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If you are driving through Europe, three countries matter: Austria, Portugal and Luxembourg prohibit dashcam use by private drivers. In Austria, having one recording can attract fines reported up to €10,000.
Switzerland is often listed as a fourth ban. That is not accurate, and the real position is more useful to know. See below.
The Switzerland confusion
A number of travel articles state that Switzerland bans dash cams outright. It does not.
Swiss law permits them in principle. What constrains them is a 2014 Federal Supreme Court decision holding that the right to privacy outweighs the benefit of indiscriminate recording. The practical effect is that constant wide angle recording while driving is not generally allowed, and footage shared with anyone requires faces and number plates to be blurred.
So the honest summary is that a dash cam is legal to own and to carry in Switzerland, but ordinary always on use is not compliant. Different from a ban, and it lands in much the same place for a traveller.
Country by country
| Country | Status | What actually applies |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Banned | Strictest in Europe. The Data Protection Act treats continuous recording of public roads as unlawful collection of personal data. Fines reported up to €10,000 in serious cases. |
| Portugal | Banned | The data protection authority (CNPD) interprets national privacy law as prohibiting dashcam recording in most circumstances. |
| Luxembourg | Banned in use | Owning a dashcam is legal. Using one in a vehicle is not. Continuous recording of public space is treated as surveillance requiring authorisation a private citizen cannot obtain. |
| Switzerland | Heavily restricted | Not an outright ban, despite what many travel articles say. A 2014 Federal Supreme Court decision held that privacy outweighs indiscriminate recording, so constant wide angle recording is not generally permitted. Faces and plates must be blurred before footage is shared. |
| Germany | Legal with limits | Permitted since the 2018 Federal Court of Justice ruling, and footage is accepted as evidence. Permanent continuous recording remains legally contested, short loop recording is the safer approach. |
| Belgium | Legal with conditions | Permitted for private use under privacy conditions. Publishing footage is restricted. |
| France | Legal | Permitted for private use. Sharing footage publicly is restricted under privacy law. |
| Italy | Legal | Permitted, and footage is accepted in insurance and accident claims. |
| Spain | Legal | Permitted, and footage is accepted as supplementary evidence. |
| United Kingdom | Legal and encouraged | Actively supported by police forces and insurers, and many insurers offer a discount for fitting one. |
| United States | Legal | Legal in all states. What varies is windshield mounting rules and whether audio recording needs consent. |
The trap that catches people in legal countries
Across most of Europe the meaningful line is not whether you may record. It is what you may do with the recording.
Recording for your own evidence, and handing footage to police or an insurer after an incident, is generally accepted. Posting that same footage publicly, with identifiable faces and readable number plates, is where data protection law applies, and it applies in countries where the camera itself is entirely lawful.
A clip uploaded for entertainment is a very different act, legally, from the same clip emailed to a claims handler.
Crossing borders
A camera that is legal at home does not become legal by being fitted before you left. Traffic and tourism authorities in the restricted countries have been checking foreign plates more actively, and in a couple of jurisdictions simply having one mounted and recording is enough.
The practical approach for a European road trip is to take the camera off the windscreen and stow it before entering Austria, Portugal or Luxembourg, and to leave it off in Switzerland.
Related: dash cam laws by US state.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries ban dash cams?
Austria, Portugal and Luxembourg prohibit dashcam use by private drivers. Switzerland is frequently listed as a fourth, but that is imprecise: Switzerland permits dash cams in principle while effectively disallowing continuous recording.
Is a dash cam illegal in Switzerland?
Not outright. A 2014 Federal Supreme Court decision held that the right to privacy outweighs indiscriminate recording, which means constant wide angle recording while driving is not generally allowed. Faces and plates must be blurred before footage is shared. In practice that rules out normal always on dashcam use.
What happens if I drive into Austria with a dash cam fitted?
Austria treats continuous recording of public roads as unlawful data collection, with reported fines reaching €10,000 in serious cases. The practical advice given by traffic authorities is to remove the camera from the windscreen and stow it before crossing the border.
Can I record but not publish?
In most of Europe that is the important distinction. Recording for your own evidence is usually permitted. Posting the footage publicly, with identifiable faces and number plates, is where data protection law bites, and that applies even in countries where the camera itself is entirely legal.
Are dash cams legal in the UK?
Yes, and unusually they are encouraged. Police forces accept footage and several insurers offer a premium discount for having one fitted.
Travelling somewhere a dash cam is permitted, or shopping for one that packs away easily for trips?