MPU - medical-psychological assessment

The MPU (medical-psychological assessment) is a legally regulated assessment procedure for checking fitness to drive. It assesses whether a person is physically, mentally and in character suited to drive a motor vehicle safely in road traffic. An MPU is ordered when there are doubts about fitness to drive.

In everyday language, the MPU (medical-psychological assessment) is often known as the so-called “idiot test”. However, this name does not do the assessment justice. The MPU is a complex, multi-stage assessment procedure that goes far beyond simple knowledge or reaction tests and requires a well-founded examination of your own behaviour.

The medical-psychological assessment checks whether physical, mental and character-related fitness to drive is given. It concerns people who have attracted significant attention in road traffic – for example through drink- or drug-driving, a high number of points or serious traffic offences.

This overview of the MPU is intended to summarise the most important basics in an understandable way. Where appropriate, it refers to further pages that cover individual topics such as procedure, reasons or preparation in more depth.

Introduction

This article first explains the reasons and causes that can lead to an MPU being ordered. It then explains how a medical-psychological assessment works and which components it includes.

It also shows what to pay attention to during the MPU in order to avoid typical mistakes that can lead to a negative report. The aim is to give a structured overview and to present the individual steps of the assessment comprehensibly.

Preparing for the medical-psychological report

Anyone who has to undergo an MPU inevitably asks under what conditions a positive report is issued. A positive result is no coincidence; it requires a serious examination of the causes of the offences and comprehensible changes.

The following explains which personal requirements must be met and which steps help to meet the requirements of the medical-psychological assessment and avoid typical mistakes.

Good to know

The outcome of a medical-psychological assessment depends largely on how well the underlying problem areas have been understood and worked through. Structured preparation helps to assess the requirements realistically and avoid typical mistakes.

Abstinence

The topic of abstinence is also covered. In the MPU, it is of central importance whether proof of abstinence is required and over what period it must be provided. Depending on the offence, consumption pattern and individual history, 6, 12 or in certain cases even 15 months of abstinence may be required.

It explains the criteria by which the duration of abstinence is determined and which methods of proof are recognised in connection with the medical-psychological assessment.

Costs of an MPU

Anyone who looks more closely at the topic of the MPU quickly realises that various costs can arise in connection with the assessment. These include official fees, possible fines, costs for proof of abstinence and expenses for preparation and assessment.

For many people, these expenses are a considerable burden and often lead them to postpone the MPU at first. This section explains which costs typically arise, how they are made up and where there is potential for savings without falling short of the requirements of the medical-psychological assessment.

Your questions about the medical-psychological assessment

It is important that you prepare professionally and individually. In a free initial consultation we can answer your questions about the medical-psychological assessment.

On the day of your assessment, you register at the officially recognised assessment centre by presenting your identity card (list of all assessment centres). You are then given various questionnaires to fill in first. The questionnaires contain questions about your driving licence and your personal circumstances. Various medical questions are also asked.

The questionnaires are later presented to the psychological assessor and the doctor.

On the day of your medical-psychological assessment, all relevant documents relating to psychological and medical preparation (for example proofs of abstinence, a certificate of your preparation or similar) should be available. The documents should be presented to the assessor. If necessary, all documents can also be submitted later. This is ALWAYS possible.

Everyone wants to pass their MPU at the first attempt. Nobody wants to hold a negative report in their hands and continue to do without their mobility. The professional and private consequences of not passing the MPU are often serious. The MPU costs also keep rising if you do not pass. Frustration and anger are the result.

For exactly these reasons, it is important not to make any mistakes in preparation and to follow the MPU procedure carefully step by step. Many people find out far too late and make one of the biggest MPU mistakes. The duration of MPU preparation is often underestimated, so valuable time is lost. It is important to start your preparation as early as possible. Psychological assessors also prefer it when the candidate has prepared over a longer period. If you have to undergo a drug or alcohol MPU, the question of abstinence and its duration must be clarified first.

It is important to prepare carefully for the medical-psychological report in order to pass the MPU at the first attempt if possible. The psychological MPU questions are often very complex. Without professional support, many people find it hard to prepare adequately. The official failure rate is currently 38 per cent.

The assessment in the medical-psychological assessment is based on strict and complex assessment guidelines published by the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt). For this reason, the MPU should not be underestimated. Well-founded, professionally supported preparation helps to assess the requirements realistically and avoid typical mistakes.

It is important that you choose a reputable MPU counsellor who works as a qualified traffic psychologist. Numerous personal accounts and MPU myths circulate around the MPU, and they often lead to false expectations.

Professional MPU counselling can contribute significantly to assessing the requirements of the medical-psychological assessment realistically and working towards them in a targeted way. A positive report requires a thorough and comprehensible reappraisal of the offence or offences and the personal background.

In addition, concrete and stable changes in behaviour must be worked out that allow a positive prognosis for future behaviour in road traffic. A professionally sound reappraisal is generally hardly possible without the support of a traffic psychologist.

In summary, professionally appropriate preparation for the medical-psychological assessment can generally only be ensured by a traffic psychologist. An individual assessment of your own starting position is possible, for example, in a free initial consultation.

At the same time, we strongly advise against using supposed MPU tricks or getting involved in illegal offers such as buying a positive MPU report. Such approaches regularly lead to negative assessment results and can have additional legal consequences.

Reducing the costs of the medical-psychological assessment

The most effective way to keep the costs of the medical-psychological assessment low is to pass the MPU at the first attempt. Every repeat assessment causes additional expenses and lengthens the whole process.

It can also save costs to clarify early on whether proofs of abstinence are needed at all. In practice, an elaborate and expensive abstinence control programme is quite often started even though it would not have been necessary for the reason in question.

The choice of laboratory also plays a role: prices for abstinence control programmes sometimes differ considerably, even though the requirements are identical. An objective classification of the costs and their components can be found in the overview of MPU costs.