Italian fine, foreign plate

Thirty percent off within five days

Italy works with a minimum amount per offence, payable within sixty days. But there's a discount on it:

Tale somma è ridotta del 30 per cento se il pagamento è effettuato entro cinque giorni dalla contestazione o dalla notificazione.

Codice della Strada, Article 202(1). Accessed 26 August 2026.

Five days, counted from the moment it was reported or served on you. That discount does not apply, however, to offences carrying vehicle seizure or licence suspension as an additional penalty. That's not a minor exception: speeding by more than 40 km/h already carries a suspension, so you don't get the 30 percent there.

With a foreign plate: pay or lodge a deposit

This is where it differs from home. Drive on a foreign plate, and you're allowed to pay on the spot, into the hands of the officer. If you don't, for whatever reason, you have to lodge a deposit.

Qualora il trasgressore non si avvalga, per qualsiasi motivo, della facoltà prevista del pagamento di misura ridotta, egli deve versare all'agente accertatore, a titolo di cauzione, una somma pari alla metà del massimo della sanzione pecuniaria prevista per la violazione.

Codice della Strada, Article 207(2).

Half of the maximum. That can add up quickly, since Italian fines are often set as a range from a minimum to a maximum.

The rule that applies to us, and that makes a real difference

But then comes the provision that makes the difference for Belgian and Dutch plates:

Qualora il veicolo sia immatricolato in uno Stato membro dell'Unione europea o aderente all'Accordo sullo spazio economico europeo, la somma da versare a titolo di cauzione, di cui al comma 2, è pari alla somma richiesta per il pagamento in misura ridotta previsto dall'articolo 202.

Codice della Strada, Article 207(2-bis).

If your truck carries a plate from the European Union or the European Economic Area, the deposit isn't half of the maximum but simply the amount of the discounted payment. In other words, the minimum.

What that actually saves you, with an example straight from the law. Speed more than 60 km/h over the limit, and the sanction is €845 to €3,382. Half the maximum would be €1,691. With a Belgian or Dutch plate, the deposit is €845. That's a difference of well over €800, purely because your plate is European.

No deposit means your vehicle stays put

In mancanza del versamento della cauzione di cui ai commi 2 e 2-bis viene disposto il fermo amministrativo del veicolo fino a quando non sia stato adempiuto il predetto onere e, comunque, per un periodo non superiore a sessanta giorni. Il veicolo sottoposto a fermo amministrativo è affidato in custodia, a spese del responsabile della violazione.

Codice della Strada, Article 207(3).

Your truck is held until the deposit is paid, and in any case for a maximum of sixty days. Storage during that period is at the expense of whoever is responsible for the offence. That's why in Italy it's better to sort it out immediately rather than argue.

A separate rule for professional drivers

Alongside the plate rule, Italy has a list of offences for which a driver holding a C, C+E, D or D+E licence in professional transport must settle on the spot immediately. These are:

Article 142(9) and (9-bis)	Speed, more than 40 and more than 60 km/h over
Article 148	Overtaking
Article 167	Load, on any excess of more than 10 percent of the maximum authorised mass
Article 174(5), (6) and (7)	Driving time
Article 178(5), (6) and (7)	Travel documents for professional transport without a tachograph

Codice della Strada, Article 202(2-bis).

Don't pay immediately, and the same pattern applies: a deposit equal to the minimum, and without that deposit your truck gets impounded, again for a maximum of sixty days and at the cost of whoever's responsible.

Codice della Strada, Article 202(2-ter) and (2-quater).

When you get no discount at all

There's one more situation where the whole discounted route falls away: if you failed to stop when signalled to, or refused to show your registration document, driving licence or any other required document. In that case the report goes to the prefect within ten days.

Codice della Strada, Article 202(3).

Sources

• Codice della Strada (Legislative Decree 30 April 1992, no. 285), Article 202 (reduced-amount payment), paragraphs 1, 2-bis, 2-ter, 2-quater and 3. Normattiva
• Codice della Strada, Article 207 (vehicles registered abroad or bearing an EE plate), paragraphs 1, 2, 2-bis and 3. Normattiva
• Codice della Strada, Article 142 (speed limits), paragraphs 9 and 9-bis, for the amounts in the worked example. Normattiva

Accessed on Normattiva, the official Italian legislation database, on 26 August 2026. The Italian text is quoted verbatim, the explanation is translated. The worked example is an illustration based on the amounts in Article 142; which amount applies in your case depends on the offence established.