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NZ Drink-Driving Limits & Penalties

The numbers that matter, plainly. Drivers 20 and over: 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath (50mg per 100ml of blood). From 251 to 400 micrograms: an infringement — a $200 fine and 50 demerit points, no conviction. Over 400 micrograms: a criminal charge in the District Court with a mandatory disqualification of at least 6 months. Under 20: the limit is zero. Call 0800 461 100 free, any hour, with your reading — and get told exactly where it lands.

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Readings over 650 micrograms — or refusing to give blood — trigger an immediate 28-day roadside licence suspension on the spot, before any court date. If that has just happened to you, your driving arrangements change tonight, and your court preparation starts now.

Drink-Driving Limits at a glance

Adult limits (20+)

250mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, or 50mg per 100ml of blood (Land Transport Act 1998)

The infringement zone

251–400mcg breath (51–80mg blood): $200 fine (breath) / $700 (blood) + 50 demerit points — no court, no conviction

The criminal zone

Over 400mcg breath / 80mg blood: District Court charge — first or second conviction: up to 3 months' imprisonment or a $4,500 fine, plus at least 6 months' disqualification

Under 20

Zero-alcohol limit — any reading is an offence; higher readings are prosecuted

Third strike

Third or subsequent conviction: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a $6,000 fine, disqualification over a year, and the alcohol-interlock pathway back

Refusal

Refusing or failing to give a blood specimen is its own offence (s 60), penalised like a high reading

Which zone is your reading in?

Everything follows from the number. In the infringement zone (251–400mcg breath), you receive a notice: $200 fine, 50 demerit points, no conviction and no court date — pay it, and watch the demerit total (100 points in 2 years suspends your licence for 3 months). Over 400mcg, it is a criminal prosecution under s 56 of the Land Transport Act: a summons, the District Court, and on conviction a mandatory minimum 6 months' disqualification alongside the fine or imprisonment. Over 650mcg adds the immediate 28-day roadside suspension — and puts you in the range where courts and the licensing system treat the case as high-end.

Under-20 drivers sit on a different scale entirely: zero tolerance, with any alcohol an offence. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

How the testing process runs

The roadside sequence — passive breath screening, then an evidential breath test, with the option (and sometimes requirement) of blood — is prescribed, and police must follow it. You are entitled to be told your rights and, once the process allows, to speak to a lawyer; the free on-call Police Detention Legal Assistance scheme exists at any hour. Refusing the process is not a loophole: failing or refusing blood is charged and punished in the same league as a high reading.

Procedural defects do sometimes undo charges — but that is a lawyer's assessment on the specific facts, made from the paperwork, not a thing to bank on. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The licence consequences — usually the real story

For most working people the disqualification is the sentence: a mandatory minimum of 6 months on a first criminal conviction, longer on repeats. Two mitigations exist. A limited licence — the "work licence" — can be sought from the court on proof of genuine hardship, but not by everyone, and for alcohol offences a 28-day stand-down applies before one can take effect. And at the high end, the alcohol-interlock regime provides the route back to driving: a breathalyser-locked vehicle, then a zero-alcohol licence period. Which of these applies to you — and how soon — is precisely the kind of question to settle before the first court date, not after sentencing. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Going to court on a drink-driving charge

A first appearance in the District Court is short and procedural; the decisions around it are not. Whether to seek a limited licence (and when), whether a discharge without conviction is even arguable (rarely, and only with exceptional consequences), what the realistic fine and disqualification look like on your reading and history, how an early plea affects the outcome — these are settled by preparation. The free line explains each of them any hour, and a NZ$295 (GST inclusive) consultation with a New Zealand traffic lawyer — bookable on the call — is a sensible investment the moment the charge is criminal. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Just been tested? Do this

Keep the paperwork and note the numbersYour reading, the notice or summons, the times. The number decides the zone; the zone decides everything.

Call before you decide anything0800 461 100, free, 24/7 — where your reading lands, what the mandatory consequences are, and whether a work licence is realistic for you.

Get representation for the criminal zoneOver 400mcg means court, conviction exposure and mandatory disqualification — book a NZ$295 (GST inclusive) consultation with a New Zealand traffic lawyer right on the call.

Drink-Driving Limits — your questions answered

How many drinks is 250 micrograms?

There is no safe conversion — the same drinks produce different readings across body weight, sex, food, timing and metabolism, which is exactly how people who "counted their drinks" end up over. The only reliable rule if you're driving is well-worn but true: if you plan to drink, plan not to drive.

I got an infringement notice for 300mcg. Do I have a criminal record now?

No. In the 251–400mcg zone it is an infringement — a $200 fine and 50 demerit points, handled by notice with no conviction. Watch the demerits though: 100 points within 2 years brings a 3-month suspension.

Will I definitely lose my licence for a reading over 400?

On conviction, yes — disqualification of at least 6 months is mandatory. The live questions are the length beyond the minimum, whether a limited (work) licence is available to you and when, and how the rest of the sentence lands. Those are exactly the points preparation moves.

Can I talk to a lawyer before deciding on the blood test?

You have the right to legal advice — the free on-call police-station scheme exists at any hour — but the testing regime itself is compulsory: refusal is an offence penalised like a high reading. Use the advice to handle the process properly, not to look for an exit that isn't there.

It was an e-scooter / I was parked / I was on private property — do the rules still apply?

The offences reach further than people expect — motor vehicles on roads and places the public has access, and "driving" can include more than motion. Edge cases genuinely exist, but they are fact-specific: bring the exact circumstances to the free line rather than assuming an exemption.