What is the drink drive limit in the UK?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, 80mg per 100ml of blood, or 107mg per 100ml of urine. In Scotland it is 22 micrograms of breath, 50mg of blood, or 67mg of urine.

How many pints can I drink and drive?

There is no safe number. GOV.UK says it is impossible to say how many drinks equal the limit because it depends on weight, sex, age, metabolism, food and the drink itself. For some people one pint can be enough to be over, especially in Scotland.

Is the drink drive limit lower in Scotland?

Yes. Scotland lowered its limit in December 2014 to 22 micrograms per 100ml of breath and 50mg per 100ml of blood, the same as most of Europe.

NOV 9, 2026

UK Drink Drive Limit: How Many Pints Is It, Really?

nobody will give you a number, and it turns out there's a good reason for that.

Dave A Shaw - 4 min read

Every pub I've ever been in has had one bloke who knows the rule. The rule is "two pints and you're fine." He's said it with total confidence since about 1998. He has never once been asked where he got it from.

I looked it up. It's not the rule. There isn't a pint rule at all.

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The actual limits

Measured in	England, Wales, NI	Scotland
Breath (micrograms per 100ml)	35	22
Blood (mg per 100ml)	80	50
Urine (mg per 100ml)	107	67

Breath is the one you'll meet at the roadside. Blood and urine come up if you're tested at the station.¹

So how many pints is 35 micrograms?

GOV.UK's official answer is that it's impossible to say, and for once the official answer is the honest one. It depends on your weight, your sex, your age, how fast your body processes alcohol, what you've eaten, how strong the drink is, and (this one surprised me) how stressed you are.

A big bloke who's just had a roast might get away with more than a small person on an empty stomach. Might. The difference between "under" and "over" can be a single pint, and you won't feel the line when you cross it.

In Scotland it's tighter still. At 22 micrograms, one pint can be enough for a lot of people. The practical advice up there is basically: none.

Rather than guess, put what you actually drank into the Can I Drive? calculator. It uses your weight and the Widmark formula to estimate when you'd be back under. It's an estimate, not a breathalyser, but it beats the bloke at the bar.

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The morning after is where people get caught

The evening is easy. Most people know not to drive home from the pub. It's the next morning that catches people out, because it feels like a different day. Your liver disagrees. It's roughly one unit an hour, from your last drink, and four pints is about ten units.

I wrote a whole thing on how long after drinking you can drive, with worked examples. The six-pint row is the one to look at if you're planning a Sunday lunch drive.

What happens if you're over

A ban of at least 12 months, a fine that's a chunk of your weekly pay, and possibly worse depending on how far over. The ban calculator shows the guideline numbers for any reading, if you want to frighten yourself properly.

* * *

I stopped needing to know any of this when I stopped drinking on nights before I needed the car. These days it's usually an IMPOSSIBREW instead. Referral link: tenner off for you, tenner of credit for me. Disclosed with the enthusiasm of a man who has nothing to hide and a lot of footnotes.

The bloke at the bar is still saying two pints. I've stopped correcting him. He gets a lift now anyway.

Sources: GOV.UK, "The drink drive limit" and "Drink-driving penalties". Checked November 2026. Not legal advice. I'm a man who reads GOV.UK for fun now, which is its own warning sign.