Chapter 3 of 13 · Drink and drug driving · 4 of 8
Drink driving limits in Ireland: blood, urine and breath
Checked 15 Oct 2026the Road Traffic Acts, the Criminal Justice Acts and the District Court Rules as amended.
The drink driving limit is 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, 67 mg in urine or 22 µg in breath; 20, 27 and 9 for learners, novices and professional drivers. The test, and what follows.
Written for the person who has to go to court. This guide covers the District Court of the Republic of Ireland.
The drink driving limit in Ireland is a concentration of alcohol in your body, measured in blood, urine or breath. It is not a number of drinks. This guide gives the figures the Road Traffic Act 2010 sets, explains who the lower limit applies to, what happens at the roadside and the station, and what follows a reading over the limit.
The limits
The Road Traffic Act 2010, sections 4 and 5, sets the limits. The figures below are the ones in force in October 2026.
| Specimen | Ordinary driver | Specified driver |
|---|---|---|
| Blood | 50 mg per 100 ml | 20 mg per 100 ml |
| Urine | 67 mg per 100 ml | 27 mg per 100 ml |
| Breath | 22 µg per 100 ml | 9 µg per 100 ml |
The three figures are the same limit expressed three ways. A breath reading of 22 µg corresponds to a blood reading of 50 mg. The Act fixes the disqualification bands by the blood figure, and the breath and urine figures are converted to it.
Who is a specified driver
The lower limit applies to what the Act calls specified drivers:
- Learner permit holders.
- Novice drivers, which means the first two years of a full licence.
- Professional drivers: anyone driving a bus, a truck, a taxi or another vehicle for work.
For a specified driver, 20 mg per 100 ml of blood is a low threshold. A single drink can reach it. If you hold a learner permit or passed your test less than two years ago, the ordinary 50 mg figure does not apply to you.
How many pints: why there is no answer
People search "how many pints can I have" more than they search for the limit itself. There is no honest figure. The concentration of alcohol in your blood after a given drink depends on your weight, your sex, whether you have eaten, your health, how fast you drank and how long ago. Two people who drink the same amount can produce different readings, and the same person can produce different readings on different days.
The body clears alcohol at a rate that varies and that nothing speeds up. Coffee, a cold shower, food after the event and a few hours' sleep do not change the figure. That is why morning-after arrests are common: someone who stopped drinking at 2 am can still be over 50 mg at 9 am. The Act does not distinguish between the two.
The only figure that works for everyone is zero.
The roadside
The Garda can require a preliminary breath test in three situations: at a mandatory intoxicant testing checkpoint, where they have formed an opinion that you have consumed alcohol, or after a collision. You blow into a handheld device. The roadside result is a screening result, not the evidence the court uses, and a fail or a refusal leads to arrest.
Refusing the roadside test is itself an offence. The guide to refusing the breath or blood test explains what that means.
The station
At the Garda station the evidential specimen is taken. The Garda can require you to provide two specimens of breath on the station apparatus, or a specimen of blood, or, at your option in place of blood, urine. Blood and urine are taken by a designated doctor or nurse and analysed by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety; breath is analysed by the apparatus at the station. The certificate of the result is the evidence the court sees.
You are told the result in writing. Keep that document: it tells you which band you are in, and the band decides everything that follows.
What follows a reading over the limit
There are two routes, and the reading, your licence and your history decide which one you are on.
A fixed penalty notice. Since 26 October 2018 the Road Traffic Act 2010, section 29, as amended by the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018, lets the Garda deal with the lowest bands by notice rather than summons. You must hold a valid licence, have had no drink driving fixed penalty notice in the previous three years, and pay within 28 days. The bands are:
| Band | Fine | Disqualification |
|---|---|---|
| 50 to 80 mg, ordinary driver | €200 | 3 months |
| 80 to 100 mg, ordinary driver | €400 | 6 months |
| 20 to 80 mg, specified driver | €200 | 3 months |
A notice paid in time ends the matter with no court appearance and no conviction. The disqualification still applies and is recorded on your licence record at the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS, see the glossary).
Court. Anything above 100 mg, a specified driver above 80 mg, a reading in a lower band where you do not meet the conditions, or a notice not paid in time goes to the District Court on a summons. There, the Road Traffic Act 2010, section 65, fixes a minimum disqualification by band, from six months for a first offence up to 80 mg to three years for a reading over 150 mg, and the court can impose a fine of up to €5,000 and/or up to six months. A conviction is a criminal record. The first offence guide walks through what the court weighs, and the disqualification periods guide sets out the full table.
Driving while incapable
Separate from the limits, section 4(1) of the 2010 Act makes it an offence to drive while under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle. It does not depend on a reading. The Garda's evidence of how you were driving, how you spoke and how you walked can ground it. The Act fixes a minimum disqualification of four years for a first offence and six for a second.
The numbers in 2025
The District Court made 9,784 orders on drink and drug driving charges in 2025, including 3,663 disqualifications and 100 sentences of imprisonment, according to the Courts Service Annual Report 2025 published on 13 July 2026. The Department of Justice recorded 4,867 drink driving arrests in 2025, up from 4,715 in 2024, and the Garda reported detecting over 8,100 intoxicated drivers across drink and drugs. Most first offences in the lowest bands never reach a courtroom; most readings over 100 mg do.
Drugs and the same limits
The Road Traffic Act 2016 added specified drugs, cannabis, cocaine and heroin, with their own limits and a roadside oral fluid test, and the impairment offence under section 4(1) covers any drug, including a prescribed one. The drug driving guide covers that side.
Where this leaves you
If you have a reading, the drink and drug driving checker tells you which band it falls in, whether a fixed penalty notice can apply, and the minimum disqualification the Act fixes if the matter goes to court. If a summons has arrived, read the first offence guide next, and find the court office through find a court.
If you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance. Many people on a drink driving charge speak to a solicitor before the date, and if the arrest has left you shaken the support page lists people who can help.
Frequently asked questions
What is the drink driving limit in Ireland?
For most drivers it is 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, which is 67 mg per 100 ml of urine or 22 µg per 100 ml of breath. For learner permit holders, novice drivers in the first two years of a full licence and professional drivers it is 20 mg of blood, 27 mg of urine or 9 µg of breath.
How many pints can I have and drive in Ireland?
There is no figure that works for everyone. The limit is a concentration in your blood, not a number of drinks, and the rate at which your body clears alcohol depends on weight, sex, food, health and time. One drink can put a specified driver over the 20 mg limit. The only reliable answer is none.
Can I be over the limit the morning after?
Yes. Alcohol leaves the body at a rate that varies from person to person and cannot be sped up by coffee, food or sleep. Many morning arrests follow a late night, and the law treats a reading at 8 am exactly as it treats one at midnight.
Is a drink driving fixed penalty notice a conviction?
No. A fixed penalty notice paid within 28 days ends the matter without a court appearance or a conviction, though the three or six month disqualification is recorded on your licence record. If you decline it or do not qualify, the Garda issues a summons and a conviction in court carries a record.
What happens at a Garda checkpoint if I have been drinking?
The Garda can require a preliminary breath test at the roadside at a mandatory intoxicant testing checkpoint or where they suspect drink. A failed or refused roadside test leads to arrest and a breath, blood or urine specimen at the station. The station reading is the one the court uses.