Unpaid Italian Motorway Tolls

A toll offence represents a violation of article 176, paragraph 11 of the Italian Highway Code and it is considered a violation of a commercial agreement between the entity that manages the motorway and the person responsible (as per article. 196) of the vehicle at the time of the offence.

The charge is the debt payable following the unpaid motorway toll offence applicable for the vehicle for which you were responsible at the time of the offence.

For a variety of reasons (i.e. loss of the ticket, wrong entrance at the gantries or using an automated lane, etc.) it might happen that the point of the vehicle joining the motorway could not be detected or determined. In such cases, the Italian Traffic Highway Code stipulates that the toll be calculated from the furthest possible entrance onto the motorway as the starting point of the travel.

Upon entering the motorway, the motorist has two choices: either to use the automated lane and pay for the toll with an electronic remote charging device already installed in the vehicle, or to take a ticket. The ticket serves the purpose of stating the exact point at which the vehicle entered the motorway, allowing the motorway company to accurately calculate the amount of the toll to be charged. If the ticket gets lost before approaching the exit toll booth, the motorist will find themselves temporarily stuck at the booth. If no ticket is presented there, the barriers will open and a photo of the rear of the vehicle will be taken. A paper receipt is released for the motorist to take and to pay the toll within 15 days from the date of the travel (either online or at dedicated locations called Punto Blu), without incurring in any additional charge.

Depending on the time the motorway was entered, it may happen that there was no real traffic congestion. When this happens and the barriers are open, the motorist may be led to think that they can go through without stopping and paying the toll. The same thing can happen when motorists follow other vehicles without realising that they in an automated lane (for which a charging device fitted on the car is required) where the toll barrier opens automatically. In such instances, the toll does not get paid but remains payable nonetheless.

You have previously been issued with a payment notice by the Italian Motorway Agency and/or their agents but this remains unpaid and the matter has been passed over to CLI for debt collection purposes.

Car hire companies sometimes charge a fee in line with their terms and conditions for managing the administrative work necessary to reply to the request from the Italian traffic authorities. Car hire companies never ask you to pay the actual unpaid motorway toll itself and the unpaid motorway toll is never settled by them.