🚗 Driving licence and addiction (MPU)
In brief
If you come to attention in road traffic because of alcohol or other substances, the driving licence authority checks fitness to drive under the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV, Driving Licence Ordinance). From certain thresholds – for example 1.6 per mille in a drink-driving case – ordering a medical-psychological assessment (MPU) is mandatory; for narcotics, a single incident can already be enough.
Anlage 4 FeV distinguishes between abuse (unfit only as long as use and driving are not reliably kept separate) and dependence (unfit in principle until abstinence is proven after successful treatment, as a rule over about one year).
Step by step
- Wait for the order or apply for reissueAfter the driving licence has been withdrawn, an application is made to the local driving licence office.
- Choose an officially recognised assessment centreThe MPU may only be carried out by an assessment centre for fitness to drive officially recognised under § 66 FeV (e.g. TÜV, DEKRA).
- Prepare proof of abstinence or behaviourDepending on the substance and individual case, assessment centres require proof of abstinence over several months – the exact duration depends on the case and is not a fixed statutory deadline.
- Have the assessment carried outAfter a positive assessment, the driving licence authority reissues the driving licence.
Deadlines
- Fixed monthly figures for proof of abstinence (e.g. "12 months") are practical guideline values of the assessment centres, not a fixed deadline set out in law – the individual case decides.
- MPU costs have no longer been regulated by the state since 2018; figures on total costs are market values, not officially set fees – compare quotes before commissioning.
- Anlage 4 FeV was amended in 2024 as part of the cannabis reform – older online sources may be outdated in this respect.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Legal bases
Decisive are §§ 11–14 FeV (doubts about fitness, ordering of assessments) and Anlage 4 FeV (fitness/conditional fitness in illnesses and deficiencies). In cases of abuse, unfitness exists only as long as the abuse continues; after a consolidated change in behaviour, fitness can exist again. In cases of dependence, unfitness exists in principle; after successful addiction treatment, fitness is generally assumed only after a period of abstinence of about one year. When taking narcotics (other than cannabis), any use, regardless of frequency, generally leads to unfitness.
MPU thresholds
§ 13 FeV makes an MPU mandatory for alcohol from 1.6 ‰, and also possible from lower values where there are additional facts or repeated incidents. § 14 FeV provides for an MPU where there are indications of narcotics abuse or dependence, regardless of a per-mille equivalent. The Fahreignungs-Bewertungssystem (driver fitness points system) (§§ 4, 4a StVG) leads to compulsory withdrawal of the driving licence at 8 points.
Assessment and reissue
Assessments may be carried out only by officially recognised assessment centres under § 66 in conjunction with Anlage 14 FeV. After court withdrawal of the driving licence (§ 69 StGB), the court at the same time sets a blocking period under § 69a StGB (6 months to 5 years, in exceptional cases for life); early cancellation is possible if unfitness has demonstrably ceased.
Uncertain/depends on the case
Specific numbers of months for proof of abstinence (often cited: around 6 to 15 months depending on the substance) and MPU costs come from the practice of the assessment centres or from market figures, not directly from the statutory text.
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