Rules of the road
Driving in Greece
Every value below links to the official source it was checked against, with the date it was checked. What is not verified yet says so.
Quick answers about driving in Greece
- Which side of the road do you drive on in Greece?
- In Greece you drive on the right.
- How old do you have to be to drive in Greece?
- You must be at least 18 years old to drive in Greece. This is the EU-wide minimum for a category B licence, taken from the EU's own page rather than from a Greek one. Greece has not been checked for a lower national age.
- What is the speed limit in Greece?
- 130 km/h on motorways, 90 km/h on country roads and 50 km/h in towns and cities. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
- What is the drink driving limit in Greece?
- The legal limit in Greece is 0.5 g/l. Drivers who passed their test recently are held to 0.2 g/l.
Which side of the road
Which side of the road you drive on
Right
From the RAC's list of the European exceptions: the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta drive on the left, and every other European country drives on the right.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limits
Speed limit on the motorway
130 km/h
The official table gives "130/110" for a car under one heading covering both motorways and expressways: 130 on the motorway, 110 on the expressway. Follow the signs, which is what the table says to do.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Alcohol
Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently
0.2 g/l
The same 0.2 limit also covers anyone on a motorbike or a moped.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Your licence and age
Youngest age you may drive
18 years
This is the EU-wide minimum for a category B licence, taken from the EU's own page rather than from a Greek one. Greece has not been checked for a lower national age.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Looking to rent a car? The minimum age to drive is 18, but most car rental agencies have their own minimum rental age. Remember to check with your car rental agency before you book. We earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.
What you must carry in the car
What you must carry in the car
- Warning triangle
- First aid kit
- Fire extinguisher
Three items, more than most of Europe asks for. The extinguisher goes with the car's number plate, not the driver: it is required in Greek-registered cars, which includes almost every hire car, and not in a car you drove in on foreign plates. Since 18 June 2026 the first aid kit has to meet a set standard and be kept in the cabin within reach, not in the boot. A high-visibility vest is not required here, which will surprise anyone arriving from Portugal, Spain or Italy.
Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source
Phones at the wheel
Hands-free phone calls
Allowed, with restrictions
The phone must sit in a hands-free cradle with a speaker, or be used with a wireless earpiece. Holding it to your ear is not allowed even on a call.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Seatbelts and children
Motorbikes and scooters
Helmets on a motorbike or scooter
Required for rider and passenger
Riders and passengers of mopeds, motorcycles and three-wheelers without a cabin must wear a protective helmet, properly fastened. Article 16, paragraph 6 of the highway code, Law 5209/2025.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence
- Engine up to 50 cc
- Power up to 4 kW
- Top speed up to 45 km/h
A Greek category B licence covers category AM only if the holder has had the B licence for more than six years and is at least 27 years old (Article 4, paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree 51/2012 as amended). The decree's Annex II describes the AM machine as a two-wheeler with a design speed of 45 km/h and either a combustion engine of up to 50 cc or an electric motor of up to 4 kW: the engine limit is for petrol and the power limit for electric. Mopeds that cannot exceed 25 km/h need no licence at all (Article 3). With the national code 121 added to a Greek B licence, after at least five practical lessons and under the same six-year and age-27 conditions, the holder may also ride category A1 motorcycles up to 125 cc, but only inside Greece. The decree does not say whether a foreign B licence gets the AM allowance.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter
16 years
Category AM. An applicant under 18 also needs the written consent of a parent or guardian. Presidential Decree 51/2012 as amended; the same age is given on the national registry of administrative procedures.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Riding between lanes of slow traffic
Allowed, with restrictions
Two-wheeled mopeds and motorcycles without a sidecar may ride between lanes of the same direction only when traffic fills the road and the other vehicles are stopped, on roads with at least two lanes per direction, at no more than 20 km/h, with dipped headlights on and giving way to others. Article 21, paragraph 9 of Law 5209/2025, still present in the ministry's 2026 codified text.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway
- Top speed at least 70 km/h
The code sets no engine-size floor and does not name mopeds. It bans from motorways and expressways any motor vehicle that by construction, or for any other reason, cannot exceed 70 km/h on a level road (Article 33, paragraph 1), so the test is whether the machine can go faster than 70, not how big it is. A moped is defined in Article 4, number 36 as a vehicle with a maximum design speed of 45 km/h, so every moped is excluded.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Headlights on a motorbike in daytime
Required at all times
During daytime hours moped and motorcycle riders must ride with at least one front dipped headlight and one rear red light on. At night and in poor visibility lights are required for every vehicle. Article 39, paragraph 4 of Law 5209/2025.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Fines
Typical fines
- Drink driving — fine 200–2000 EUR, possible driving ban (200 euro over the limit that applies to you, 700 euro over 0.8 g/l, 1,200 euro over 1.1 g/l. The licence is taken for six months in the lower bands and 180 days over 1.1. A second offence over 1.1 within two years costs 2,000 euro and the licence for five years.)
Fines are set by the highway code, not by the officer. The figures above are the ones published for drink driving; other offences are not yet recorded here.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
More questions about driving in Greece
- What do you have to carry in your car in Greece?
- You must carry a warning triangle, a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher.
- Can you use your phone while driving in Greece?
- No. Holding a phone while driving is against the law in Greece. Hands-free: allowed, with restrictions.
- Can you ride a scooter or small motorbike on a car licence in Greece?
- Yes, engine up to 50 cc, power up to 4 kW and top speed up to 45 km/h.
Each answer comes from the rules above, where you can also see the official source and the date it was checked.
32 rules not yet verified for Greece
These rules exist, but no value has been checked against an official source yet. Missing beats wrong.
- Which side you overtake on
- Speed limit on a dual carriageway
- Speed limit in living and residential zones
- Speed limit in rain or snow
- Speed limit for drivers who passed their test recently
- Speed limit when towing a trailer or caravan
- Whether you need an International Driving Permit
- How long you may drive on your own licence
- What you should carry, but do not have to
- When you must switch your headlights on
- Headlights in tunnels
- Turning at a red light
- Who has priority at a roundabout
- Priority to traffic coming from the right
- Age below which a child needs a child seat
- Height below which a child needs a child seat
- Youngest age a child may sit in the front
- What the lines and painted kerbs mean
- How you pay to park
- Parking on the pavement
- Parking facing against the traffic
- How far you must park from a junction or crossing
- What happens if you park wrongly
- Winter tyres
- When winter tyre rules apply
- Snow chains
- What a rider must wear or carry
- How you pay for motorways
- Low-emission zones
- Congestion charges
- Emergency number
- Whether police can fine you on the spot