Speeding by more than 50 km/h in Germany: harsh penalties – and a potential one-year licence suspension!

In Germany, speeding is treated very strictly because of the high level of danger it creates. The further you exceed the legal speed limit, the more severe the consequences become – ranging from substantial fines to driving bans, and in some cases even a full withdrawal of your driving licence for up to one year.

Which speeds lead to an immediate driving ban?

1. Inside built-up areas (innerorts)

51–60 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 560 €

• 2 points in Flensburg

• 2-month driving ban
  (worldoftruckers.com, how-to-germany.com, bussgeldkatalog.org, e-recht24.de)

61–70 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 700 €

• 2 points

• 3-month driving ban
  (polizei.brandenburg.de, bussgeldkatalog.org)

More than 70 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 800 €

• 2 points

• 3-month driving ban
  (mcparking.de, polizei.brandenburg.de, bussgeldkatalog.org)

2. Outside built-up areas (außerorts)

41–50 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 320 €

• 2 points

• 1-month driving ban
  (how-to-germany.com)

51–60 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 480 €

• 2 points

• 1-month driving ban
  (inelo.com, eurowag.com, how-to-germany.com)

61–70 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 600 €

• 2 points

• 2-month driving ban
  (how-to-germany.com)

More than 70 km/h above the limit:

• Fine: 700 €

• 2 points

• 3-month driving ban
  (reddit.com)

When can your licence be withdrawn for up to one year?

If you exceed the speed limit by more than 50 km/h inside built-up areas or by more than 70 km/h outside, your behaviour can be classified as “endangering road traffic” (Gefährdung des Straßenverkehrs), which is a criminal offence under § 315c StGB.

In such cases, you may face:

• a criminal fine, or

• a court judgment that can result in up to one year in prison or an additional fine,

• in addition to the withdrawal of your driving licence for up to one year or even longer.

Repeat offences or particularly serious speeding

• Twice exceeding the limit by more than 26 km/h within 12 months:
  → automatically leads to a 1-month driving ban for the second offence (wbs.legal).

• Repeated speeding by 50–70 km/h or more:
  → is treated as persistent, highly reckless behaviour and can result in harsher penalties, including imprisonment or a permanent driving ban.

Short summary

• 51–60 km/h too fast inside built-up areas = 2-month driving ban + fine + points.

• 61–70 km/h inside built-up areas = 3-month driving ban + fine + 2 points.

• Outside built-up areas: 51–60 → 1 month, 61–70 → 2 months, more than 70 → 3 months driving ban.

• In criminal cases (endangering other people’s lives) you risk losing your licence for up to a year and prison time.

Important tip:

Even if you exceed the limit “only” by a few dozen km/h, you should never treat it like a minor offence – German law is very strict when it comes to putting lives at risk.

The editorial team makes every effort to provide accurate and well-researched information based on multiple sources. However, errors or uncertainties cannot be entirely ruled out. The information in this article should therefore be viewed as preliminary guidance only; for binding and up-to-date information, always contact the competent authorities.