Treatment

Withdrawal, substitution treatment, rehab/addiction treatment and aftercare.

🏥Withdrawal and detoxificationPhysical withdrawal and qualified withdrawal: the difference, the funding bodies and what happens afterwards. 💊Substitution treatmentSubstitution treatment for opioid dependence: legal basis, the doctor's qualification and the rules on take-home doses. 🌿Rehabilitation / addiction treatmentAddiction treatment (rehab) after addiction: responsibility, application, usual duration and the forms needed. 🔄Relapse and aftercareIn addiction, relapse is not an exception but part of many illness courses. What is legally and practically possible afterwards.

⚖️ Law and justice

Treatment instead of punishment and driving licence/MPU.

⚖️Treatment instead of punishment (§ 35 BtMG)"Treatment instead of punishment" under § 35 BtMG: when a prison sentence can be deferred in favour of addiction treatment – and when not. 🚗Driving licence and addiction (MPU)Driving licence lost because of alcohol or drugs: when an MPU is ordered, what Anlage 4 FeV says about fitness to drive and how reissue works.

💼 Work and Jobcenter

Addiction when receiving Bürgergeld/Grundsicherungsgeld and in the workplace.

📋Cooperation plan in cases of addiction (formerly Eingliederungsvereinbarung)Addiction and the Jobcenter: how an addiction is taken into account in the cooperation plan – and what applies to sanctions. 💼Work and addictionAddiction in the workplace: why alcohol dependence counts legally as an illness, what workplace integration management (BEM) means and what limits employers have.

💶 Debt and money

Debt counselling and personal insolvency for addiction-related debt.

💶Debt caused by addictionAddiction and debt are often linked. What debt counselling does, how personal insolvency works and what applies to gambling debts.

👪 Family and relatives

Support for relatives and children of parents affected by addiction.

👪Family and relativesWhen a family member has an addiction: support for relatives, help for children of parents affected by addiction and the limits of child protection, custody and contact rights.

🎰 Gambling addiction

Self-exclusion, deposit limits and recovery of losses.

🎰Gambling addictionSelf-exclusion via OASIS, deposit limits under the Interstate Treaty on Gambling – and the current dispute over recovering online casino losses.

For reference

📕Keyword indexAll terms from A to Z, with links to the matching topic pages. 📜Sources and methodWhere the information comes from and what is expressly uncertain. 🏠Other target groupsTo the overview of all Wegweiser portals.

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.