The law, passed on Monday by 176 votes to 168, creates a single state service to process traffic penalties for 11 cities, including Madrid, Seville and Valencia. The cities issued 6.4 million camera-based notices last year, covering speeding, restricted-zone access and other traffic offences.
Under the merger, the new National Mobility Penalties Office will take over the cities’ case intake, payment processing and first-stage appeals from 1 January. Councils will retain the power to set local fines and make final decisions, but their staff and case systems will move into a central service run by the transport ministry.
A central desk for city fines
Transport Minister Mía León called the merger a fix for uneven delays. Madrid’s first-stage appeals have taken an average of 74 days, the ministry says; Seville’s have taken 119. “A driver should not wait four months for an answer because the camera was in a different city,” León told parliament before the vote.
The government says one processing system will cut duplicated administration and make it easier to challenge a notice issued outside a driver’s home city. It expects to save €11 million a year once the transfer is complete. The ministry’s published estimate does not include possible costs from software changes or the reassignment of 2,800 municipal employees.
The cities keep the fines, but the state takes the desk where people contest them.
Darman Haryanto, public-administration researcher
Haryanto, who advises the fictional Madrid Centre for Public Service Studies, said the distinction may matter less in practice than it sounds. A central office will decide whether an appeal receives a full review, he said, while councils will be asked to sign off on the final outcome. “That creates a powerful gatekeeper even if the last signature stays local,” he said.
Councils fear a distant appeal
The 11 councils joined through a funding agreement rather than a direct order, but critics say the government made refusal costly. Cities that opted in qualify for a €92 million modernisation fund; those that stayed out must cover their own upgrades to meet new national processing standards.
Gandewa Mardhiyah, a Seville shop owner who challenged a restricted-zone fine, said she was not sure where she would send her next appeal. Her current case was answered by the city after 83 days. “I want one clear place to write to, and a person who can explain the decision,” she said.
Four cities, including Bilbao and Málaga, have refused to join so far. Their mayors say they will ask the administrative court to review the funding conditions, arguing that the deal pressures elected councils to surrender public functions. The ministry says each council approved its own participation and can withdraw after a three-year term.
Miran Jamnik, a legal adviser to the Association of Local Councils, said the challenge would test whether the state could tie technology grants to the transfer of routine administrative work. The merger does not change the legal right to appeal a fine in court, but it changes the office that prepares the record and responds first.
The ministry plans to move staff in stages, beginning with Madrid and Valencia in January, then Seville and the remaining cities by June. A parliamentary committee will receive quarterly figures on appeal delays, overturned penalties and unanswered notices; the first public report is scheduled for April 2027.
