In short: Guatemala’s traffic law publishes no blood-alcohol number. The rule is driving under the influence, determined by breathalyser or other authorised objective means (Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis, added by Decreto 45-2016). The administrative sanction is a 1 to 2 year licence suspension and a Q5,000 to Q25,000 fine (double for bus and truck drivers, double again for a repeat). The Código Penal Art. 157 separately sets Q5,000 to Q25,000 and licence cancellation of 3 months to 5 years, and 3 to 5 years’ prison if anyone is hurt or anything is damaged. At a checkpoint the licence, vehicle and driver are held while the test runs (Reglamento Arts. 175 to 177). General information, not legal advice.
The penalties below come from the consolidated Ley de Tránsito and Reglamento de Tránsito the Departamento de Tránsito de la PNC publishes, which includes the text of Decreto 45-2016, and from the Código Penal. The rest of the road rules are on the Guatemala driving hub.
The short answer
| Question | Published answer | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Legal blood-alcohol limit | No number published in the Ley or Reglamento | Documented absence, see below |
| What the offence is | Driving “bajo la influencia de bebidas alcohólicas y/o fermentadas” | Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis |
| How it is measured | “medición objetiva con alcoholímetro o medios objetivos de convicción”, previously authorised | Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis |
| Administrative sanction, private driver | Licence retained and suspended 1 to 2 years + Q5,000 to Q25,000 | Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis, numeral 1 |
| Administrative sanction, bus or cargo driver | Licence suspended 2 to 4 years + Q10,000 to Q50,000 | Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis, numeral 2 |
| Repeat offence | Double the sanction | Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis |
| Criminal fine | Q5,000 to Q25,000 + licence cancellation 3 months to 5 years | Código Penal Art. 157, as reformed |
| If injury or damage results | 3 to 5 years’ prison + definitive licence cancellation | Código Penal Art. 157, as reformed |
| If someone dies | Homicidio culposo penalty (2 to 5 years) doubled + licence cancellation 1 to 5 years | Código Penal Art. 127, as reformed |
| At the checkpoint | Licence, vehicle and tarjeta retained, driver detained while the test runs | Reglamento Arts. 175 to 177 |
Is there a legal alcohol limit?
Not a published number. Ley de Tránsito Art. 40 bis, added by Article 10 of Decreto 45-2016, is worded around influence, not a threshold:
“Retención y suspensión de la licencia de conducir de uno (1) a dos (2) años y multa de cinco mil (Q.5,000.00) a veinticinco mil (Q.25,000.00) Quetzales, a quien condujere un vehículo automotor bajo la influencia de bebidas alcohólicas y/o fermentadas.”
And on how intoxication is established:
“Para la determinación del estado de embriaguez en que pudiera encontrarse el piloto, se realizará una medición objetiva con alcoholímetro o medios objetivos de convicción, previamente autorizados por la autoridad competente y de conformidad con el procedimiento que para el efecto establezca el reglamento de la presente Ley.”
What we searched. The full 208-page consolidated text the Departamento de Tránsito publishes (the Ley, the Reglamento with its reforms, the annexed Decreto 45-2016 and the Departamento’s own Manual del Conductor) for gramos, g/l, mg, por litro, concentración, sangre, aliento and aire espirado. None returned a blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol threshold. The Reglamento’s only alcohol-test provisions are the retention rules in Arts. 175 to 177, which describe what happens during and after the test, not a number. The procedure Art. 40 bis refers to is not in the consolidated Reglamento.
That is an absence in the published text, not a permission. The Departamento’s own Manual del Conductor, in the same compilation, puts it plainly: “En caso de que una persona conduzca en estado de ebriedad será sancionada consignando la licencia de conducir, la tarjeta de circulación, el vehículo y al mismo conductor”, even if they were not involved in a crash.
The administrative sanction: Ley Art. 40 bis
| Who | Licence | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Any driver under the influence of alcoholic or fermented drinks | Retained and suspended 1 to 2 years | Q5,000 to Q25,000 |
| Collective-transport or cargo driver under the influence | Retained and suspended 2 to 4 years | Q10,000 to Q50,000 |
| Repeat offence | “se procederá al doble de la sanción estipulada” | Double |
The article’s last paragraph: if the circumstances amount to a crime, the traffic authority, with the PNC, sends the case to the court. Two related Ley articles, both reformed by Decreto 45-2016:
- Art. 41 a) lets the Departamento de Tránsito cancel a licence for up to ten years on a competent judge’s order in traffic incidents where it was shown the people involved were under the effects of alcohol or narcotics, without prejudice to criminal and civil liability. A cancelled licence cannot be replaced by one of the same type while the cancellation lasts.
- Art. 40 allows suspension of six months to a year for a driver fined administratively three times in the same calendar year, and cancellation if a suspended driver is caught driving.
The criminal side: Código Penal
Decreto 45-2016 also rewrote three Código Penal articles. The versions below are the reformed ones, taken from the decree text inside the Departamento’s compilation; in the reform-annotated 2024 copy of the Code, only Art. 157 carries a reform note (the OAS-hosted copy of the Code still prints the old, lower fines and should not be relied on for these articles).
Art. 157, “Responsabilidad de conductores” — a fine of Q5,000 to Q25,000 and licence cancellation of three months to five years for:
“Quien condujere un vehículo automotor en estado de ebriedad o bajo la influencia de drogas tóxicas o estupefacientes.”
The same article: a repeat offence increases the sanctions by a third; if injury or damage of any severity results from that conduct, the penalty is three to five years’ prison, including definitive cancellation of the driver’s licence; and bus or cargo drivers receive double the penalties plus cancellation of the vehicle’s operating card for five years.
Art. 127, “Homicidio culposo” — two to five years’ prison (three to eight if others are injured or several die). If committed while driving under the influence of alcohol, in a state of drunkenness or under drugs, the responsible person receives double the penalty that would otherwise apply, plus licence cancellation of one to five years. Collective or cargo transport drivers: ten to fifteen years and cancellation for the length of the sentence.
Art. 150, “Lesiones culposas” — three months to two years’ prison for negligent injury; if committed driving under the influence, plus a Q5,000 to Q25,000 fine and licence suspension of six months to two years. Bus or cargo drivers: three to five years and cancellation; a repeat doubles prison and cancellation.
At the checkpoint
Three Reglamento articles, one each for the licence (Art. 175), the vehicle and its tarjeta de circulación (Art. 176) and the driver (Art. 177), carry essentially the same literal a):
“Mientras se llevan a cabo las pruebas de alcoholemia y/o influencias de drogas, estupefacientes o sustancias psicotrópicas. Si estas pruebas resultaran negativas, sin más trámite, se devolverán los documentos, el vehículo y el conductor podrá circular libremente. En caso resulten positivas las pruebas, la autoridad de tránsito, pondrá a disposición de la Policía Nacional Civil al conductor, el vehículo y sus documentos.”
So, in order: everything is held while the test runs; a negative result ends it on the spot; a positive result hands the driver, the car and the papers to the PNC. What checkpoints feel like in practice is covered in our driving safety guide.
Rental cars and foreign licences
The car. Art. 176 retains the vehicle, whoever owns it, during the test, and a positive result puts it at the PNC’s disposal. The Reglamento says nothing about rental contracts. Whether a rental agreement or its insurance covers anything after an alcohol-related incident is a question for that contract; our rental car insurance guide covers rental cover in Guatemala.
The licence. Art. 40 bis and Código Penal Art. 157 are written for “quien condujere un vehículo automotor”, anyone driving, with no nationality exception. Art. 40 bis speaks of retaining and suspending “la licencia de conducir”; it does not say how that applies to a licence issued abroad, and we are not going to guess.
Frequently asked questions
Is Guatemala zero tolerance? The published text does not say zero and does not say any other number. It says under the influence, measured by breathalyser or other authorised objective means. We found no threshold to report.
Does a passenger who has been drinking have any obligation? The articles above are written for the driver. Separately, Código Penal Art. 489 punishes with 10 to 50 days’ arrest a person who, drunk, causes a scandal or endangers their own or others’ safety; that is a general misdemeanour, not a driving rule.
Can I refuse the test? None of Arts. 175 to 177 or Art. 40 bis sets a specific consequence for refusing a test. The retention of licence, vehicle and driver applies while the tests are carried out.
Is drunk driving on a motorcycle treated differently? Art. 40 bis and Art. 157 say vehículo automotor, and the Reglamento defines a motocicleta as a “vehículo automotor de dos o tres ruedas”, so the same rules reach it. Motorcycle equipment rules are on our helmet law page.
Sources
- Ley de Tránsito, Decreto 132-96, and Reglamento de Tránsito, Acuerdo Gubernativo 273-98 — official consolidated compilation, including the text of Decreto 45-2016, Ley para el Fortalecimiento de la Seguridad Vial, and the Departamento’s Manual del Conductor, published by the Departamento de Tránsito de la PNC (
https://transito.gob.gt/legislacion-en-materia-de-transito/; documenthttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1YM7fRaR2ZHnBPDUTfWkaUDZYsUed9tOQ). Articles cited: Ley 40, 40 bis, 41; Reglamento 175, 176, 177; Decreto 45-2016 Arts. 9 to 15. Retrieved 2026-09-25. - Código Penal, Decreto 17-73, Arts. 127, 150, 157 (as reformed by Decreto 45-2016) and 489 — reform-annotated copy
https://bergerpemueller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ley-CODIGO-PENAL-DECRETO-17-73-30-08_1973.pdf, retrieved 2026-09-25.
General information for drivers and visitors, current as of 2026-09-25. Not legal advice. En español: Manejar ebrio en Guatemala.