Italy Drink Driving Laws: BAC Limits, Penalties, and Interlocks

Italy’s drink driving laws set a general blood alcohol limit of 0.5 grams per liter, with a strict zero-alcohol rule for drivers under 21, holders of a Category B license for fewer than three years, and professional drivers. Penalties under Article 186 of the Codice della Strada run across three tiers that climb from an administrative fine to criminal prosecution with prison time, and a reform that took effect in December 2024 added mandatory alcohol interlock devices for anyone convicted above 0.8 g/l.

Who Faces a Zero Alcohol Limit

Three groups cannot have any detectable alcohol in their system when driving: anyone under 21, anyone who has held a Category B license for less than three years, and professional drivers transporting passengers or goods.¹ For these drivers the threshold is zero, not 0.5.

A zero-tolerance driver who tests between 0 and 0.5 g/l receives an administrative fine of €168 to €678.¹ Above 0.5 g/l they fall into the regular Article 186 tiers below, with the aggravating weight of belonging to a protected category.

BAC Between 0.5 and 0.8 g/l

This is the only tier treated as an administrative violation rather than a crime. No criminal record, no prison risk, but still a heavy sanction. The fine runs from €543 to €2,170, and the license is suspended for three to six months.² Ten points come off the license as well.

BAC Between 0.8 and 1.5 g/l

Crossing 0.8 g/l turns the offense into a criminal one. The case goes through the criminal courts and a conviction leaves a criminal record. Fines range from €800 to €3,200, with up to six months of imprisonment, and the license is suspended for six months to one year.³ After the suspension ends, the driver must use an alcohol interlock device for two years, a requirement introduced by the December 2024 reform and enforceable as of February 2026.⁴

BAC Above 1.5 g/l

The top tier carries criminal fines of €1,500 to €6,000, imprisonment of six months to one year, and license suspension of one to two years.² If the driver owns the vehicle, it is permanently confiscated. If someone else owns it, confiscation does not apply and the suspension doubles instead.⁵ The post-suspension interlock requirement here is three years rather than two.⁴

Nighttime Offenses and Accidents

Two circumstances push penalties higher, and they operate differently.

For offenses committed between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM, criminal fines increase by one-third to one-half. The nighttime uplift applies to the criminal tiers above 0.8 g/l, not to the administrative fine for the lowest tier.³

If a drunk driver causes an accident, every penalty doubles across every tier, and the vehicle is impounded for 180 days unless it belongs to an uninvolved person. A driver who causes an accident with a BAC above 1.5 g/l faces outright license cancellation rather than suspension, which means starting the licensing process over from scratch.²

Refusing the Alcohol Test

Under Article 186, paragraph 7, refusing a breathalyzer or other alcohol test is itself a criminal offense carrying the penalties of the top tier: fines of €1,500 to €6,000, imprisonment of six months to one year, and license suspension of six months to two years. If the driver owns the vehicle, it is confiscated.⁵ A refusal gains the driver nothing; the law treats it as the worst-case result.

License Point Deductions

Italian licenses start with 20 points. Any drink driving offense, regardless of tier, costs 10 points.² Losing all 20 points triggers a license revision proceeding, so a single DUI puts the driver one serious infraction away from losing the license entirely.

Alcohol Interlock Devices

The December 2024 reform made alcohol interlocks mandatory for anyone convicted with a BAC above 0.8 g/l. The implementing decree was signed in mid-2025 and enforcement began in February 2026. Unlike many other European countries, Italy applies the requirement to first-time offenders, not just repeat offenders.

The device prevents the vehicle from starting unless the driver passes a zero-alcohol breath test. Duration depends on severity:

BAC 0.8 to 1.5 g/l: two years of interlock use after the suspension ends.
BAC above 1.5 g/l: three years of interlock use after the suspension ends.

Installation must be done by an authorized workshop, with a tamper-proof seal and a calibration certificate renewed annually.⁴ The driver pays the full cost, roughly €2,000. Vehicles older than 20 years may be exempt where installation is technically impossible, but in that case the driver cannot drive at all during the interlock period. Tampering with the device brings an additional fine and a further six-month driving ban.

Repeat Offenses

A second drink driving conviction within two years triggers permanent license cancellation rather than an extended suspension.² Combined with point deductions, vehicle confiscation, and interlock duties, a repeat offense effectively ends driving privileges for years.

Community Service as an Alternative

For criminal-tier offenses above 0.8 g/l, Article 186, paragraph 9-bis lets a judge substitute imprisonment and criminal fines with community service, known as lavoro di pubblica utilità. The defendant must request it, and it is available only if no accident was caused.⁶

The incentive is real. Successful completion cuts the license suspension in half, extinguishes the criminal offense from the record, and returns any confiscated vehicle. The substitution can be granted through a plea bargain or a penal decree when the defendant agrees.⁶

Rules for Foreign and Non-Resident Drivers

Foreign visitors face the same BAC limits and tier penalties as residents. Enforcement differs on one point: if the driver holds a non-EU license, police seize the physical license on the spot and forward it to the Prefettura of the province where the offense occurred. The license is not returned until the fine is paid and the suspension has expired.²

For drivers who cannot install an interlock, because they do not own a car in Italy or are leaving the country, the alternative is a prohibition on driving in Italy for the full interlock period. A conviction above 0.8 g/l can therefore bar a tourist from driving in Italy for two or three years beyond the initial suspension, even after their home country returns their license. The suspension attaches to the person, not to any Italian-issued document.

1
Patente.it. Italy Code Articolo 186-bis – Guida Sotto l’Influenza dell’Alcool
2
Automobile Club d’Italia. Penalties for Drink Driving
3
Patente.it. Articolo 186 – Codice della Strada
4
European Transport Safety Council. Italy Introduces Mandatory Alcohol Interlocks for Drink-Drivers
5
Automobile Club d’Italia. Codice della Strada – Art. 186
6
Ministero della Giustizia. Lavoro di Pubblica Utilità