Receiving traffic tickets abroad - how to behave correctly!

Those who have received a ticket abroad are well advised to pay it at short notice. Because tickets from abroad can now be enforced in Germany from almost all EU countries. Nevertheless, the fines abroad should be checked for plausibility before paying.

Tickets from abroad are undisputedly one of the unpopular “holiday souvenirs”. You can get a ticket abroad for driving too fast or parking incorrectly. However, the fines abroad are often much higher than in Germany. For example, in Germany it costs around 35 euros to drive 20 km / h too fast. For the same offense, however, 170 euros are due in Italy, and an unbelievable 480 euros in Norway. For this reason, parking tickets should not be ignored when abroad. It is better to check it in detail and instruct the payment quickly. We advise against simply sitting out the speeding ticket abroad, because since 2010 penalties can be subsequently enforced from almost all EU countries in Germany.

From 70 euros, the parking ticket must be paid abroad

Penalties from outside the EU must be enforced in Germany from an amount of 70 euros. This limit also includes the administrative costs. The only exception here is Austria. The limit here is only 25 euros plus administration fees.

In principle, the collection of parking tickets abroad is limited to amounts of money only. A driving ban due to a traffic ticket abroad can only be obtained in the country concerned. There are also no points in Flensburg for parking tickets abroad.

Europe-wide enforcement of fines abroad

The Federal Office of Justice is responsible for subsequently collecting the parking tickets abroad. The foreign authorities refer the matter to the Federal Office. This will then be activated if the ticket is not paid for from abroad. Incidentally, the consequences of the individual EU countries in enforcing fines are very different. The Netherlands generally allows the fines to be applied through the Federal Office of Justice, but other countries are much more reluctant to do this. If it is a country that is not a member of the EU, for example Switzerland, Liechtenstein or Norway, the parking ticket cannot be enforced abroad.

High discounts through fast payment

It is usually advisable to pay the ticket abroad. Otherwise, on your next vacation in the country in question, the open fine could threaten trouble. In Italy, for example, legally binding fines only expire after a period of five years; in Spain, the matter is over after four years. Many countries also offer high discounts if the ticket is paid quickly abroad. Depending on the type of violation and the country, a discount of almost 50 percent is possible. Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Greece and France are very generous in this area.

Beware of private debt collection companies

Collecting fines abroad through private debt collection companies, notaries and lawyers is very lucrative. In this case, there are also high fees for the companies and lawyers. However, police fines and fines may only be collected by the authorities. In Germany this is done exclusively by the Federal Justice Office.

Find out about the fines in the respective holiday destination

When traveling abroad, drivers are never allowed to pay more than local residents for an infringement. If such a case is in dispute, EU-wide or national arbitration bodies should be asked for help. Incidentally, in Croatia you should check several times whether parking is actually permitted. If you get a ticket here, it is best to pay for it on the spot. It is important to always keep all receipts accordingly. Anyone traveling to London by car should register for the low-emission zone, the LEZ, in good time. This registration is free of charge, but processing the request can take around two weeks. All diesel vehicles over 1.2 tons must be registered here. Fees are only due for models that belong to a poor emission class. However, conventional cars do not have to be registered.

¹ ECJ decision: Drivers do not have to pay for parking violations in Croatia (as of March 13, 2017 )