Spain Traffic Fines 2026: DGT Speeding, 50% Discount

How the Spanish traffic-fine system works

Spain’s road code is enforced by two bodies. On the motorway and conventional inter-urban roads it is the Guardia Civil de Tráfico; in towns and cities it is the local Policía Local. Both feed their data to the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) in Madrid, which handles the demerit-point register, the licence database and the central fine collection.

A fine in Spain is called a multa or sanción de tráfico. The legal basis is the Ley sobre Tráfico, Circulación de Vehículos a Motor y Seguridad Vial (latest revision 2015, updated periodically), and the fine amount + point deduction is set by the Reglamento General de Circulación.

Foreign drivers should know three things up front:

1. The 50% early-payment discount makes most contesting financially pointless.
2. Spain shares plate data with the rest of the EU via the CBE directive (and through 2026 still with the UK).
3. The DGT does not normally allow online payment with a foreign credit card unless it is a Spanish-issued card; expect to use a SEPA bank transfer or a Spanish friend.

Speed-camera fines in detail

Spain has roughly 2,000 fixed cameras plus around 600 mobile units operated by Guardia Civil, and as of April 2026 the DGT reports about 150 active average-speed sections (tramos de velocidad media) - the longest of them, CL-615 in Palencia, at 33 km. The DGT publishes the full list of fixed cameras on dgt.es and on its Twitter account (@DGTes); legally the location does not have to be secret.

Legal fixed-radar tolerance (Orden ICT/155/2020, periodic verification): 5 km/h up to a posted 100 km/h limit; 5% above. The “7 km/h / 7%” figure circulating online applies to moving mobile radars in periodic-verification mode, not fixed cameras. Examples with the 5% margin:

• 50 km/h urban limit: the radar fines from 56 km/h upward.
• 100 km/h open-road limit: fines from 106 km/h.
• 120 km/h autovía limit: fines from 127 km/h (120 × 1.05 = 126).
• 130 km/h autopista limit: fines from 137 km/h.

Average-speed (tramos)

You are filmed at both ends of a stretch and the fine is calculated from your average. The fine table is the same as instantaneous. Tramos are signposted with the inicio de tramo / fin de tramo with a clock icon. Best-known locations:

• A-66 Variante de Pajares (Asturias, mountain tunnels)
• AP-7 Vandellós (Tarragona, two long tunnels)
• M-30 Madrid tunnels (3 average-speed sections)
• A-2 Catalonia between Cervera and Igualada
• A-8 Cantabria coast tunnels

Mobile radar and Pegasus helicopter

Guardia Civil patrols use mobile Multanova cabinets on the central median of motorways, often disguised, and the Pegasus helicopter that times you over a marked stretch of road. The helicopter fines are common in summer on the Mediterranean coast.

Other common fines

The DGT publishes the full table at dgt.es; the figures above are 2026 rates. Spanish enforcement works in mg/l of breath, which is what the roadside device reads; the blood equivalent is double the breath figure. For drivers in their first two years and for professional drivers the thresholds are 0.15 and 0.30 mg/l breath (0.3 and 0.6 g/l blood) instead of 0.25 and 0.50.

Points shown are those in force under Ley 18/2021, which has applied since 21 March 2022: seat belt, child restraint and helmet each cost 4 points, and overtaking a cyclist within 1.5 m costs 6. A separate reform of the Reglamento General de Circulación (Real Decreto 518/2026) takes effect on 1 October 2026; it changes driving rules, not the points scale.

The 20-day discount

When a Spanish radar photographs your car, the DGT issues a boletín de denuncia. For Spanish-registered vehicles it is sent to the registered address; for foreign-registered vehicles it is forwarded through your home authority via CBE and then posted to your home address. The 20-day clock starts when the letter is received and you sign for it (or when delivery is attempted and recorded).

Pay within 20 days through one of these channels and you settle for half the listed amount:

1. dgt.es online portal: enter the fine reference and pay by card. Foreign cards are accepted in 2026 (this was added in 2024).
2. SEPA bank transfer to the DGT account specified on the letter.
3. At any Correos post office in Spain with the original letter.
4. At a Spanish bank counter (CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA, Sabadell are common).

The discount applies only to the cash penalty. The demerit points are recorded regardless. For foreign drivers without a Spanish licence, the points are notional (Spain cannot deduct points from a German or French licence) but the offence may still be visible to your home authority through CBE data exchange, which in some countries can trigger their own points.

What happens if you do not pay

For a Spanish-registered driver the timeline is:

• Day 0: fine issued
• Day 20: discount window closes
• Day 30: appeal window closes
• Day 60: fine becomes final
• After 60 days unpaid: the agency moves to the apremio (executive) phase run by AEAT, with a stepped surcharge (5% executive, 10% reduced if paid within the apremio window, 20% ordinary if not) plus possible bank seizure or block of the next ITV inspection. Rules from the Reglamento General de Recaudación.

For a foreign-registered driver the practical timeline is murkier. The DGT does not have direct execution authority abroad. In 2026:

• Most EU countries enforce the bilateral collection agreement that exists between member states; Spain can forward the debt to your home administration after 18 months, but this is rare unless the fine is very large or there are multiple unpaid fines.
• Re-entering Spain with an outstanding fine carries no automatic block at the border, but a Guardia Civil patrol can demand on-the-spot payment of unpaid fines registered against your plate.
• Long-term unpaid fines are sometimes sold to commercial debt-recovery agencies (EOS, Intrum, Cobralia), who then pursue you in your home country with significant fees added.

The pragmatic advice is: take the 50% discount within 20 days and move on, unless the fine has a clear legal defect.

Contesting a fine

Within the 20-day window you can file an alegación (appeal) instead of paying. Once you appeal you lose the 50% discount permanently for that fine. The procedure:

1. The DGT publishes a fixed-format form at dgt.es. Foreign residents may submit via certified email (sede.dgt.gob.es) with a Spanish-issued digital certificate, or by post.
2. Write the alegación in Spanish (or have it translated). Reference the boletín number.
3. Attach evidence: photographs, vehicle data, witness statements. For “wasn’t me driving” defences, identify the actual driver with their DNI/passport copy and signed acknowledgement; otherwise the fine stays with the owner.
4. The DGT has up to one year to respond. If they reject, you have a further 2 months to take the case to the contencioso-administrativo court, which costs around €600-1,500 in lawyer fees plus court costs.

Grounds that sometimes succeed: lapsed radar calibration certificate (must be re-certified annually), wrong plate read, fine notification posted to wrong address. Grounds that almost never succeed: “I was overtaking”, “I didn’t see the sign”, “my speedometer was wrong” (the driver bears the responsibility for an accurate speedometer).

For most foreign tourists the math is clear: 50% discount beats €800+ in lawyer fees with a 5% success rate.

ZBE camera fines

Spain’s growing list of low-emission zones (zonas de bajas emisiones, ZBE) are enforced by automatic plate readers. Madrid Central, Madrid 360, Barcelona ZBE Rondas, Valencia ZBE, Seville, Pamplona, Vitoria and around 150 other municipalities operate cameras as of 2026.

Fine amounts are set by each city ordinance, not by the DGT:

Repeat entries on the same day count as one fine. Foreign-registered cars are not exempt; you must register the plate through the city portal before entering.

See our ZBE guide for the registration process per city.

Toll evasion and Via-T

Driving past a toll booth without paying, or with a Via-T tag that does not register, automatically generates a denuncia. The fine for toll evasion is €100 plus the unpaid toll plus a €25 administration fee. Repeat offenders pay double.

Hire-car drivers should know that the rental company may add their own admin fee (€30-50) for processing the toll evasion fine on top of the official €100. If you suspect a Via-T misread, file the alegación promptly with photos of your tag and the booth.

Drink-driving and drug penalties

These are not just administrative fines but criminal offences from a certain threshold.

Criminal cases go through the juzgado de instrucción. Foreign tourists are usually offered a deal: plea-bargain to a fine + community work + licence suspension, settled within 48 hours, so that you can leave Spain. Without a Spanish residence the licence suspension applies only within Spanish territory.

Demerit points

Spain runs a 12-point licence (8 for under-2-year drivers). Points are deducted, not added. Losing all 12 means:

1. First time: 6-month licence suspension + obligatory re-education course (24 hours, fees are not regulated, roughly €200-350 depending on centre) + retest of theory.
2. Second time within 3 years: 12-month suspension + same course + retest.
3. Foreign-licence holders have notional points; Spain cannot withdraw your foreign licence but can ban you from driving in Spain for the suspension period.

Partial recovery: a 12-hour sensitivity course can restore up to 6 points (roughly €180-230, price not regulated). Maximum one partial course every 2 years.

Points reset to 12 after 2 years of clean driving (3 years if you have ever lost 6+ points in one event). The DGT publishes your remaining points at dgt.es/citaprevia using your DNI/NIE for residents; foreign drivers without NIE have no online lookup.

Practical advice for foreign drivers

• Note the boletín number when stopped; you receive a small receipt slip from the patrol.
• Pay within 20 days at dgt.es with a foreign card to lock in the discount, even if you intend to challenge later (you cannot, but at least you have closed the file).
• Keep the proof of payment for 4 years (Spanish tax statute of limitations).
• If your car was rented in Spain, expect the rental firm to deduct the admin fee from your deposit and forward your address to the DGT; they are legally required to do so.
• For accumulated fines from a long Spanish trip, the DGT consolidates them in one expediente; pay them as one.