Turkey’s 0.20‰ limit: which drivers and vehicles it covers

Written by Kazim Altınok, founder of CROM TEST and AlkoSafe. Last updated: 7 October 2026.

The 0.20‰ group is therefore much wider than “commercial vehicles”: a privately owned motorbike or pickup is not a private car in the legal sense. Each case below is tied to the law text, which we quote; nothing here is legal advice. This guide is for people driving in Turkey who want to know which limit applies to them: riders of motorbikes and mopeds, drivers of vans, pickups, taxis, minibuses, buses and trucks, anyone who got their licence in the last two years, and private-car drivers checking their number.

Who	Limit	Source
Private car (privately used car, up to 9 seats incl. driver)	0.50‰	Law 2918 art. 48(5); Traffic Department
Taxi and other commercially used cars	0.20‰	Traffic Department; Regulation art. 3
Motorbike, moped	0.20‰	Traffic Department; Law 2918 art. 3
Van, pickup (kamyonet), also privately used	0.20‰	Traffic Department; Law 2918 art. 3
Minibus, bus, truck	0.20‰	Traffic Department; Law 2918 art. 3
Novice driver (first 2 years), any vehicle	0.20‰	Law 2918 Additional Art. 17

Two limits: 0.50‰ for private cars, 0.20‰ for everyone else

The limit is 0.50‰ for drivers of private cars and 0.20‰ for drivers of all other vehicles. The Turkish Traffic Department states both numbers (Turkish Traffic Department), and the Highway Traffic Regulation uses the same split: driving is prohibited above 0.50‰ for “hususi otomobil” drivers and above 0.20‰ for “other vehicle” drivers (Highway Traffic Regulation, art. 97).

Promille means grams of alcohol per litre of blood. 0.20‰ is 20 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, 0.50‰ is 50 mg (Turkish Traffic Department). What the unit means in detail: what does promille mean.

Who has the 0.20‰ limit?

The 0.20‰ limit applies to every driver who is not driving a private car and to every novice driver. Under the definitions in the law and the regulation, a private car is a car with at most nine seats including the driver, built to carry people and used without earning money from it. The law draws this line with two definitions, vehicle type and use.

The first is the vehicle type. Law 2918 defines a car (otomobil) as a motor vehicle built to carry people with at most nine seats including the driver. A van or pickup (kamyonet) is built to carry goods, up to 3,500 kg gross weight.

A vehicle with more than nine seats is a bus; one with up to 17 seats is called a minibus. Motorbikes and mopeds have their own definitions (Law 2918, art. 3). Only the car can be a “private car”.

The second is the use. The Highway Traffic Regulation calls a vehicle used without earning money “hususi” (private) and a vehicle used to earn money “ticari” (commercial) (Highway Traffic Regulation, art. 3). The use is part of the vehicle’s registration: when it changes, the registration certificate loses its validity (Vehicle Registration Regulation).

Read together, the law text gives these cases:

• A taxi is a car used commercially, so it is not a private car: 0.20‰.
• Your own motorbike or moped is used privately but is not a car: 0.20‰.
• Your own pickup or van, if it is a kamyonet, is not a car even when you use it privately: 0.20‰.
• Minibuses, buses and trucks are not cars: 0.20‰.
• Your own car, used privately, once you are past the two novice years: 0.50‰.

What is the limit for novice drivers?

The novice limit is 0.20‰ in any vehicle for two years from the licence date. Law 2918 treats as novice drivers everyone who gets a licence for the first time and everyone who gets a new licence after their licence was cancelled, for two years from the date of the licence. If a novice driver is found driving above 0.20‰, “regardless of the vehicle type”, the novice licence is cancelled (Law 2918, Additional Art. 17). The current wording of this article came with Law 7590 and has applied since 31 July 2026.

For a new driver in a private car this means 0.20‰, not 0.50‰. Getting a licence again after a cancellation means a driving course, exams, and a psycho-technical and psychiatric assessment before the course (same article).

Does the licence class change the limit?

No, the licence class does not change the limit. Article 48(5) ties the limit to the vehicle being driven, and Additional Article 17 ties the novice rule to the two years after the licence date (Law 2918). Neither mentions the licence class. A driver with a B licence who rides a motorbike, or drives a kamyonet, is under the 0.20‰ limit for that drive.

Above and below the limit: 0.21, 1.00 and “unable to drive safely”

Law 2918 and the Highway Traffic Regulation set four further thresholds around the two limits.

1. The limit is 0.20‰, but the penalty starts at 0.21‰. For drivers of vehicles other than private cars, Law 2918 applies “a lower promille threshold of 0.21” (Law 2918, art. 48(5)).
2. Above the limit, a first offence costs 25,000 TL and six months without a licence (art. 48(5), amount in force since 27 February 2026 and revalued at the start of each calendar year under Misdemeanours Law 5326, art. 17(7)). Repeat offences, refusing the test and getting the licence back are covered in our guide drink-driving limit in Turkey: 2026 fines and rules.
3. Above 1.00‰, article 179(3) of the Turkish Penal Code applies in addition to the administrative fine (art. 48(6)).
4. A driver below 1.00‰ who, as recorded in an official report, cannot drive safely because of alcohol is also handed over for criminal proceedings under Penal Code article 179(3) (Highway Traffic Regulation, art. 97(e)).

If a private-car driver above 0.50‰, or any other driver above 0.20‰, causes an accident, the relevant Penal Code provisions apply as well (art. 48(7)). For drivers of vehicles used in goods and passenger transport, three violations within five years cancel the licence (art. 48, paragraph added by Law 7574).

How much alcohol is 0.20‰?

0.20‰ is 20 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, and no fixed number of drinks corresponds to it. In the Widmark model, a single 33 cl beer at 5% (about 13 g of alcohol) gives a peak of about 0.17–0.25‰ in a 90 kg man, 0.22–0.33‰ in a 70 kg man and 0.29–0.51‰ in a 60 kg woman. A 50 cl beer gives 0.26–0.38‰, 0.33–0.49‰ and 0.45–0.77‰.

These are model estimates, not measurements: our own calculation with grams = ml × ABV × 0.789 (Searle 2015) and the distribution volumes 0.58–0.83 L/kg for men and 0.43–0.73 L/kg for women (ANSI/ASB 122; Maskell et al. 2023), assuming all alcohol is absorbed and none removed yet, rounded outward. Absorption can take up to about two hours (ANSI/ASB 122), so the level can still rise after the last sip.

For drivers in the 0.20‰ group, one small beer can be enough: in two of the three example people, even the lower end of the 33 cl range is above 0.20‰. The full table with two and three beers is in how much promille is one beer; your own range is in the blood alcohol calculator.

Did the limit change in 2026?

For private cars and other vehicles the limits did not change in 2026. The consolidated text of Law 2918, checked on 7 October 2026, still has 0.50‰, 0.20‰ (penalty from 0.21‰) and 1.00‰ (Law 2918). Two things changed in 2026. Law 7574 raised the fines in article 48 from 27 February 2026. Law 7590 rewrote the novice-driver article from 31 July 2026.

Reports that the limit “was set to 1.00‰” date from 2011 and describe a draft bill (memurlar.net, 19 February 2011, in Turkish). The text in force says 0.50‰ (Law 2918, art. 48(5)).

Common mistakes about the limit

• “0.20‰ is only for commercial vehicles.” This is too narrow. The Traffic Department says 0.20‰ applies to drivers of every vehicle other than a private car (Turkish Traffic Department), which includes a privately used motorbike or kamyonet.
• “Professional drivers have zero tolerance (0.00‰).” Law 2918 and the Highway Traffic Regulation contain the numbers 0.50 and 0.20, not 0.00. An employer can have stricter rules; those are not covered here.
• “0.50‰ means 50% alcohol.” The Traffic Department calls this a common error: 0.50‰ is 0.5 g per litre of blood (Turkish Traffic Department).
• “Under the limit means safe.” The Traffic Department writes that there is no safe alcohol limit for driving and that being under the legal limit only avoids the fine (Turkish Traffic Department).

How the police measure, and how you can check yourself

Police use calibrated devices that print the date, time, result and device serial number. If you object to the result, there is no second measurement; the objection goes to court under the Misdemeanours Law (Highway Traffic Regulation, art. 97). After an accident with injuries, deaths or police involvement, a driver who objects to or refuses the device is taken for a blood, saliva or urine sample (Law 2918, art. 48(3)).

Before you drive, a count or a calculator is only an estimate. AlkoSafe is a saliva screening strip with a manufacturer-stated detection threshold of 0.20‰ (AlkoSafe); how the colour change works is on how it works. The threshold has the same number as the lower limit, but a negative strip does not show that you are under that limit: the strip tests saliva, not blood, and alcohol can still be rising while it is being absorbed.

What no limit can tell you

No limit, count or test result tells you that you are fit to drive. The Traffic Department notes that negative effects on driving grow as alcohol rises from about 0.2‰, and that no level of alcohol is safe for driving (Turkish Traffic Department). If you have been drinking, do not drive. Take a taxi, public transport or a driver who has not been drinking.

Frequently asked questions

About this guide

This guide quotes Law 2918, the Highway Traffic Regulation and the Turkish Traffic Department, all checked on 7 October 2026 against the official texts on mevzuat.gov.tr and trafik.gov.tr. The promille ranges are our own calculation with the published Widmark model and the ANSI/ASB 122 distribution volumes; our calculator uses the same model. It is not legal advice and does not assess individual cases.

Disclaimer

AlkoSafe is a personal screening and self-check aid. It does not replace an official breath or blood test, medical advice, employer rules or traffic law. A test result does not prove that you are free of alcohol or legally fit to drive. If you have been drinking, are tired or unwell, or are unsure, do not drive. This page is information, not legal advice; for your own case, check the current official text and, if needed, ask a lawyer.

Sources

Official

• Law 2918 Highway Traffic Law (Karayolları Trafik Kanunu), consolidated text (art. 3, art. 48, Additional Art. 17): https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.2918.pdf
• Highway Traffic Regulation (Karayolları Trafik Yönetmeliği), art. 3 and art. 97: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/yonetmelik/7.5.8182.pdf
• Regulation on the Sale, Transfer and Registration of Vehicles (Araçların Satış, Devir ve Tescil Hizmetlerinin Yürütülmesi Hakkında Yönetmelik): https://mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/yonetmelik/7.5.24356.pdf
• Misdemeanours Law 5326 (Kabahatler Kanunu), art. 17(7), yearly revaluation: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.5326.pdf
• Turkish Traffic Department (Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü Trafik Başkanlığı), Alkollü Araç Kullanımı: https://trafik.gov.tr/alkollu-arac-kullanimi
• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 122, 2024 (distribution volumes §4.1.3.2, absorption §4.1.2): https://www.aafs.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/122_BPR_e1.pdf

Studies

• Maskell PD et al. Population ranges for the volume of distribution (Vd) of alcohol for use in forensic alcohol calculations. J Forensic Sci. 2023. DOI 10.1111/1556-4029.15317. https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/301086/1/301086.pdf
• Searle J. Alcohol calculations and their uncertainty. Med Sci Law. 2015;55(1):58–64. PMID 24644224. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0025802414524385

Other

• memurlar.net, Trafikte Alkol Sınırı Artıyor (news on the draft), 19 February 2011: https://www.memurlar.net/haber/188980/trafikte-alkol-siniri-artiyor.html

Manufacturer

• AlkoSafe product page (0.20‰ detection threshold): https://alkosafe.com/alkosafe/