In brief

The medical-psychological assessment does not decide guilt but fitness to drive. It is ordered by the licensing authority, often long after the criminal case. Whatever was said in that case about alcohol or drug use will then be in front of the assessor.

The Driving Licence Regulation determines when the authority may or must require a medical-psychological report. For alcohol, Section 13 FeV applies: generally after driving with 1.6 per mille or more, after repeated offences under the influence and where facts point to alcohol abuse. In 2021 the Federal Administrative Court held that an assessment may be ordered below 1.6 per mille as well, where someone showed no signs of impairment at all at 1.1 per mille or more, since that suggests habituation.

For drugs, Section 14 FeV applies. Anyone using so-called hard drugs is, under Annex 4 to the FeV, generally regarded as unfit even without an assessment. For cannabis there has been a separate rule in Section 13a FeV since partial legalisation in 2024, and on the road the limit for the regulatory offence under Section 24a StVG is 3.5 ng/ml THC in blood serum. In addition, the points system leads to withdrawal at eight points, and an assessment is then often required before a new licence is issued.

How criminal and administrative proceedings connect

The criminal court withdraws the licence and sets a blocking period (Sections 69 and 69a StGB). Afterwards a new licence must be applied for, and only then does the authority examine whether an assessment is needed. For this it receives the criminal file and the judgment. Statements such as “I drink every weekend” or “I used to smoke cannabis regularly”, perhaps meant to help in the criminal case, can weigh heavily in the assessment.

Preparation

Anyone expecting an assessment should not wait until the blocking period ends. Proof of abstinence over six or twelve months, traffic psychology counselling and an honest look at one’s own consumption take time. In the criminal case we make sure no more about drinking habits gets into the file than necessary, and examine whether a driving ban can be achieved instead of withdrawal. The question of an assessment then often does not arise at all. More on the criminal case: drink-driving.

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