Your car · Dashcams
Dashcams in Europe: Where You May Film, and What You May Do With It
Verdict
Where the authorities have spoken, a dashcam for your own use is tolerated. Publishing the footage is where you break the law.
Germany allows only short, incident-triggered recording. Austria allows it only to document an accident. Switzerland’s top court held dashcam filming unlawful under its old data-protection law. In the other countries on this site, the authorities have published nothing specific.
Each rule below comes from an official page and was checked twice. Where a country is not listed, either its authorities have published nothing we could find, or we have not researched it yet; the list at the end says which. A gap is not a permission.
| Country | Answer | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Allowed with limits | Ireland's DPC says dashcams filming public roads are not purely personal use, so data-protection duties apply. Put a recording sticker on the car, avoid audio, and never post footage publicly. |
| Belgium | Allowed with limits | Dashcams are legal. Footage kept for private use is outside GDPR, but publishing it breaks privacy law. If you rely on footage after an incident, tell the other party promptly. |
| Germany | Allowed with limits | Only short, incident-triggered recording is allowed; a pre-recording loop of up to 30 seconds is tolerated. Continuous recording is unlawful, posting footage is almost never allowed, and fines have been around €500. |
| Austria | Allowed with limits | Allowed only to document an accident: footage must loop and be overwritten automatically, keeping only the moments around a crash. Cameras where you save clips manually are likely unlawful. |
| Switzerland | Restricted | In 2019 the Federal Supreme Court held that dashcam filming of other road users broke the old Data Protection Act. Such footage can be used in criminal cases only for serious offences. |
| Slovenia | Allowed with limits | Purely personal filming is exempt from data-protection law. The exemption does not apply when you film publicly accessible areas or share footage outside your private circle. |
| Spain | Allowed with limits | Filming your trips for purely personal use is outside data-protection law. Publishing the footage online makes the law apply, and recording the street for security is reserved to the police. |
| Sweden | Allowed with limits | Dashcams are allowed. Purely private use falls outside GDPR and the camera surveillance law, but posting footage, e.g. on social media, brings full GDPR duties. |
Country by country
Ireland allowed with limits
- A dashcam filming public space is not purely personal use, so GDPR duties can apply Data Protection Commission - Guidance for Drivers on the use of Dash Cams (PDF, last updated May 2022)
- Posting footage publicly (e.g. social media) is not covered by the household exemption Data Protection Commission - Guidance for Drivers on the use of Dash Cams (PDF, last updated May 2022)
- Recording audio inside the car needs very strong justification Data Protection Commission - Guidance for Drivers on the use of Dash Cams (PDF, last updated May 2022)
- Gardaí may request footage for a crime investigation Data Protection Commission - Guidance for Drivers on the use of Dash Cams (PDF, last updated May 2022)
- Show a sign or sticker that recording is taking place Data Protection Commission - Guidance for Drivers on the use of Dash Cams (PDF, last updated May 2022)
Do: Turn audio off, put a camera sticker on the car, and never post footage publicly.
Belgium allowed with limits
- Fitting a dashcam is not prohibited but conditions apply Police fédérale - Sécurité routière : une dashcam pour quel usage ? (updated 7 Oct 2025)
- Publishing the footage breaks privacy law Police fédérale - Sécurité routière : une dashcam pour quel usage ?
- Footage kept for private use is outside GDPR, but GDPR applies once it is made public Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit - Seponering nr. 81/2022
- The Belgian camera law does not apply to dashcams, only GDPR Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit - Seponering nr. 81/2022
- If you use footage after an incident, tell the other party as soon as possible that it was filmed Police fédérale - Sécurité routière : une dashcam pour quel usage ?
Do: Keep footage private; if you use it after a crash, tell the other party promptly.
Germany allowed with limits
- Recording without a specific reason (permanent recording) is not allowed LfD Niedersachsen - FAQ zu Dashcams im Straßenverkehr (Juni 2024)
- A short pre-recording loop of up to 30 seconds is tolerated if it is only saved when an event triggers it LfD Niedersachsen - FAQ zu Dashcams im Straßenverkehr (Juni 2024)
- Continuous recording without a specific reason breaks data-protection law (as the BGH also said in 2018) LfD Niedersachsen - FAQ zu Dashcams im Straßenverkehr (Juni 2024)
- Publishing footage online is generally not allowed LfD Niedersachsen - FAQ zu Dashcams im Straßenverkehr (Juni 2024)
- Fines for unlawful private use have so far been set at around EUR 500 LfD Niedersachsen - FAQ zu Dashcams im Straßenverkehr (Juni 2024)
Do: Use event-triggered or short-loop mode only; never upload clips showing faces or plates.
Austria allowed with limits
- Purpose must be solely documenting how an accident happened Datenschutzbehörde - Newsletter 1/2020
- If saving footage depends on the driver pressing a button, the dashcam is likely unlawful Datenschutzbehörde - Newsletter 1/2020
Do: Use only a loop-recording camera that saves automatically after a crash; do not save clips by hand.
Switzerland restricted
- Dashcam recording was held unlawful under the Data Protection Act based on law since replaced Bundesgericht - BGE 146 IV 226 (6B_1188/2018, 26.09.2019)
- Unlawfully obtained private evidence is admissible only for serious crimes Bundesgericht - BGE 146 IV 226 (6B_1188/2018, 26.09.2019)
- The FDPIC says filming public space is a matter for the police or needs authorisation based on law since replaced EDÖB - Datenschutztag 2017: Überall im Fokus der Kameras (27.01.2017)
Do: Don't rely on footage in court; never publish it.
Slovenia allowed with limits
- Purely personal recording is exempt from ZVOP-2 Informacijski pooblaščenec - Smernice glede izvajanja videonadzora (v2.0, 14.4.2023)
- Exemption does not apply to filming publicly accessible areas or publishing footage Informacijski pooblaščenec - Smernice glede izvajanja videonadzora (v2.0, 14.4.2023)
Do: Keep footage private; don't post it online.
Spain allowed with limits
- Purely personal recordings are outside data-protection law AEPD FAQ 0803 - Cámara en una moto para grabar mis viajes
- Publishing recordings on the Internet brings them under data-protection law AEPD FAQ 0803
- Recording public roads for security purposes is reserved to the police AEPD FAQ 0804
Do: Record for personal use only; don't upload footage showing people or plates.
Sweden allowed with limits
- A camera on the inside of the windscreen, operated by the driver, is not a surveillance camera and needs no permit based on law since replaced Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen - HFD 2016 ref. 71
- If the private-use exemption applies, GDPR and the camera surveillance law do not IMY - Kamerabevakning med bilkameror (updated 17 Dec 2025)
- Posting footage, e.g. on social media, ends the private-use exemption IMY - Kamerabevakning med bilkameror (updated 17 Dec 2025)
- Outside the exemption, a vehicle camera processes personal data and GDPR rules apply IMY - Kamerabevakning med bilkameror (updated 17 Dec 2025)
Do: Keep footage private; don't post clips showing people or plates.
No official answer yet
Searched, nothing official found: United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Denmark, Norway. Follow the signs and the general law there, and do not rely on forum advice.