Germany limits cars to 50 km/h inside built-up areas and 100 km/h outside them. Motorways have no general limit, but 130 km/h is the recommended speed and any posted limit applies. The federal states are responsible for speed enforcement, and German law bars the person driving from using a warning app.
| Road type | Cars |
|---|---|
| Built-up areas | 50 km/h |
| Outside built-up areas | 100 km/h |
| Motorways | No general limit, 130 km/h recommended |
| Visibility under 50 m | 50 km/h at most |
| With snow chains | 50 km/h at most |
What are the speed limits in Germany?
The general limits come from § 3 of the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO), and the law says they apply even under the best conditions.
- Built-up areas: 50 km/h for all motor vehicles. Signs can set a lower limit, and a 30 km/h zone starts at its own sign.
- Outside built-up areas: 100 km/h for cars and other vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. Heavier vehicles and most vehicles with trailers have lower limits.
- Motorways: 130 km/h is recommended by a federal regulation from 1978. The recommendation gives way wherever a sign sets a maximum speed.
Weather changes the limit too. If fog, snowfall or rain cuts visibility below 50 metres, the maximum is 50 km/h, or less if conditions require it. Vehicles with snow chains may not exceed 50 km/h. A limit sign with a wet-road plate applies whenever the road is wet. In every case, § 3 requires drivers to match their speed to the road, traffic, visibility and weather.
What kinds of speed cameras does Germany use?
Germany measures speed with radar, laser and induction loops set into the road, according to ADAC (December 2025). Each federal state sets its own guidelines on who may measure and where devices may stand.
- Fixed sites: they monitor a chosen stretch of road permanently. In Hesse, municipalities and police authorities apply for them, and a site may run only with a valid positive assessment from the state.
- Police checks at changing sites: Berlin police, for example, measured about 120,000 vehicles at 203 control sites during one campaign week in April 2026, and say monitoring runs all year.
- Average-speed control: ADAC says this has been used only in Lower Saxony, on the B6 near Hannover. It ran from December 2018 and was switched off at the start of 2024.
We found no current national camera count from a public authority, so this guide does not give one.
Are speed camera apps legal in Germany?
No, not for the person driving. § 23 Abs. 1c StVO says a driver may not operate, or carry ready for use, a technical device intended to show or disrupt traffic enforcement, and it names radar warning and laser jamming devices. For other devices that can also do this, such as a phone or navigation system, the same paragraph says the relevant functions must not be used. On 7 February 2023 the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe (2 ORbs 35 Ss 9/23) held that a driver also commits an offence when another occupant runs such an app with the driver’s approval and the driver makes use of its warnings, and the decision is final (checked on 30 October 2026).
What should visiting drivers know about Germany?
- Speeds and signs are in km/h.
- The ban in § 23 Abs. 1c applies to whoever is driving in Germany, including visitors. The rules change at the border, so read the guides for Austria and the Netherlands as well.
- Rain, ice, snow and darkness do not stop a measurement, ADAC notes, so the number on the sign is what counts at all times.
