Last update 22.4.2019 | First published 24.5.2004
Italy, like Spain, has both an easy and a very flexible system, especially when it comes to the practical police work
The official speed limit on Italian motorways is 130 km/h, but you will soon realize that most people ignore this limit and drive as fast as the engine will let them.
| 0.5‰ | €143 | €160 | €85 | €200 |
| The important numbers : | ||||
| Limit – km/h | 50 | 90(1 | 110(2 | 130(3 |
| Fine +21km/h | €143 | €143 | €143 | €143 |
| Fine +41km/h | €143 | €143 | €143 | €143 |
| LICENSE (1 – 6 months) | 90 | 130 | 150 | 170 |
| 1) Reduced to 80 km/h when rain 2) Reduced to 100 km/h when rain 3) Reduced to 110 km/h when rain | ||||
5 km/h tolerance under 100 km/h, 5% over 100 km/h.
Speeding and other traffic offences are subject to on-the-spot fines.
– Check Infotraffico on this (if they also take pictures from the back, you should really be aware of this)
– as in several other European countries, precedence is to the vehicle coming from the right, in case there are no signs or traffic lights.
– Speed cameras are often located on the roads taking into towns, usually a few hundreds meters after the first sign stating the speed limit of 50 Km/h. Been caught twice doing 70 and 78 km/h. Also, they take pictures from the back. :o(
– “Carabinieri” are more likely to let you get away with a bollocking instead of a fine. “Polizia” and “Polizia Stradale” (road police) will be stricter. “Polizia municipale” (town police) will try everything to fine you, probably, since the amount of fines produced is part of their performance indicators.
– All police forces have up to five months (150 days) to deliver you the picture taken by a speed camera and the fine. If they fail to send it within this limit, you can refuse payment [old information, this may have changed in the last four years, since I moved to the UK]
“the time frame between when the lights turn green and the driver behind you honks his horn at you.”
| Italy in detail : | |||
| Violation(1 | Fine (Euro) | Points | |
| less than 10 km/h | €35 | – | |
| + 11-40 km/h | €143 | 2 | |
| LICENSE(2 | + 41 km/h and more | €357 | 10 |
| 1) 5 km/h tolerance under 100 km/h, 5% over 100 km/h 2) 1-6 months Fines and reactions may change without any warnings. |
|||
In Italy you start with 20 points and receive a bonus of 2 points for every 2 years of correct behavior, with a maximum of 30 points.
Your license will be revoked when you are down to zero points. If 20 points are lost within a year the person is suspended from driving in Italy for a period of 2 years; if the person loses the entire 20 points within a timeframe of 2 years, then they are forbidden to drive in Italy for a period of 1 year; and if the total of 20 points is lost within 2 and 3 years, then the person is forbidden to drive in Italy for a period of six months.
Italian authorities record all infringements committed by foreign motorists. The punishment for foreign drivers having built up 20 penalty points in 1-year time is a 2-year ban from driving in Italy. In case they have built up 20 penalty points in 2-year time the punishment is a 1-year ban from driving in Italy. In case they have built up 20 penalty points in a period of 2 to 3 years the punishment is a 6-month ban from driving in Italy.
In addition to the speeding offences above, these offences will reward you with points (there are many more):
- Driving on a red light – 6 points
- No seat-belts – 5 points
- Drive in the left lane, when the right lane is free – 4 points
11.06.2022 @ 14:41
I am a resident of germany with a german drivers license and i believe i got caught speeding on an italian highway. there was no flash, but i understand that sometimes flashes dont happen in italy.
do the points transfer to german licenses?
29.03.2022 @ 13:50
Hi
What happens if you own a car in Italy but still drive it on a foreign license and get caught speeding?
23.10.2020 @ 16:03
I have recieved a 522 pound fine from a UK debt collection agency from a speeding fine in Italy in April 2018. I never received the original letter and now this has dropped through the door !
What would you do?
28.03.2021 @ 22:39
My husband has just received 2 fines, one for speeding in February 2020, which he doesn’t remember but isn’t going to dispute and the second for not providing information on who was driving but we never received any letter asking for such information! Just paid a total of just over £350. Left a very bad taste in my mouth and don’t feel like I want to return to Italy again as I feel cheated with no recourse to justice. Such a shame as we’ve had so many excellent holidays in Italy before this.
08.10.2020 @ 16:43
If you pay the fines within 5 days, you’ll get a 30% discount
08.10.2020 @ 16:40
Hi, in the links below, you’ll find the correct info about speed limits, tolerance and fine.
Plus, you’ll find location and explanation about Tutor.
http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/2013/motori/tabella-sanzioni.pdf
https://www.poliziadistato.it/statics/31/elenco-tratti-controllati-tutor-sicve-27.02.2020.pdf
27.10.2019 @ 06:43
Hello, yesterday my car was flashed by speed camera and with speed display marking 63km/h in 60km/h restricted area. There is any website where I might check if I have been fined??
05.08.2019 @ 18:40
Hi all,
hope you are well.
So I am wondering what the fine amount for 41 km/h over the limt on a motorway is?
From what I understand from the table it is a fixed fine of 357 EUR?
Thanks for any help.
28.04.2019 @ 13:30
Hello,
My husband just received a ticket for going 91km/h in a 90km zone. I could not believe it. They sent us an expensive ticket for going over the limit by 1km. I feel like this is a total scam on tourists renting cars in Italy.
Any advice on what he can do? We already paid the rental company to “process” the ticket.
Thank you.
02.04.2019 @ 22:51
I just had the same problem, driving either into or out of Venice, apparently going 76km/h in a 70km/h, so apparently 1km/h over the ‘tolerance’. This happened in August 2018, so 8 months ago and I’ve been sent an admin charge by my car rental company, and I expect a fine through the post and now worry about points on my UK license. I’ve not yet seen any evidence, and I’m unsure if they even need to show any.
06.07.2022 @ 21:17
Any update on this? I’ve had the same issue
29.10.2018 @ 13:45
Like many I have just received a fine for an alleged offence in June this year (2018). It was 10 mph over limit near Venice and I have just paid the bill 253 euros because how can I possibly contend it !!
What I am having great trouble in finding out is, as mentioned I have to fill in two forms regarding the person driving so that 3 points can be added to my UK licence. However I have no idea who was driving, me or my wife, and their doesn’t seem to be a way of finding out. Can anyone help ??
17.10.2018 @ 13:29
Hello.
I received a speeding ticket in ITALY 69km/hr in a 50km zone while driving with my international license.
I was fined 141.00 euro and lost three points.
My question is :
Being from Canada and getting fined in ITALY.
Do the loss of three points carry over to my Ontario license?
27.05.2020 @ 11:37
Please help.
I’ve received a fine for speeding in Pisa. We contested the fine by appealing. I won’t go into the detail but sick 1 year old, vomiting and diarrhoea.
By appealing we missed the 5 day window (134Euros), we sent the appeal by recorded delivery and it was received by the authorities within 30 days (€198) and we were notified that it was admissible 150 days, exceeding the 60 day timeframe to pay (€360).
We’ve been told that the appeal was admissible as the appeal letter was not signed. There is absolutely no guidance that the appeal needed to be signed with the appeal information section of the original notice, or within the entire notice.
I contested this and was told that it is expected that all appeals are signed with other information about the offence, e..g. notice number, vehicle reg, etc.
I am arguing that we are being asked to pay €230 more than the original ticket (which we believe may well have been appealed successfully if it was reviewed!) because the issuing authority wasn’t clear that a signature needed to be present in the appeal and that it took 155 days to get back to us which certainly is not our fault.
I’m told my options are now to pay the fine or appeal to a higher body which needs representation in person, in Pisa! I live in London!
I feel that this is extremely unfair as we have followed the process to a word and we’re being penalised based on poor instruction and administrative delays.
We certainly want to return to Italy but feel that we’re being treated incredibly harshly and want this resolved as cheaply as possible.
Please, please if you have any advice help!
Many thanks
02.10.2018 @ 09:44
I got 2 fines in 6 minutes: driving 99 kmh in 90kmh and 97 in 90kmh and each ticket was around 120€ (68€ if you pay in 5 days I think)…
02.04.2019 @ 04:16
Same here. One arrived more than 7 months after the violation and the other one even later
17.04.2018 @ 01:21
Hi, I live in the UK and 3 weeks ago I received two separate speeding fine letters at the same time from Italy, Venice. I understand the fines need paying and I know the points given are for driving in Italy. What I would like clarification on please, is how long does Venice police force have before they must post my fine, or for me to receive it? At the beginning of this page on Italy (Claudio Piombetti writes (22.4.2005), Claudio from 2005 said 5 months or 150 days. It was March 23rd 2018 when I received my two fines, 7.5 months after the alledged two offences. So my question is, are they still valid?
25.06.2018 @ 02:19
Yes I would still pay it i got a ticket eight months after the amount you pay goes based off the date you received the violation. This date is based off what the post put as the date they tried to deliver it to you. Italy has up to five years to issues you a speeding ticket . The ticket should have three different price one you pay with 10 day, one for over 10 days but less then 60 day( I believe) and one for 60 days to six months . After six months I believe it goes to collections.
29.08.2018 @ 08:01
hi dean, ive just been notified by avis that i’ll be getting a ticket. can you let me know what you eventually did and who, if anyone, gave you some sound legal advice. thanks a lot.
16.03.2018 @ 09:47
in Italy, at a motorway, I got 4 fines in a 6 minutes period.
the 1st was on 10:45am
the 2nd was in 10:48am
the 3rd was on 10:49am
the 4th was on 10:51am
Is it possible?
25.06.2018 @ 02:14
Yes they have a system called the tutor which is spaced along the highways above you. There is normally a sign with a police officer looking figure . This site has pictures for you https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.italyrentals.com/2013/10/26/how-not-to-speed-in-italy/amp/
01.10.2018 @ 12:56
Well my experience is that in Italy the highway speed limit is 130KPH but Italians drive 140-160. I and my wife were passed by a red Ferrari that was probably going 200KPH. We never saw him again even though somewhere ahead there was the toll machine. Do the Italians try to send speed tickets to foreign countries?
04.10.2017 @ 12:00
No one can put points on a UK licence except the DVLA, I called the DVLA when I was done by a hidden camera in Slovenia, they said basically they dont care less.
From 2017 EU countries can collect speeding fines and I think there is a legal mechanism in place I think via DVLA to collect money
This is all wrong as in the EU they set up traps just to collect money, you cant fight back unless you live to 150 years and want to spend your life and savings doing so, the problem with the UK government is they sign up to this stuff and leave us in the hands of crooks in the EU countries that set up speed traps and other meaningless traffic offences to collect cash.
28.07.2017 @ 09:39
Does anyone know if the Points received in Italy for speeding go on your British Licence?
Or do they ‘collect’ on the Italian system in case you re-offend in Italy?
I notice they use a slightly different system (starting with 20, going up to 30 for good driving etc) and different number to UK off at a time, which doesn’t equate to the UK system of up to 12 max.
[I got a fine recently in Florence for 63kph in a 50kph which I’ve paid – (Euro’s 187.29), but they want me to return a Proof of Who Was Driving Form to say that I was the driver.]
29.10.2017 @ 13:23
Hi Nick, maybe you could help? I have just received a speeding ticket from Venice. The offence was back in May this year. They are asking me for proof of who was riding. I am unsure as there were a few of us and we were using each others bikes. Do you know what happens if I ignore the fine?
Thank you for any advice.
Regards Simon
05.11.2018 @ 18:32
Hi NIck – I have the same problem – did you find out the answer to this by any chance?
27.03.2017 @ 19:26
Hi Gary,
I had the same issue with the difference that I did not receive any message from the rental company. Neither a phone call or an email. I suspect that you dealed with Noleggiare SRL, huh? Me too. I just found 2 x 50 EUR being charged on my credit card. Months later I was even in Italy. One in January, one in March but I was there in last October.
I called them for details Today but they could not tell me the reason. I was asking if it’s because of speeding but they told me that “probably”. Which is not correct at all and ridiculous. There’s no 50 EUR penalty for speeding in Italy anyway. If it’s based on valid reason I think it’s the very minimum to forward me the proof from the authority.
However, I will submit a dispute form to my bank tomorrow. This is not a process what they do. This is fraud.
21.01.2017 @ 09:10
Hello,
I am a canadian citizen with an ontario driving licence
Last summer i was vacationing in italy, and just received a speeding fine in the mail
The fine consist of 161 euros and 3 demerit points,
how does it affect my driving record here in ontario?
03.02.2017 @ 19:13
Record in Ontario??!! Unless there is a special binlateral agreement between the Republic of Italy and your country, absolutely no influence. And I highly doubt that there is one. We in European Union have a system enabling fee collection from one country to the other, but it took us a few dozen years to get it. Still however if you have 100 penalty points in Germany you can drive freely (or better drive fast 😉 in Poland, Italy or the other way round. There is a lot of legal barriers for imposing sanctions in a different country starting from different systems. You may just have 3 points in Italy (although in some countries foreigners get no demerit pooints).
04.10.2018 @ 18:45
What happens if I don’t pay my speeding tickets from Italy as a Canadian? Does that mean I will be stopped at the border next time I go to Italy?
27.10.2018 @ 13:12
Did you ever get a reply? I Would also luke to know.
My Italian Road Trip: San Marino – CT Scans the World
17.01.2017 @ 17:34
[…] strongly recommend driving through the countryside if you get a chance. I would read up on traffic laws beforehand though. Things are very different in Europe. I enjoyed driving on the 2 lane roads […]
11.11.2016 @ 16:05
Hello I received an email yesterday (10/11/16) from a car hir company that I hired a car from in August 16. It states that I have committed a traffic offence on the 1/08/16 and they have charged my credit card company 50 Euros for the administration costs to hand my information to the police. Does this sound correct? My concern is the time lapse between my alleged offence and the police informing the care hire company. Looking forward to hearing back. Thanks.
25.05.2018 @ 22:15
Italy has 360 days to request your information from the car rental company and issue you the speeding ticket:
https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/
22.09.2020 @ 23:06
In the link below you’ll find the correct info.
http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/2013/motori/tabella-sanzioni.pdf
01.12.2020 @ 16:12
What if the rental car company gave the wrong address to the Italian authorities? (I know because they sent me an email after I called them, since they charged me £43 admin fee which I wasn’t sure what it was about, the rental company apparently sent me a letter, which I obviously never got).
Do i still need to pay for the fine or say that I’ve never got it?