Every time we park the car on the blue lines, the moment we pay the ticket a doubt always arises: what happens if we are late compared to the time up to which we paid?
Until 2024, the practice provided for a limit of 15 minutes of tolerance for any delays: with the reform of the new Highway Code, however, things have changed. More specifically, law n.177 of 25 November 2024 introduced a variable tolerance limit, depending on the parking time we paid. Unlike what has been reported by various newspapers in recent days, however, this innovation was not introduced in 2026, but has already been applied since 14 December 2024, with the entry into force of the rule.
The news, however, has returned to the center of attention after the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport launched assessments to increase various penalties, with fines for vehicles without third-party liability which could reach up to 1,000 euros.
Returning to the topic of the blue lines, for those who do not pay for parking at all, no tolerance is foreseen and the fine from 42 to 173 euros is immediately triggered, aggravated by the recovery of the entire unpaid daily rate.
As reported by the ACI, the objective, in this case, is twofold: on the one hand, to ensure that those who occupy a paid position do so correctly; on the other, introduce criteria of greater fairness, clearly distinguishing between those who overstay by a few minutes and those who do not pay for parking.
But, so, what happens when we exceed the time limit for a regularly purchased ticket? The new paragraph 14-ter of article 7 of the Highway Code has divided the time elapsed since the deadline into three precise time bands.
Within 10% of the paid time: when there is no risk of any penalty
This first band is undoubtedly the most favorable for motorists: if the assessment by the policeman or auxiliary occurs within a time equal to 10% of what we originally paid for, no penalty is applied.
The margin of elasticity, therefore, depends on how long we spent in the blue-lined car parks. To give a practical example, if parking for two hours (i.e. 120 minutes) has been paid for, the tolerance is approximately 12 minutes. In the case of just one hour of parking, it will be 6 minutes, while in the case of 6 hours there is a full 36 minutes of tolerance after the coupon expires.
The innovation introduced with the new Highway Code, therefore, adapts the tolerance times based on the duration of parking, eliminating the fixed requirement of 15 minutes for any type of parking longer than an hour.
Between 10% and 50% of the time paid: how the reduced fine works
At this point, what happens if our delay exceeds that initial 10%? For this eventuality, the new Highway Code differentiates between two types of scenarios.
The first occurs when the delay exceeds 10% of the parking time, but remains within half (therefore 50%) of the overall time: here the infringement becomes punishable, but a reduced fine of 50% is applied.
But be careful: paragraph 14-quater of article 7 of the Highway Code specifies that the recovery of the unpaid fare for the unpaid period will also be added to the fine. In simple words, it means that in addition to the fine we will also have to pay the cost of parking that we have not paid previously.
In fact, parking fines and tariffs perform two different functions: the fine punishes the infringement of the Highway Code, while the tariff constitutes the normal payment for the physical occupation of the parking space.
Over 50% of the time paid: full sanction and recovery of the fee
The most severe treatment occurs if we significantly exceed 50% of the paid time. This range, for example, is triggered if we have only paid for two hours and we are late for more than 60 minutes.
In this third and final scenario, the full administrative sanction is triggered, to which is also added the mechanism for recovering the unpaid fee. In this case, therefore, the driver will have to pay the 42 euro basic fine, plus the cost of parking not paid previously.
For the payment of these infringements, however, the 30% discount on the amount of the fine remains valid as long as payment is made within 5 days of notification.
