German Licence in Iceland 2026: 90 km/h, 0.02%, No Off-Road

For a German driver the paperwork for Iceland is already done: an EEA country accepts your licence exactly as it is, no IDP, no translation. What needs relearning is the road. There are no autobahns, the alcohol limit is far lower than at home, and a handful of local rules have no German equivalent.

Three limits and a much lower alcohol line

Article 37 of the Traffic Act sets 50 km/h in built-up areas and, outside them, 80 km/h on gravel and 90 km/h on paved roads, unless signs say otherwise. Single-lane bridges carry a 50 km/h limit. The blood-alcohol line is 0.2‰ (0.02%, article 49), against 0.5‰ in Germany, so SafeTravel’s own summary is that you cannot drive even after one drink. Headlights must be on at all times, all year round.

Gravel, bridges and roundabouts

Gravel is where tourists lose control: slow down before the tarmac ends, not on the loose surface. On a single-lane bridge the car closer to the bridge has right of way, but watch what the other driver does before you commit. Roundabouts carry a rule German drivers do not expect: the inner lane has priority when exiting, so a car in the outer lane must give way to it. Sheep, and sometimes horses, wander onto rural roads; a lamb on one side and a ewe on the other means one of them is about to cross.

F-roads are a different kind of driving

The highland F-roads cross unbridged rivers on rough surfaces, and SafeTravel says they need four-wheel drive, adding that not every 4WD is up to every F-road. Most are closed from mid-September until June or July; check umferdin.is before planning any highland leg. Rental contracts often exclude river damage, so read the terms if your plans include the interior.

Off-road driving is a criminal matter

Article 31 of the Nature Conservation Act bans driving motor vehicles off roads; the narrow exceptions cover frozen ground and glaciers under solid snow. Article 90 makes a breach punishable by fines or up to two years in prison. Gravel tracks and F-roads count as roads; turning off them onto moss or sand is the offence.

Winter tyres and weather

No date forces a switch to winter tyres, but from 1 November to 14 April every tyre needs at least 3 mm of tread, studded tyres are allowed in that window, and on snow or ice the car must have chains or winter-pattern tyres. Strong-wind warnings are frequent, so check road and weather status before every leg. Emergencies are on 112; with the 2G and 3G networks being shut down, SafeTravel gives 599-0112 as a backup if 112 will not connect. The Iceland driving guide and the Driving Permit Checker cover the rest.

Sources

• Traffic Act of Iceland no. 77/2019 (Umferðarlög), art. 37 speed limits and art. 49 alcohol: althingi.is
• Nature Conservation Act no. 60/2013 (Lög um náttúruvernd), art. 31 off-road ban and art. 90 penalties: althingi.is
• SafeTravel (Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue), how to drive in Iceland (gravel, single-lane bridges, roundabout inner-lane priority, headlights, 0.2‰, backup number 599-0112): safetravel.is
• SafeTravel, highland driving (F-roads, 4WD, closure mid-September to June/July): safetravel.is
• Regulation no. 736/2014 on vehicle equipment (winter tread depth and studded tyres, 1 November to 14 April): reglugerd.is
• Regulation no. 830/2011 on driving licences (recognition of EEA licences): island.is
• German Road Traffic Act (StVG) § 24a, the German drink-driving threshold: gesetze-im-internet.de