Czechia runs three rules harder than most of its EU neighbours, and the gap is where foreign drivers get caught. The blood-alcohol ceiling under § 5 of Zákon 361/2000 Sb. is 0.0‰ — absolute zero, no breakfast-pivo allowance — and any reading at all triggers a § 125c přestupek with administrative fines from CZK 2,500 up to CZK 20,000 plus 6 points; from 1‰ Police ČR routes the case to § 274 trestního zákoníku (criminal "ohrožení pod vlivem návykové látky") with prison up to one year and a 1–10-year driving ban.
Even a 0.10‰ residual reading from the night before is a stop.
The bodový systém was overhauled on 1 January 2024 and the post-reform tariff is what police are issuing today: five point bands collapsed to three (2 / 4 / 6 points), and the fine ceiling jumped. Handheld phone use is now CZK 1,500–2,500 on the spot and CZK 4,000–10,000 in správní řízení — up from CZK 1,000 pre-reform — with 2 points.
Running a red light is CZK 2,500–5,000 / up to CZK 5,500 administratively with 5 points. The top speeding band (40+ km/h in town, 50+ km/h outside) carries CZK 7,000–25,000 plus 6 points and a 6–18-month ban, no on-the-spot option.
Tolls are exclusively a digital dálniční známka — paper stickers were retired in 2021 and the system runs entirely on ANPR plate-matching, so the registration you type into eDalnice.cz must exactly match the plate on the car. The 2026 schedule indexed for inflation: 1-day CZK 230, 10-day CZK 300, 30-day CZK 480, annual CZK 2,570.
Driving the D1 Praha–Brno–Ostrava (370 km), D5 to Plzeň and the German border, D8 to Dresden or the D0 Pražský okruh (the western half is open; the south-east 511 segment Běchovice–D1 is in build, due 2027) without a valid známka is up to CZK 5,000 on the spot or CZK 20,000 in správní řízení, enforced by both Policie ČR and Celní správa from mobile ANPR. Winter tyres (M+S or 3PMSF, min 4 mm tread on cars) are required 1 November–31 March whenever there is snow, ice or frost on the road, and year-round on signed úseky like D1 around Humpolec–Jihlava.
In Prague, the modré zóny are resident-only with a 3-hour visitor option via the Virtual Parking Hours app, rates run from CZK 80/hour in Praha 1 down to CZK 20–40 in outer districts, and from 1 January 2026 the EL-plate free-parking exemption for low-emission cars ended.
Reviewed by Pawan Priyadarshi
Founder of AutoviaTest · About the editor
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