Ferritic steels show a fast diffusion and uptake of hydrogen, resulting in a severe embrittlement/reduction of ductility. One method of reducing the penetration of hydrogen and accordingly the embrittlement of stainless steels is the physical vapor deposition (PVD) of ceramic coating materials to mitigate the ductility loss. This study performed electrochemically controlled hydrogen permeation experiments in a Devanthan-Stachurski double cell on different coated and non-coated ferritic stainless steels to determine permeation behaviour of these coatings. A commercial-grade ferritic stainless steel 1.4509 was coated by cathodic arc evaporation with TiN and       Ti1-xAlxN coatings on one side. Permeation was measured in a double cell using potentiostatic charging and discharging with an electrolyte NaOH:CH4N2S on the cathodic side and pure NaOH on the anodic side. The steel samples were Pd-coated on the anodic side to ensure hydrogen oxidation. The discharging current was measured over several hours. The coated steels showed a remarkable reduction in permeation current, indicating a strongly reduced hydrogen uptake. To verify this result, tensile tests were performed comparing charged and uncharged as well as coated and uncoated sheets. These tests also suggest a beneficial behaviour for the coated steel sheets with no deficiency in ductility compared to uncharged plain sheets.