Florence · ZTL fines for tourists
ZTL fine in Florence for a foreign driver: what to do
You came home from Florence and a ZTL fine arrives in your letterbox. This page explains what to keep, what to do first and how long you have.
Our advice: keep your parking ticket
If you drive into the ZTL to come to the garage, our advice is just one: always keep the parking ticket the garage gives you. Put it in a drawer and do not throw it away for at least a year. It looks like a worthless piece of paper, but it is the proof that on that day your car was parked with us, and it is exactly what you will need if a fine ever reaches you.
Why the fine can arrive after so many months
When the fine concerns a foreign customer, the notice takes a long way round: it can arrive even after twelve months, although usually it arrives after about six. By then the holiday is a distant memory and it is easy to have no idea where the ticket went. That is why it is worth keeping it for a whole year.
What to do when it arrives
If the fine concerns the ZTL, the first thing to do is contact the garage you went to: together you can work out whether something went wrong in the authorisation of your number plate. Send the parking ticket straight away; they will probably also ask for an identity document and a copy of the fine. For City Parking you can write to multe.ztl@gmail.com or phone the garage (Fiesolana, Via Venezia, Borgo Pinti).
In the meantime, do not pay. If you pay the penalty you lose the right to have it cancelled, and this holds even when the fine says that paying at once gets you a discount: if the mistake is the garage’s, that discount is not worth it. See pay with the discount or appeal?
From the day the fine reaches you for the first time you have 60 days to ask for its cancellation with an appeal to the Prefetto. The appeal is free and is sent by certified email (PEC) or registered letter, to the addresses written on the fine itself. Often the garage prepares the text; you sign it and send it. All the steps are in how to appeal to the Prefetto. If you travelled with a rental car there is one more step: the fine goes first to the rental company, which by law must pass on your details as the driver, and only then reaches you. We explain it in the guide on ZTL fines with a rental car.
ZTL fines: all guides
ZTL fine for foreign drivers (you are here) · When does a ZTL fine arrive? · Why keep your garage parking ticket · ZTL fine with a rental car · Rental company letter or real fine? · Pay the ZTL fine or appeal? · Can the garage appeal for me? · Prefetto or Giudice di Pace? · How to appeal a ZTL fine · Rental company fees for fines
Questions from international drivers
Why should I keep the parking ticket?
It is the proof that your car was parked in our garage that day. Keep it for at least a year.
How long after the trip can a ZTL fine arrive?
Even after twelve months, although usually after about six.
What should I do first when a ZTL fine arrives?
Contact the garage and send the ticket, an identity document and a copy of the fine: multe.ztl@gmail.com or the garage phone.
Should I pay the fine?
No. Paying makes you lose the right to cancellation. You have 60 days to appeal to the Prefetto, free of charge.