Dinner at a “chiringuito” (beach bar), a glass of “tinto de verano” (red wine with lemon soda) and the sun going down over Fuengirola. Then you get into your rental car and head back to the hotel. But are you allowed to drive?
The short answer: the drink drive limit in Spain is 0.5 g/l of alcohol in blood. If you have held your licence for less than 2 years, your limit is 0.3 g/l. Below you will find the fines table and what happens at a roadside check. Plus the question hardly anyone asks: what happens to your rental car insurance once alcohol is involved. Correct as of September 2026.
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Spanish police usually measure alcohol in exhaled air, in milligrams per litre (mg/l). Blood alcohol is given in grams per litre (g/l). The conversion is simple: the blood figure is the breathalyser reading times two. A limit of 0.5 g/l is the same as 0.05% BAC. It is national law, so the same numbers apply in Mallorca, Tenerife and the rest of the islands.
| Driver | Blood (g/l) | Breath (mg/l) |
|---|---|---|
| Most drivers | 0.5 | 0.25 |
| Licence held for less than 2 years (“conductor novel”, novice driver) | 0.3 | 0.15 |
| Professional driver | 0.3 | 0.15 |
How that compares: England, Wales and Northern Ireland allow 0.8 g/l, so Spain is stricter than many British drivers expect. Scotland and Ireland use the same 0.5 g/l. Poland draws the line at 0.2 g/l. None of this makes a glass of wine with dinner safe. One beer in 35-degree heat hits differently than on a cool evening at home.
Renting a bike or an electric scooter in Malaga? The same 0.25 mg/l limit applies, and police can breathalyse a cyclist just like a car driver. There are no licence points here, because you do not need a licence to ride. The fine stays.
The amounts are set by law and are the same across the country. There is no tourist rate. For the general limit they look like this:
| Breath reading | Penalty | If paid within 20 days (50% off) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 to 0.50 mg/l | €500 fine | €250 |
| over 0.50 mg/l | €1,000 fine | €500 |
| from 0.60 mg/l (1.2 g/l in blood) | criminal offence, goes to court | not applicable |
A novice driver gets there sooner. The €500 fine starts at 0.15 mg/l, and above 0.30 mg/l it is €1,000.
Repeat offences cost more. Had a drink driving fine in the last year? The next one is always €1,000, whatever the reading.
Payment deadlines, the discount and how to pay from abroad are covered in our guide to traffic fines in Spain.
The line is 0.60 mg/l in breath or 1.2 g/l in blood. Above it there is no fine any more. The case goes to a criminal court under Article 379 of the Spanish Criminal Code (“Código Penal”). The court picks one of three penalties:
Each of them comes with a driving ban of 1 to 4 years.
A “control de alcoholemia” (breath test checkpoint) is run by the “Guardia Civil de Tráfico” (the traffic unit of the Guardia Civil) outside towns, and by the “Policía Local” (municipal police) inside them. On the Costa del Sol these checks are frequent, especially at weekends and in summer. During campaigns run by the DGT, police carry out more than 35,000 alcohol and drug tests a day nationwide. The DGT is the Dirección General de Tráfico, Spain's traffic authority.
The routine is always similar:
Tip: keep your licence, ID and rental agreement together, ideally in the glovebox. You do not want to dig through a suitcase with a patrol car parked next to you.
Not only at a checkpoint. The rules (“Reglamento General de Circulación”, Spain's general traffic regulations, Article 21) allow a test in other situations too:
At the same stop police can run a saliva drug test. A positive result means €1,000.
No. In Spain refusal is a separate criminal offence under Article 383 of the Criminal Code. It carries 6 months to a year in prison and a driving ban of 1 to 4 years. That is harsher than driving with a reading above 0.60 mg/l, where the court can choose a fine or community service instead of prison.
After a positive reading you are not driving any further. The officer can immobilise the car straight away. The exception: another sober person with a valid licence takes the wheel. In a rental car that person must be named on the rental agreement. The driver pays for immobilisation, towing and the pound.
No permanent address in Spain? The officer can also ask you to pay the fine or leave a deposit on the spot. Without payment the car stays where it is.
In a rental car that is double trouble. You are stuck, and so is a car you answer for to the rental company. Call us if that happens. Car4Rent Malaga picks up at any hour, in English or Polish, and we will work out what happens to the car.
Spanish law allows 0.5 g/l. At Car4Rent Malaga the limit is zero.
This is not small print. If you cause an incident after drinking, the car's insurance is void and you pay for all the damage yourself. It makes no difference whether your reading was within the Spanish limit. What the policy covers and what it excludes is explained in our article on rental car insurance in Spain.
Our advice: if the evening looks like wine, plan the way back before the first glass, not after it.
Looking for a holiday car without a block on your card? At Car4Rent Malaga you leave no deposit.
Nobody plans to drink and drive. It usually starts with something that looks harmless.
The first is the “menú del día” (set lunch) at a roadside restaurant. In many places a glass of wine or a beer is included in the price. The waiter does not ask whether you are driving, the drink just lands on the table. Ask for water or a soft drink before you order.
Around Ronda, the usual scenario is a tasting at a “bodega” (winery). Local wineries welcome visitors, and a few samples can put you over the limit. The driver tastes with eyes and nose. Or you book a tour with transport.
And in August there is the “Feria de Málaga” (the city's annual fair). For a week the party runs in the centre and at the Cortijo de Torres fairground, late into the night. The simplest rule here: the car stays parked and you take a taxi.
There is no safe formula of the “one beer equals this much” kind. The reading depends on body weight, food and sleep. The Costa del Sol heat plays its part too. The only sure method is not to drink if you are driving. You have a few options:
Remember! The morning after a party, alcohol can still be in your blood. A check at 9 am counts just the same as one at midnight.
Not for now. Since 2024 the DGT has been proposing a 0.2 g/l limit for all drivers, and it keeps coming back to the idea in its campaigns. Congress rejected the bill on 18 March 2026. The limit is 0.5 g/l, and 0.3 g/l for novice and professional drivers. Correct as of September 2026.
See also:
Dinner in the evening, Andalusian roads by day? Pick up your car outside the terminal at Malaga airport and drive straight off.
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0.5 g/l in blood, which is 0.25 mg/l in breath. For drivers who have held a licence for less than 2 years and for professional drivers: 0.3 g/l (0.15 mg/l).
Yes, for most of the UK. England, Wales and Northern Ireland allow 0.8 g/l, Spain allows 0.5 g/l. Scotland and Ireland use the same 0.5 g/l as Spain.
There is no safe count in beers, pints or units. The law sets a concentration (0.25 mg/l in breath), and your reading depends on body weight, food, sleep and the heat. In a Car4Rent Malaga car the rule is zero alcohol.
No. Spanish law does not count drinks. It sets a concentration: 0.25 mg/l in breath, or 0.15 mg/l for novice and professional drivers.
Not always. Alcohol can still be in your blood 12 hours after the last drink, and a check at 9 am counts the same as one at midnight.
0.3 g/l (0.15 mg/l) if you have held your licence for less than 2 years. The €500 fine starts at 0.15 mg/l, and above 0.30 mg/l you pay €1,000.
€500 for a reading of 0.25 to 0.50 mg/l and €1,000 above 0.50 mg/l. Pay within 20 days and it is halved. From 0.60 mg/l it is a criminal offence and goes to court.
No. Refusal is a criminal offence: 6 months to a year in prison and a driving ban of 1 to 4 years.
No. At Car4Rent Malaga, if an incident is caused after drinking, the insurance is void and the driver pays for the damage.
No. Congress rejected the bill on 18 March 2026, and the limit is still 0.5 g/l.
You know the limits, the fines and how a check works. The rest is a well-planned evening. At Car4Rent Malaga you rent with no deposit and no credit card, with support around the clock in English and Polish. You collect the car outside the terminal at Malaga airport.
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