Licence seized for alcohol, first time: what happens now

Licence seized for alcohol for the first time? Then two separate tracks start now. The public prosecutor decides within 10 days about your licence: return it or retain it.

Independently of that, the CBR decides which measure you get. A course or an assessment, depending on your blood-alcohol level.

Most first offenders end up with a course at the CBR. Above 1.8 per mille, or above 1.3 as a novice driver, a fitness-to-drive assessment follows. Only there does a blood test come in. Below you'll read which track belongs to which level, and what you can already do yourself.

We notice the first days are confusing mainly because two bodies send letters at the same time. Read them separately. They're about different things.

What happens the first time I'm stopped with alcohol?

The police measure your breath alcohol, write a report and can seize your licence on the spot. From that moment you may not drive any motor vehicle. The licence goes to the public prosecutor, and the police notify the CBR.

That starts the first track: criminal law. Within 10 days the prosecutor decides whether you get the licence back pending the case. If not, it stays retained.

The penalty itself follows later, through a penalty order or the court. A court can disqualify you from driving for up to 5 years. For a repeat offence, 10 years.

The second track is administrative law, through the CBR. That isn't about punishment but about whether you're fit to drive. The CBR imposes a measure based on your blood-alcohol level and your history.

In which cases is my licence seized if I've had alcohol?

The police seize your licence above 1.3 per mille, according to Rijksoverheid. For a novice driver that limit is 0.8 per mille. They can also take it if you refuse a breath or blood test. The legal limit for driving is lower: 0.5 per mille, and 0.2 per mille for novice drivers.

You usually count as a novice driver in the first five years after your first licence. Between the legal limit and the seizure limit you're penalised. But you generally keep your licence with you. The CBR can still impose a course.

Which measure does the CBR impose at which level?

The CBR chooses between a short course (LEMA), a longer course (EMA) and a fitness-to-drive assessment. The line is drawn by your blood-alcohol level and by earlier arrests. Only the assessment includes a blood test.

The LEMA and EMA limits come from the Trimbos Institute's information on these courses. Driven over the limit before? Then the CBR can impose an EMA or an assessment at a lower level. At the highest levels the CBR can suspend your licence while the assessment runs.

How long do you lose your licence for alcohol?

It depends on both tracks. In criminal law the prosecutor first decides within 10 days whether you get the licence back. The penalty then determines how long you can't drive.

In administrative law you usually keep your licence with a course. An assessment takes months and can end in a finding of unfit.

If you're found unfit because of alcohol misuse, a recurrence-free period of one year applies. Only after that can you be found fit again. How that second assessment works is in CBR assessment result: what if you fail.

You can ask the prosecutor or the court in writing to return the licence. A lawyer can help, but it's no guarantee.

How long do novice drivers lose their licence for alcohol?

For a novice driver every limit is lower. The legal limit is 0.2 per mille, seizure starts at 0.8 and the assessment above 1.3. Here too the prosecutor or the court sets the length of the disqualification, not the CBR. But as a novice you reach the assessment sooner, and so a blood test sooner.

Say two drivers blow 1.4 per mille on the same Friday evening, both for the first time. One has held a licence for eight years, the other for two. For both, the police seize the licence and the prosecutor decides within 10 days.

Then the paths split. The experienced driver gets an EMA from the CBR. The novice gets an assessment at 1.4 per mille, with a blood draw for CDT and gamma-GT. We often see that difference come as a surprise.

When does a blood test come in?

Only with the fitness-to-drive assessment. The lab then measures CDT and gamma-GT. That follows the guideline the Dutch Psychiatric Association and the NVKC revised in 2026.

CDT reflects heavy drinking in the two to three weeks before the draw. The decision limit is above 2.0 percent. Gamma-GT looks back several weeks. Its decision limits are above 74 U/L for men and above 44 U/L for women.

The psychiatrist sets those results against your account and the police report. Under the guideline, one high reading isn't enough on its own for a conclusion of alcohol misuse. At least two circumstances are needed. Which questions to expect is in trick questions in the CBR alcohol assessment.

What can you do right now?

Three things, in this order. Request the police report so you know your exact reading. Convert your drinking pattern honestly into standard drinks. A standard drink contains about 10 grams of alcohol, according to the Voedingscentrum.

And if you're heading for the assessment, have your CDT and gamma-GT measured now.

A CDT test at Zuivertest measures the same marker as the CBR's lab, in a certified laboratory. The result is yours and doesn't replace the CBR assessment. Nor does the CBR adopt our result. What you gain is knowing what the psychiatrist will see.

The Gezondheidsraad advises no alcohol, or at most one drink a day. If you decide to stop after an arrest, you can later show it. How that works is in checking your own CDT and EtG.

Also read how the whole CBR alcohol and drug assessment works. What the CDT value for your driving licence means. And when you need a health declaration for your licence.

Frequently asked questions

Licence seized for alcohol a second time: what changes?

After a second final conviction for drink-driving, your licence can become invalid by law. That's what the Public Prosecution Service writes. That's the recidiveregeling alcohol. You then have to obtain a new licence, and often first show that you're fit.

What does a seized licence for alcohol cost?

You pay the penalty, plus the CBR measure itself. That's the course or the assessment, and the laboratory tests. The amounts differ per measure and change; the CBR publishes current fees. For an assessment, expect a few hundred euros for the psychiatrist plus the lab costs.

Sources

• Rijksoverheid, Wanneer wordt mijn rijbewijs ingevorderd? (rijksoverheid.nl)
• Openbaar Ministerie, Alcohol, drugs en medicijnen in het verkeer (om.nl)
• Trimbos-instituut, alcoholinfo.nl, Alles over de EMA/LEMA-cursus
• Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychiatrie and NVKC, guideline Alcoholmisbruik in het kader van rijgeschiktheidskeuringen, modules Laboratoriumonderzoek and Afweging van de onderzoeksbevindingen, 2026 (richtlijnendatabase.nl)
• Stibler H. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin in serum: a new marker of potentially harmful alcohol consumption reviewed. Clin Chem. 1991. PMID: 1764777
• Voedingscentrum, the standard drink; Gezondheidsraad, Richtlijnen goede voeding 2015

Every test result at Zuivertest includes a professional assessment from a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.