DUI Lawyer in Spain: Defence for Drink-Driving Charges
If you have been charged with drink-driving in Spain, this is the main page of our defence practice under Art. 379.2 CP: the 0.60 mg/l threshold, breathalyser and metrology challenges, the fast-track trial and the driving ban, argued in English before Spanish courts.
Driving in Spain with a breath alcohol level above 0.60 mg/l, or a blood alcohol level above 1.2 g/l, is a criminal offence in every case under Article 379.2 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP): once either threshold is exceeded the conviction is objective, and the prosecution need not prove that the alcohol actually impaired the driving. Below those figures it is an offence only where real impairment is established; failing that, it stays an administrative traffic matter, whose general limits are 0.25 mg/l in breath and 0.15 mg/l for novice and professional drivers. The penalties are alternative —3 to 6 months' imprisonment, a fine of 6 to 12 months, or 31 to 90 days of community service (trabajos en beneficio de la comunidad)— and in every case a driving ban of more than 1 year and up to 4 years, the consequence with the greatest real impact. Since these cases are almost always handled through fast-track proceedings, with a conviction possible within 72 hours, immediate defence is decisive: we check the breathalyser's calibration, the two required measurements taken with the proper interval, and whether the detainee was informed of the right to a confirmatory blood test.
If you are looking for a DUI lawyer in Spain, this is the main page of our drink-driving defence practice under Art. 379.2 CP. We challenge breathalyser calibration, chain of custody and absorption-curve timing before Spanish courts, in English. Two situations are dealt with on their own pages: a drink-driving accident with injuries (Arts. 152 and 142 CP) and the court procedure for a driver who lives outside Spain. If the charge you are facing goes beyond road safety, our English-speaking criminal defence practice in Spain covers the wider picture: arrest, investigation, trial and appeal.
You have tested positive at a roadside breath test: what happens next
The police report goes to the duty Investigating Court and, in most cases, the case runs through the fast-track procedure (Art. 795 LECrim), so you may be summoned within days. Almost everything is decided there: the reading recorded in the report, the verification and calibration of the breathalyser, whether the second measurement was taken and whether a blood test was offered. Art. 379.2 CP carries 3 to 6 months’ imprisonment, a fine of 6 to 12 months or 31 to 90 days’ community service and, in every case, disqualification from driving for more than one and up to four years.
What to do (and what not to do) before making a statement
- You may remain silent and not incriminate yourself (Arts. 118 and 520 LECrim). Before making a statement you are entitled to a confidential interview with your lawyer and to examine the case file.
- Ask for and keep a copy of the police report and of the breathalyser’s verification and calibration certificates: they are the document that decides whether the reading can be used as evidence.
- Note the exact time of each measurement and the interval between them, and whether you were told of your right to request a blood test.
- Do not accept a plea agreement at the duty court without first reviewing the police report: the agreement under Art. 801 LECrim reduces the sentence by a third, but it also fixes the driving ban.
- Do not drive again while an interim ban is in force: doing so adds a separate offence under Art. 384 CP.
DUI in Spain: What the Prosecution Must Prove (Art. 379.2 CP)
The offence of driving under the influence of alcohol (Art. 379.2 CP) protects road safety as a collective legal interest and, mediately, the life and physical integrity of road users. The criminal provision sanctions two distinct conducts: driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages with real impairment of abilities, and driving exceeding the objective rate of 0.60 mg/l in expired air or 1.2 g/l in blood, at which point the offence is presumed without need to prove influence. Supreme Court case-law has consolidated the dual model and demands evidential rigor in both scenarios: the breathalyzer must be verified and calibrated, and the documentary chain must respect procedural guarantees.
The typical conduct modalities and set thresholds must be distinguished with precision. Below 0.25 mg/l there is no infraction. Between 0.25 and 0.50 mg/l there is a very serious administrative infraction under the General Traffic Regulation (€500 fine and 4 points). Between 0.50 and 0.60 mg/l the administrative infraction is aggravated (€1,000 and 6 points), but the criminal sphere requires proof of influence. Above 0.60 mg/l enters the objective rate of Art. 379.2 in fine CP: the offence is automatically consummated, with no need to prove psychophysical impairment. The refusal to undergo detection tests (Art. 383 CP) configures an autonomous offence more serious than a positive result, with 6 months to 1 year of prison and 1 to 4 years' license deprivation.
The penalties in Art. 379 CP are alternative: 3 to 6 months' prison, or 6 to 12 months' fine, or community service of 31 to 90 days. In all cases the deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds is added for more than 1 year and up to 4 years, which constitutes in practice the most relevant consequence for the convicted. The disqualification penalty affects not only the B-type driver's license but all permits and licenses held by the subject. The forfeiture of the vehicle as instrument of the offence is foreseen in Art. 385 bis CP and is decreed especially in multiple recidivism cases or extremely reckless driving. Civil liability arising from accidents with injurious or fatal outcome is governed by the compulsory insurance regime (RDL 8/2004), with the insurer's right of recourse against the drunk driver.
Technical defence in DUI is articulated on four axes. First, the metrological audit of the breathalyzer: Order ICT/155/2020 on metrological control requires primitive verification, periodic verification, and after every repair; the absence of an updated certificate determines nullity of measurement. Additionally, the maximum permissible error (PEM) ranges between 5% and 7.5% depending on device age; applied to a 0.64 mg/l result, it may place the real figure at 0.59 mg/l, excluding the objective offence. Second, the absorption curve and rising phase: alcohol takes 30 to 90 minutes to fully absorb; when the driver drank immediately before and testing occurs with short interval, the measured rate does not reflect the real concentration at the driving moment. Third, external symptomatology: in the 0.25-0.60 mg/l range the offence requires proven influence; the police report describing "shiny eyes, slurred speech and unsteady walking" can be discredited by viewing the action video, especially if the driver parked correctly and maintained coherent conversation. Fourth, procedural defects: absence of rights information, no offer of blood contrast analysis (Art. 14 General Traffic Regulation), chain of custody defects.
In current forensic practice, DUI proceedings are processed in expedited trial when the requirements of Art. 795 Criminal Procedure Act concur, compressing deadlines for effective defence. Organic Law 1/2025 on Justice Service Efficiency and recent procedural reforms have accelerated the procedure but also expanded guarantees on electronic evidence and digital chain of custody of breathalyzer records. Constitutional case-law on the right to presumption of innocence and Supreme Court doctrine on technical documentary evidence oblige courts to rigorously control metrological reliability. At Alonso Sala, our criminal lawyers specialised in DUI intervene from legal assistance to the detained driver to guarantee the right to contrast analysis, demand device metrological documentation, articulate medical expert evidence on absorption curve, and build defences that precisely distinguish administrative infraction from criminal offence. The aim is to preserve the driver's license, avoid criminal records and, where applicable, substitute prison for work or fine, safeguarding the defendant's personal and professional trajectory.
The "0.60" Myth: Objective Rate vs. Influence
It is vital to understand that the crime does not always depend on a number. The Criminal Code establishes an objective limit of 0.60 mg/l in air (1.2 g/l in blood), above which the crime is automatic, whether or not there are symptoms. However, with lower rates (between 0.40 and 0.60 mg/l), the prosecution must prove the *influence*. This is where our defence is most effective: if we prove that you were driving normally, that there were no strange maneuvers, and that your behavior was coherent, the rate alone is not enough for a criminal conviction, and the matter should remain an administrative fine.
Why Choose Us for DUI Defence?
Scientific defence under Art. 379.2 CP: metrology, error margins and chain of custody. The technology fails.
- Metrology error margins: demand breathalyzer primitive + periodic verification certificate. Order ICT/155/2020 = error margin (PEM) up to 7.5% devices service. Result 0.63 corrected drops 0.58 = criminal acquittal.
- Alcohol curve rising phase: alcohol takes 30-90min fully absorb. Stopped shortly after drinking = stomach NOT brain. Driving moment ability NOT impaired, even if breath positive (medical experts).
- External symptomatology police video: range 0.40-0.60 = crime only if influence. Upright + coherent + parked correctly = discredit report 'shiny eyes slurred speech' as generic copy-paste template.
Technical Defence Lines
Metrology and Margins
We demand the breathalyzer's primitive and periodic verification certificate. According to Order ICT/155/2020, an error margin (PEM) of up to 7.5% must be applied to devices in service. A result of 0.63 mg/l, corrected, drops to 0.58 mg/l: Criminal Acquittal.
Alcohol Curve
Alcohol takes between 30 and 90 minutes to fully absorb. If stopped shortly after drinking, alcohol was in your stomach, not your brain (rising phase). We argue that at the time of driving, your ability was not impaired, even if breath tested positive.
External Symptomatology
In the 0.40 - 0.60 mg/l range, it is only a crime if there is influence. We analyze the police action video. If you stood upright, spoke coherently, and parked correctly, the police report stating 'shiny eyes and slurred speech' can be discredited as a generic template ('copy-paste').
Drink-Driving Defence in Spain: How a DUI Case Actually Runs
This is our main page for drink-driving charges in Spain, and it covers the ordinary case: a driver stopped at a checkpoint or after a minor incident, tested over the limit, and summoned to court within days. Two situations are argued elsewhere because the law that governs them is different — if the driving injured or killed someone, see drink-driving accident with injuries (Arts. 379 and 152/142 CP); if you live outside Spain and the question is procedural rather than substantive, see charged as a foreign driver in Spain.
The First Days: Fast-Track Trial and the Guilty Plea
Drink-driving is the textbook offence for the fast-track proceedings of Arts. 795 and following of the Criminal Procedure Act: the police report goes to the duty court and the driver is summoned within days, often before anyone has looked at the breathalyser paperwork. At that hearing the driver is offered a guilty plea (conformidad), which reduces the penalty by one third under Art. 801 LECrim. It is a legitimate route and frequently the sensible one — but it is also the point of no return: once entered, the conviction, the criminal record and the driving ban are fixed, and the right of appeal is waived. Whether a plea is in your interest depends on evidence you have not yet seen. That is the single reason to take advice before the hearing rather than after it.
Breath Reading Versus Blood Reading
The criminal threshold is 0.60 mg/l in breath, equivalent to 1.2 g/l in blood. The driver is entitled to ask for a confirmatory blood analysis (Art. 14 of the General Traffic Regulation), which is more precise than the evidential breathalyser; a failure to offer that test, or a break in the chain of custody of the sample, can undermine the evidential value of the reading. The protocol also requires two breath measurements separated by the regulatory interval: where the second reading is lower than the first, the difference may reflect the descending phase of the alcohol curve and forces the court to ask what the real level was at the moment of driving. Combined with the device's error margin, a discordance between the two readings is a genuine line of defence whenever the result sits close to 0.60 mg/l.
Refusing the Test Is a Separate, Heavier Offence
Refusing to take the breath or drug test is not a way out of a positive: it is an autonomous offence under Art. 383 CP, punished with 6 months to 1 year in prison and a driving ban of 1 to 4 years, with no alternative fine. A positive reading can be attacked on metrology, on the curve or on the alleged symptoms; a filmed refusal leaves very little to argue. The detail is set out on our refusal to test page.
The Driving Ban and Getting Back on the Road
In practice the driving ban is the consequence that hurts most: Art. 379 CP imposes it in every case, for more than one year and up to four, and it reaches every licence the driver holds, not only the category used. Driving during that ban is a fresh offence under Art. 384 CP. Recovering the licence afterwards is not automatic either: a DGT awareness and re-education course is required before driving legally again. Much of the defence work in an unwinnable file is therefore about the length of the ban rather than about acquittal, and about keeping a custodial sentence off the record where the driver has none.
E-Scooters and Personal Mobility Vehicles
Whether a positive test on an e-scooter or other personal mobility vehicle (PMV) is, as a rule, an administrative fine rather than a criminal offence: a compliant PMV is not a motor vehicle for the purposes of Art. 379.2 CP (Prosecution Service opinion 2/2021). It becomes a criminal matter when the device exceeds PMV parameters and qualifies as a motor vehicle. We deal with that discussion, and with what it means for a driver who has already been reported, on our e-scooter and PMV page.
How we defend a drink-driving charge
These cases are won on the evidence, not on the account given: verification and calibration of the breathalyser, the interval between the two readings, the applicable margin of error, whether a blood test was offered and whether all of it is recorded in the police report. Where the charge rests on impairment rather than on the objective reading, the ground shifts to the external signs noted by the officers and what they actually prove. We act before the duty court from the first summons, when the fast-track procedure leaves little room to improvise.
Specialized DUI Practice
Repeat DUI Offenses
Defense in second or multiple DUI offenses. Recidivism aggravating factor and prison alternatives.
DUI with Accident
Defense when DUI occurs after a traffic accident. Concurrence of offenses and civil liability.
Breathalyzer Challenge
Strategies to invalidate the test: expired verification, error margins, and procedural defects.
Foreign Drivers
Defense for tourists and foreign residents charged with DUI: fast-track trial, licence and paying the fine from abroad.
Other Road Safety Offenses
Drug Driving
Defense in saliva test positives. Difference between presence and influence.
Speeding Offenses
Radar challenges, error margins, and driver identification failures. Art. 379.1 CP.
Reckless Driving
Defense in reckless driving, kamikaze, and hit-and-run offenses. Art. 380 CP.
Driving Without License
Strategies for license invalidity, judicial withdrawal, or non-obtainment. Art. 384 CP.
Test Refusal
Defense for refusing breathalyzer or drug detection tests. Art. 383 CP.
DUI in Spain: Frequently Asked Questions
Road Safety Offences in Spain: DUI, Reckless Driving and Traffic Crimes — Defence Guide
Road safety offences (Arts. 379-385 CP) are among the most prosecuted in Spain. Driving under the influence (DUI), dangerous driving, unlicensed driving, and driving while disqualified carry not only prison sentences and fines, but also driving licence disqualification that can last up to 10 years.
Penalty Table: Road Safety Offences
| Offence | Article | Threshold | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUI (alcohol) | Art. 379.2 | > 0.60 breath / 1.2 blood | 3-6 months prison or fine + 1-4 yr disqual. |
| DUI (drugs) | Art. 379.2 | Any detectable amount | 3-6 months prison or fine + 1-4 yr disqual. |
| Excessive speed | Art. 379.1 | +60 km/h urban / +80 km/h interurban over the limit | 3-6 months prison or fine + 1-4 yr disqual. |
| Reckless driving (Art. 380) | Art. 380 | Manifest disregard for life | 6 months – 2 years + 1-6 yr disqual. |
| Unlicensed driving (never held) | Art. 384 | No licence ever held | 3-6 months prison or fine |
| Driving while disqualified | Art. 384 | Lost by judicial/admin order | 3-6 months + 1-4 yr further disqual. |
| Hit and run (Art. 382 bis) | Art. 382 bis | Leaving accident scene | 6 months – 4 years |
Key Defence Strategies
Challenge the Breathalyser Result
Breathalyser devices must be calibrated and certified. Challenge: calibration records out of date, device malfunction, improper administration protocol (required 15-minute observation period before test).
Drug Test Challenge (Saliva/Blood)
Roadside saliva tests are presumptive, not conclusive. Request the blood confirmatory test. If the confirmatory test was not performed or the result is contested, the evidence may be insufficient.
Reckless Driving: subjectivising the risk
Art. 380 requires manifest, concrete endangerment of road users. Driving fast on an empty road at night may not constitute the 'manifest danger to life' required.
Disqualification Computation
If the accused drove believing the disqualification had expired (administrative error, incorrect notification), the subjective element of Art. 384 may be absent.
What is the drink-driving limit in Spain?
What is the penalty for drink-driving in Spain?
What happens if I test between 0.25 and 0.60 mg/l?
Is it better to refuse to blow?
Can I request a blood test?
What are error margins?
What is the alcohol curve?
Can they confiscate my car?
Do I go to jail if it's my first time?
How long is the license withdrawal?
Does it affect my criminal record?
Do mouthwash or meds work as a defence?
What if I'm a professional driver?
Is the breathalyzer valid if the inspection is expired?
Can I drive a moped if my car license is withdrawn?
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