Warning triangle + first-aid kit + high-vis vest
RequiredAll three are legally required. First-aid kit must contain items per DIN 13164. Police can fine on the spot if you can't produce them.
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Country driving guide · 2026
Driving in Germany
Everything UK and EU drivers need before crossing the border into Germany: 5 legal requirements + 5 other things worth knowing.
5
Required
0
Recommended
5
Good to know
Tick before you go
Pre-departure checklist for Germany
5 legal must-haves. Print it, tick them off, throw it in the glovebox.
Warning triangle + first-aid kit + high-vis vest
All three are legally required. First-aid kit must contain items per DIN 13164. Police can fine on the spot if you can't produce them.
Headlight beam-benders
Required for right-hand-drive cars. Same kit as for France.
Umweltplakette (low-emission sticker)
Required for the Umweltzone in most major cities: Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Köln, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Düsseldorf. €6-€30, order online or buy at TÜV centres. Driving without one in a zone is a €100 fine.
Source: Order Umweltplakette →Pet travel: Animal Health Certificate
GB pets need an AHC from a UK vet issued within 10 days of entering Germany. Valid for 4 months of onward EU travel and one re-entry to GB.
Source: gov.uk: AHC for EU travel →Umweltzone everywhere. No zone, no entry
Most German city centres are Umweltzonen requiring a green sticker (Plakette). Driving in without one is a flat €100 fine, regardless of how clean your engine is.
Source: German LEZ overview →
Required equipment
Headlight beam-benders
RequiredRequired for right-hand-drive cars. Same kit as for France.
Emissions / low-emission zones
Umweltplakette (low-emission sticker)
RequiredRequired for the Umweltzone in most major cities: Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Köln, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Düsseldorf. €6-€30, order online or buy at TÜV centres. Driving without one in a zone is a €100 fine.
Order UmweltplaketteUmweltzone everywhere. No zone, no entry
RequiredMost German city centres are Umweltzonen requiring a green sticker (Plakette). Driving in without one is a flat €100 fine, regardless of how clean your engine is.
German LEZ overviewDriving rules
Autobahn speed limits
Good to knowRoughly 70% of the Autobahn network has no speed limit (signed by the round white-grey sign). The recommended speed is 130 km/h. Where limits apply they're strictly enforced: 20 km/h over is a fine, 30+ over loses your licence.
Lane discipline
Good to knowStrict no-overtaking-on-the-right rule. Stay in the right-most lane unless overtaking. Lane-hogging is a fine.
Right-before-left at unmarked junctions
Good to knowOn urban side streets with no signs, vehicles approaching from the right have priority: even when you're on what looks like the main road. Trams always have priority over cars.
ADAC: rechts vor linksTolls
No general motorway toll (cars)
Good to knowGerman Autobahns are free for cars. Trucks pay LKW-Maut. A planned car-toll system was scrapped in 2019.
Money
Customs allowance back to the UK
Good to knowPer person on return: 18 L still wine + 4 L spirits + 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco + £390 of other goods. Anything above is dutiable at the UK border.
gov.uk: customs allowanceDocuments
Pet travel: Animal Health Certificate
RequiredGB pets need an AHC from a UK vet issued within 10 days of entering Germany. Valid for 4 months of onward EU travel and one re-entry to GB.
gov.uk: AHC for EU travelPlan your Germany road trip
We'll build the itinerary, estimate fuel + tolls, and show EV chargers along the route, and this checklist appears automatically on every trip that crosses into Germany.
Start planning →Driving in Germany: the facts at a glance
You drive on the right. Figures checked against each country's own road authority and toll operators, last updated Sept 2026.
Speed limits for cars
| Dual carriageway | 100 km/h (60 mph) |
| Other roads outside towns | 100 km/h (60 mph) |
| Towns | 50 km/h (30 mph) |
National defaults for cars; signs on the road always win. Source: StVO 3; Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-Verordnung.
Tolls
None for cars (LKW-Maut applies to vehicles over 3.5t).
- Herrentunnel, Luebeck2.3 EUR
- Warnowtunnel, Rostock5.4 EUR
- Rossfeld Panoramastrasse9.5 EUR
Low-emission zones
- Umweltzone (about 36 active, incl. Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne)
- Stuttgart diesel ban
- Hamburg diesel ban
Fuel
Petrol about €2.18 a litre, diesel about €2.23 (Sept 2026).
Mountain roads that close
- Rossfeld Panoramastrasse
Famous road trips in Germany
- Romantic Road · 207 mi
- Black Forest High Road (B500) · 98 mi
Drive times in Germany
- Berlin to Hamburg · 2 hr 58 min
- Berlin to Munich · 5 hr 54 min
- Frankfurt to Cologne · 2 hr 4 min
- Munich to Frankfurt · 3 hr 54 min
Popular destinations in Germany
Places to add to your Germany road trip.
Indicative budget
Rough cost for 1,000 km in Germany
A back-of-the-envelope estimate for a typical petrol car at 40 UK mpg, with 800 km of motorway driving. Real fuel prices move monthly: treat this as a ballpark.
Fuel
€126
~70.6 L · 1,000 km @ 40 mpg
Tolls
€0
800 km of motorways
Vignette
—
Not required
Total estimate
€126
1,000 km road trip
Don't get caught out
Watch out for these
Umweltplakette (low-emission sticker)
RequiredRequired for the Umweltzone in most major cities: Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Köln, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Düsseldorf. €6-€30, order online or buy at TÜV centres. Driving without one in a zone is a €100 fine.
Order Umweltplakette →Umweltzone everywhere. No zone, no entry
RequiredMost German city centres are Umweltzonen requiring a green sticker (Plakette). Driving in without one is a flat €100 fine, regardless of how clean your engine is.
German LEZ overview →On the way home
Returning to the UK
Customs allowance back to the UK
Per person on return: 18 L still wine + 4 L spirits + 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco + £390 of other goods. Anything above is dutiable at the UK border.
gov.uk: customs allowance →