Italy rewrites speed camera rules overnight: 1,204 devices go dark as new homologation mandate takes effect

What happened at midnight

At one minute past midnight on Sunday 12 July 2026, the landscape of Italian speed enforcement changed. A decree issued by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, published in the Official Gazette on 11 July, introduced a nationwide requirement that every device used to detect speed-limit violations must be homologated, not merely approved. Of the 4,060 devices inventoried by the ministry as of 10 July, 2,856 may continue issuing fines. The remaining 1,204 must be switched off until their manufacturers secure homologation for the prototype, submitting the supplementary documentation now required.

At present, the devices that are active because they meet the requirements for homologation number about 3,150.

A second estimate from the same ministry puts the active count at 2,856, with about 850 units needing their manufacturer to request prototype homologation. The difference reflects the fluid state of the inventory and which models have been traced to a compliant prototype.

Why a 34-year gap is closing now

The 1992 Italian Highway Code demanded two distinct steps – approval and homologation – but for three decades only an approval procedure existed. The ministry issued approvals; no device ever went through a formal homologation process. That distinction became legally explosive after the Court of Cassation, starting with ordinance no. 10505 of 2024, ruled in almost fifty judgments that approval and homologation are not equivalent. Municipalities faced waves of appeals and annulled fines.

The positive news is that certain rules are finally arriving. Since 1992 the Highway Code has required homologation, but the procedure for obtaining it was never set out.

The new decree effectively grants a technical amnesty to 25 product models listed in Annex B. Prototypes of those models are deemed homologated, and any installed unit that matches the model, holds a valid calibration certificate, and passes periodic checks may continue operating. For all future devices, full homologation is compulsory.

How the numbers break down

An updated inventory by the Ministry of Transport, dated 10 July, counted 4,060 devices nationwide. Roughly seven out of ten fall within the amnesty. Commander Luigi Altamura, head of Verona's local police and the ANCI referent, told Corriere della Sera that 2,856 devices stay on while 1,204 go dark. The ministry itself cited roughly 850 non-compliant units in its own statement, a narrower figure that may refer only to devices whose prototypes still lack any path to rapid homologation.

At 00:01, without a single limit changing, 2,856 devices will be able to keep issuing fines and 1,204 will have to be turned off.

What the decree demands of every camera

Beyond the homologation trigger, the decree introduces a numerical reliability licence for speed cameras. Detection rate must reach at least 90%. Correct pairing of a measured speed to the right vehicle must hit 95%, the same threshold set for image acquisition and number-plate recognition. Vehicle classification also requires 90% accuracy. During homologation tests the recorded speed may not differ from the reference instrument by more than 3 km/h up to 100 km/h, and by no more than 3% above that threshold. This is a metrological requirement distinct from the statutory tolerance applied when issuing a fine.

Every unit must be calibrated before use and at least once a year. If the certificate expires or a check fails, the device must be stopped. Data and images will be encrypted and digitally signed; frontal photographs will have faces automatically obscured.

Summer exodus and highway fears

The timing falls at the start of Italy's summer holiday exodus. Altamura voiced concern that drivers might interpret the switch-off as permission to speed where cameras go dark. The motorway network is especially exposed. An ANCI survey suggests that first-generation Tutor average-speed systems on at least 83 stretches of the A1, A4, A13, A14 and A16 could be among those suspended.

We're at the start of the summer exodus. I hope the message doesn't get through that you can speed.

After the Tutor system was introduced, average speed on controlled sections fell by 15%, peak speed by 25%, and mortality dropped by 56% in the first year.

Legal doubts remain

The decree does not extinguish litigation. Several jurists argue that a ministerial act cannot equate approval with homologation when the Highway Code and the Court of Cassation treat them as separate. Consumer associations have announced fresh appeals. Fines already issued remain in force, but those generated after midnight by a non-homologated device would be void. Manufacturers of the excluded prototypes can seek homologation by presenting test results and documentation; in some cases the ministry must respond within sixty days. Until then, the 1,204 devices stay silent.