In brief

A driving ban is temporary and the licence remains valid. Once it ends you get your licence back, without a test and without a medical-psychological assessment. That is the fundamental difference from withdrawal of the licence.

In criminal law the driving ban is governed by Section 44 StGB. It is an ancillary penalty that can only be imposed alongside a fine or prison sentence, and lasts one to six months. Since the 2017 reform it is no longer limited to traffic offences: it may also be imposed for other offences where it appears necessary to influence the offender or allows a prison sentence to be avoided. After a conviction for drink-driving it is normally ordered where, exceptionally, the licence is not withdrawn.

This must be distinguished from the ban in regulatory fine proceedings under Section 25 StVG, imposed for certain regulatory offences such as serious speeding or driving with 0.5 per mille. It lasts one to three months.

When it takes effect

The criminal driving ban takes effect once the licence is handed into official custody after the judgment becomes final, and at the latest one month afterwards (Section 44(2) StGB). The ban period only runs from the day the licence is actually surrendered. Keeping it simply prolongs the problem, and driving in the meantime is a criminal offence (Section 21 StVG).

In regulatory proceedings, first-time offenders benefit from the four-month rule: anyone who has had no driving ban in the previous two years may choose when it starts within four months of the decision becoming final (Section 25(2a) StVG). This can be planned around holidays or working from home.

What matters

For many clients the driving ban is the real punishment, not the fine that comes with it. Commuters, field staff, carers in mobile services. In criminal proceedings the length can be negotiated, and sometimes the ban itself, if professional hardship is documented. With a penalty order that includes a ban, an objection limited to that point is often the right route. Where withdrawal of the licence threatens instead, the goal shifts: then it is often about getting away with a ban. In detail: drink-driving.

General explanation, not advice on an individual case. As of November 2026.