Touching your phone at the wheel costs 100 euros in Germany and 440 in the Netherlands — and a foreign fine is enforced from 25 euros up
Six European countries publish their traffic fine schedules. For the same offence the gap runs to a factor of four — and the threshold at which a foreign notice is collected in Germany sits below almost every one of those amounts.
Meridians Technik-Redaktion
Published 8 September 2026 · Updated 8 September 2026 · 6 min read
AutomotiveThe short answer
- For the same second on the phone, Germany charges 100 euros and the Netherlands 440. Both are published schedule rates, not estimates.
- For driving 20 km/h over the limit, the published rates run from 60 euros in Austria to 229 euros on a Dutch motorway. The figures describe different situations, so they do not line up as a ranking.
- A notice from an EU state is enforced in Germany from 70 euros, from Austria at 25 euros, and from Switzerland at 80 Swiss francs since 1 May 2024. Fines from the UK, Norway and Liechtenstein are not enforceable in Germany at all.
- On 1 January 2027 Austria replaces its regional schedules with one national catalogue — on average around 50 percent higher, according to the ADAC.
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The number that surprises people on holiday is rarely the one on the speedometer. It is the one on the notice that lands in the letterbox three months later. Six European countries publish their fine schedules, and for the same offence the published amounts differ by a factor of four. We retrieved the ADAC country pages and reproduce only what is actually stated there.
Phone at the wheel: 100 euros in Germany, 440 in the Netherlands
- Germany — 100 euros — standard rate for car drivers, plus one point on the Flensburg register. With endangerment 150 euros, with property damage 200 euros, in both cases two points and a one-month driving ban. The ADAC gives 55 euros for cyclists.
- Austria — from 100 euros — minimum amount stated on the ADAC country page.
- Switzerland — 110 euros — a fixed amount, converted into euros by the ADAC.
- France — from 135 euros — a fourth-category offence, for which the ADAC quotes a reduced initial amount of 90 euros.
- Italy — from 250 euros — minimum amount; the ADAC notes the range reaches 1,000 euros.
- Netherlands — 440 euros — a fixed rate in force since 1 January 2026.
Twenty km/h over: 60 euros in Austria, 229 on a Dutch motorway
- Germany — 70 euros in built-up areas, 60 euros outside them — the schedule rate for 16 to 20 km/h over, with no point. From 60 euros upwards, 28.50 euros in administrative costs are added.
- Austria — from 60 euros — minimum amount stated on the ADAC country page.
- France — from 135 euros — for 20 km/h and above; below 20 km/h the ADAC gives from 68 euros.
- Italy — from 175 euros — minimum amount.
- Switzerland — from 195 euros — minimum amount, converted into euros by the ADAC.
- Netherlands — 229 euros — for 20 km/h over on the motorway, in force since 1 January 2026.
Further up the scale the comparison breaks down entirely. For more than 50 km/h over the limit the ADAC gives up to 7,500 euros in Austria, 1,500 euros in France and from 545 euros in Italy — and for Switzerland no euro figure at all, but „from 60 daily rates“, a penalty scaled to income. The German catalogue stays comparatively flat here: 51 to 60 km/h over costs 480 euros outside built-up areas and 560 euros inside them, plus two points and a two-month driving ban.
Enforced from 70 euros — and from 25 euros if the notice is Austrian
- EU states — a notice is enforced in Germany from 70 euros including administrative costs.
- Austria — a special lower threshold: 25 euros plus costs. Authorities have three years from the decision becoming final.
- Switzerland — not an EU state, but enforceable in Germany since 1 May 2024 from 80 Swiss francs, which the ADAC puts at around 86 euros.
- United Kingdom, Norway, Liechtenstein — not enforceable in Germany.
Collection runs through the Federal Office of Justice in every case, not through a private debt collector. That is precisely what a new EU directive on cross-border enforcement lays down: it entered into force on 19 January 2025 and must be transposed into national law by 20 July 2027, requiring multilingual notices and banning private debt collection for traffic offences. For Italy the ADAC gives an enforcement window of five years. The arithmetic matters: what gets enforced is the fine plus administrative costs, and it is often those costs that push a notice over the threshold.
A discount for paying quickly, a surcharge for waiting
Italy grants a 30 percent reduction on most offences if payment arrives within five days of service — and doubles the amount if nothing has arrived after 60 days. France asks first for the reduced rate; the ADAC gives 90 instead of 135 euros as an example, rising to as much as 375 euros if the delay continues. Lodging an appeal there does not suspend payment: the amount must still be transferred as security. In Austria, for amounts up to 365 euros, the authority sends the registered keeper an anonymous notice with four weeks to pay and no obligation to name the driver. An on-the-spot fine falls due within 14 days.
What changes in Austria on 1 January 2027
From 1 January 2027 Austria replaces the schedules that until now varied by federal state with a single national catalogue. According to the ADAC, offenders will pay on average around 50 percent more; the ministry explains this by saying the new amounts follow the highest regional rates that already existed. Named figures include 100 euros for ignoring the keep-right rule on motorways, 200 euros for driving in the emergency corridor and 115 euros for overtaking on the right. The Austrian motoring club ÖAMTC supports the standardisation but criticises the level, the ADAC reports.
Sources
Every factual claim above is traceable to these documents. Check them — that is why they are here.
- Handy am Steuer: Bußgelder und Strafen 2026 (revised 24.07.2026) — 100 euro standard rate, 150 with endangerment, 200 with property damage, 55 for cyclistsADAC e. V.
- Blitzer-Kosten innerorts und außerorts (revised 30.06.2026) — full German speeding schedule for cars, 28.50 euros in costs from 60 euros upADAC e. V.
- Bußgeld aus Österreich: Fristen, Verfahren, Tipps (revised 14.08.2026) — Austrian rates, Anonymverfügung up to 365 euros, enforcement from 25 eurosADAC e. V.
- Bußgeld oder Strafzettel aus Italien (revised 03.06.2026) — Italian rates, 30 percent discount within five days, doubling after 60 daysADAC e. V.
- Bußgeldverfahren in Frankreich (revised 24.02.2025) — categories, reduced and increased amounts, security payment despite appealADAC e. V.
- Bußgelder aus der Schweiz (revised 05.05.2025) — Swiss rates in euros, enforcement in Germany from 80 francs since 1 May 2024ADAC e. V.
- Warum Sie Strafzettel aus dem Ausland nicht ignorieren sollten (revised 15.07.2026) — enforcement thresholds, EU directive of 19.01.2025, transposition deadline 20.07.2027ADAC e. V.
- Handy am Steuer: 440 Euro — the Dutch rates in force from 1 January 2026ADAC e. V.
- Bußgelder in Österreich: Diese Verstöße werden ab 2027 teuer — national standardisation from 1.1.2027, on average around 50 percent moreADAC e. V.
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Meridians Technik-Redaktion is an editorial desk at Meridians, not an individual. A desk byline means the article was produced and fact-checked to that desk's published standards. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
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