According to data from the Servei Català de Trànsit, over the last three years, 4,366,260 sanctioning files have been processed across Catalonia. Of these, only 2,779,081 have been paid voluntarily, leaving 36.4% of fines outstanding. These cases proceed to the executive collection phase, managed by the Agència Tributària de Catalunya (ATC).
By demarcation, Tarragona registers the highest volume of unpaid fines. The regions of Barcelona follow with 37% of offenders who have not paid their sanctions, equivalent to 1.3 million drivers. Girona is below the Catalan average with 34.3%, while Lleida presents the best data, with 29.6%, indicating that seven out of ten sanctioned drivers do pay.
Another significant factor is the high level of non-payment among drivers residing abroad. More than half of the fines imposed on these offenders in the last three years remain unpaid, reaching 63.8% in 2025, compared to 34% for residents in Spain.
“"There is a specific collection system for foreign drivers through a company that sends the fine to vehicle owners in their language and, sometimes, from their own country. This makes the person receiving the fine feel more compelled."
This system allows for the recovery of a "significant amount" of sanctions that, otherwise, "could be considered lost." However, in these cases, the executive route is not pursued, as contacting tax administrations in other countries involves complex and costly procedures. Last year, Trànsit recorded 1.46 million files, an 8.1% increase from 2024, but a 4.7% decrease from 2023, confirming the persistence of a structural problem in fine collection.
