Between 2023 and 2025, the Catalan Traffic Service registered a total of 4,366,260 sanctioning files. Of these, 2,779,081 were paid voluntarily, meaning that 36.4% of fined drivers have not settled their penalties, amounting to over 1.5 million outstanding fines.
“"In these cases, the files go to the executive route and it is the Tax Agency of Catalonia (ATC) that is responsible for collecting the payments."
Last month's data reveals that in 2025, 1.46 million files were registered, an 8.1% increase from 2024, but a 4.7% decrease from 2023. A significant 43.2% of 2025 penalties are still pending, a higher figure than previous years. For 2024, 36.1% remain unpaid, and for 2023, 30%.
By demarcation, the regions of Camp de Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre top the list of non-payments over the last three years, with 41.1% of fines not paid voluntarily, exceeding half a million. In the Barcelona regions, 37% of offenders have not paid, representing 1.3 million drivers. Girona is below the Catalan average with 34.3%, and Lleida closes the ranking with 29.6% of non-payments.
A notable aspect is the high percentage of unpaid fines among drivers with foreign addresses. Of the 4.3 million penalties between 2023 and 2025, 426,030 correspond to individuals residing outside of Spain. A striking 58.3% of these fines have not been paid, contrasting with 34% for residents in Spain. The percentages for foreigners do not drop below half of non-payments in any of the analyzed years, and in 2025, they rise to 63.8% for foreigners.
The director of Traffic, Ramon Lamiel, explains that they use a collection system for foreigners through a company that sends fines in their own language. This method allows for the recovery of a significant amount of penalties that might otherwise be considered lost, as the executive route is not pursued for foreign offenders due to the costly and complex procedures with other countries' tax authorities.
