Driving hours fines in Europe compared: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, UK

Drivers’ hours rules are European, the fines are not. For 11 hours of driving on a 9-hour limit a driver pays €433 to €1,735 in Italy, £300 in the UK and €120 in Germany. In Spain the authorisation holder pays €401 to €600. In France it becomes a 5th class offence, up to €1,500.

We compared five countries on five breaches, the ones that come up most at roadside checks. Next to them sits the EU scale of Reg. (EU) 2016/403. It sets no amounts. It grades the breach: most serious infringement (MSI), very serious (VSI), serious (SI) and, in Annex III, minor (MI). Where our fact sheet has no figure, the table says “not verified”.

Five breaches, five countries

Breach	EU, Reg. 2016/403	Italy	Spain	Germany	France	UK
Daily driving over 9 hours	10 to under 11 h SI; 11 h or more VSI; 13 h 30 or more MSI	over 10 %: €325-1,301, 2 points; over 20 %: €433-1,735, 10 points	over 1 h: €401-600; over 2 h: €1,001-2,000; 50 % or more: €4,001-6,000	driver: 1 to 2 h over, €30 per started half hour, then €60; company €90 and €180 per half hour	under 2 h: 4th class, €135 fixed fine, €750 maximum; beyond: 5th class, up to €1,500	under 10 h £100; under 11 h £200; 11 h or more £300
Daily rest too short	regular rest: 10 to under 11 h MI; 8 h 30 to under 10 h SI; under 8 h 30 VSI	within 10 %: €218-868; over 10 %: €379-1,519, 5 points; over 20 %: €433-1,735, 10 points	cut by over 1 h: €401-600; over 2 h 30: €1,001-2,000; rest under 4 h 30: €4,001-6,000	driver: up to 1 h €30, up to 3 h €30 an hour, beyond €60 an hour; company €90 and €180 an hour	up to 2 h 30 short (regular): 4th class; beyond: 5th class, up to €1,500	regular rest: over 10 h £100; over 9 h £200; 9 h or less £300
Break not taken after 4 h 30	continuous driving over 4 h 30 and under 5 h MI; 5 to under 6 h SI; 6 h or more VSI	€168-672, 2 points	over 5 h without a break: €401-600; over 6 h: €1,001-2,000; under 5 h not verified	driver: up to 60 min €30, then €30 per half hour; company €90 per half hour	continuous driving exceeded by less than 1 h 30: 4th class; beyond: 5th class	under 5.5 h £100; under 6.5 h £200; 6.5 h or more £300
Driver card not inserted or not used	not verified	€866-3,464, 10 points, licence suspended 15 days to 3 months	€2,001-4,000	driver: €250 per 24-hour period	criminal offence: 6 months and €3,750; €800 fixed fine	£300
Tachograph tampering or falsified data	MSI	art. 179 fine doubled: €1,732-6,928 (our count)	€4,001-6,000, vehicle immobilised	device on board: €3,000 driver, €15,000 company; falsified data: €250 and €1,000 per 24 h	criminal offence: 1 year and €30,000; vehicle immobilised	in court: up to the statutory maximum, or up to 2 years in prison on indictment

Sources by row: EU, Reg. 2016/403, Annex I as replaced by Reg. 2022/694, and Annex III; Italy, Codice della strada art. 174 and 179 with the points table of art. 126-bis; Spain, LOTT arts. 140 to 143; Germany, LASI LV 48 items 102, 106, 108, 313, 324 and 325; France, Code des transports R3315-10, R3315-11, L3315-4 and L3315-5; UK, Fixed Penalty Order 2000, Schedule 2, and Transport Act 1968, s. 99ZE.

One driver, 11 hours, five countries

Take a driver who drives 11 hours in one day when the limit is 9, both 10-hour days of the week already used. Two hours over.

Country	Outcome	Why
EU	very serious infringement (VSI)	11 h or more on the 9-hour limit, Annex I of Reg. 2016/403 as replaced by Reg. 2022/694
Italy	€433-1,735, 10 points, documents withdrawn until the rest is taken	2 hours on 9 is 22 %, past the 20 % line (art. 174, para. 6 and 11)
Spain	€401-600 for the authorisation holder	over 1 hour, but not “superior” to 2 (art. 141.24.2)
Germany	€120 for the driver, €360 for the company	item 102: four half hours at €30 for the driver, €90 for the company; our count, which the catalogue makes the same way in its example on the 10-hour day
France	5th class, up to €1,500	two full hours are not “less than two hours” (R3315-10 and R3315-11)
UK	£300	11 h or more in Table 2, item 1

A few minutes move a case from one band to the next. In Spain, 11 hours 5 minutes takes the fine to €1,001-2,000. In France, 10 hours 59 stays in the 4th class at €135.

Who pays

Italy fines the driver, but the company is jointly liable and has its own fine of €333 to €1,331 per employee (art. 174, para. 13 and 14). Spain fines the holder of the transport authorisation (LOTT art. 138.1.a). Germany has separate rates for driver and company, with legal caps of €5,000 and €30,000 (FPersG § 8a). In France, articles R3315-10 and R3315-11 do not say who pays; art. L3315-6 extends the penalties to whoever runs the company if they committed the breach or let it happen. In the UK the fixed penalty is the driver’s, and GOV.UK says the operator is liable for its drivers’ infringements.

Read the figures with these limits

Every figure here has a limit, and it is worth knowing it.

Italy. The amounts are those of the decree of 31 December 2020. The inflation update is frozen until 31 December 2026 by D.L. 200/2025; the new decree must be adopted by 1 December 2026 and applies from 1 January 2027.

Germany. Per-case amounts come from the LASI LV 48 catalogue of 13 September 2018: reference rates for the Länder, not law, set for intentional breaches. The law only sets the FPersG maximums.

France. €135 is the fixed fine for 4th class offences, not the fine for every breach.

UK. The fixed penalty is the fine. The deposit is something else, taken at the roadside from drivers without a UK address, up to £1,500.

In practice

A planner who runs trips through several countries should size the margins on the strictest country of the trip, not on the home one. The thresholds fall in different places: 10 and 20 % in Italy, 1 and 2 hours in Spain, 2 hours in France, every hour in the UK.

One simple rule works everywhere: no day planned beyond 9 hours once both 10-hour days are used.

Country pages: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, UK. The limits themselves are in our guide to EU driving hours rules. There is also an interactive table of fines by country.

What this article does not cover. Other EU countries. Weekly and fortnightly driving, weekly rest and the driver’s return home, which you will find on the country pages. Payment procedures and appeals. For a driver card not inserted we found no entry in Reg. 2016/403 that matches exactly, so the EU column says “not verified”. General information, not legal advice.