Almost one in five devices will no longer be able to issue valid sanctions. Here’s how to check if the sanction is regular, when to appeal and what happens to old fines
The “speed camera decree” is operational. A provision that has been awaited for 34 years, since the 1992 Highway Code requires “duly approved” devices without the technical regulation necessary to actually do so having ever been written. Now there is the decree, which turns off almost 1 in 5 devices. Out of approximately 4 thousand devices registered in Italy, approximately 850 will no longer be able to issue valid fines until they obtain the new approval. But how do you understand if the fine received comes from a device in good standing and how to navigate between checks, appeals and old fines?
What changes concretely from Sunday 12 July
The speed camera chaos was born from a regulatory vacuum that lasted decades, which made thousands of fines susceptible to attack. Since 1992 the Highway Code required “approved” speed cameras, but for 34 years there was no technical decree to actually do so: in the meantime the Ministry only issued “approvals”, a different and insufficient procedure according to the Supreme Court. Since 2024, the Supreme Court has annulled dozens of fines based only on approval, pushing the government to finally fill the regulatory gap with this decree. Now the decree is in place and the speed limits or the amount of fines do not change. What changes is the “legal title” that allows a device to produce valid fines. The decree lists: 25 models of speed cameras which are automatically considered approved, because they already meet the required requirements. All other devices, those not included in the list, can no longer produce valid sanctions: they remain turned off until the manufacturer requests and obtains approval, a procedure for which the Ministry has 60 days to respond.
How to find out if the fine comes from a regular speed camera
If you receive a speed camera fine first of all you need to check the date of the infringement (if before 12 July 2026, the then rules apply) and then look for the model of the device on the website of the Ministry of Transport or of the Municipality where the detection took place to verify the regularity of the device that detected the infringement. Finally, if neither the report nor the online portals provide sufficient information, it is possible to submit a request for access to administrative documents to get complete documentation about your device. What needs to be verified in concrete terms is that the device is registered on the date of the infringement (not today, but precisely on the day of the fine); that the model, version, serial number and details of the decree coincide with what is written in the report; that the prototype appears in the official list of approved devices and that the calibration was valid and periodic functionality checks had been carried out regularly.
How and when to appeal
Before deciding whether to pay or appeal, it is best to check the date of the infringement and the regularity of the device, as well as any other defects in the report. If you think you have the right to appeal, there are two options. Within 30 days from the notification, by contacting justice of the peace and I go in 60 days from the notification, by contacting prefect. You can choose one or the other path, not both. And if you pay the fine, the possibility of contesting it later is generally closed.
How it works with old fines taken before the speed camera decree
The decree is valid only from 12 July onwards. It does not affect fines that have already arrived at home, it does not stop appeals that have already been initiated and it does not retroactively “save” old fines issued with only approved speed cameras. In short, anyone who received a fine before July 12 remains subject to the old rules and therefore also to the old possibilities of contesting it.
What happens now: the legal issue on speed cameras remains open
This does not mean that the speed camera issue is closed forever. The decree says that some approved speed cameras “become” automatically approved, but a ministerial decree counts less than a law and the rule that distinguishes approval and approval is written in a law, that of 1992. This means that, in the event of new appeals, a judge could still agree with the motorist, referring to the law. In practice: the decree has brought order from a technical point of view, after 34 years of waiting, but it is not necessarily enough to stop the appeals. We will understand with the first sentences in the coming months.
