Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has been arrested near Los Angeles on suspicion of drunk driving, police has said.

The 25-year-old singer was pulled over after allegedly committing a traffic violation in the Los Angeles-area city of Huntington Beach in Saturday night, Huntington Beach police lieutenant Dave Brunetta said.

Officers conducted a field sobriety test on carter and then arrested him, before releasing the singer about four hours later, Brunetta said.

The Celebrity Justice television show reported that Carter had been with friends at a restaurant in the area before being pulled over early in the evening.

The docket will be handed over to prosecutors who will decide whether or not to file charges against the singer, Brunetta said.

The pop star's publicist blamed carter's legal woes on a prescription medicine that he was taking.

"Nick Carter deeply regrets the current situation," publicist Juliette Harris said in a statement.

"He is on doctor-prescribed medication and was unaware of its interaction possibilities," she added.

The run-in with the law was not carter's first. He was arrested in January 2002 after he allegedly failed to comply with a policeman's order to leave a Florida nightclub following a scuffle.

He avoided jail time by striking a deal with prosecutors to complete community service and pay a fine.