Speed and Red Light Camera Laws by State
State law decides whether cities may use automated cameras. Some states allow them, some limit them to school or work zones, some ban them, and many say nothing, which leaves the decision to local governments. Checked November 2026.
Speed cameras
Red light cameras
| State | Speed cameras | Red light cameras | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Limited | Limited | There is no statewide camera law; red light and speed cameras run only in cities given permission by their own local acts of the legislature (for example Center Point). A 2026 law adds a state-run speed camera pilot for one interstate highway work zone, ending in 2028. | Official |
| Alaska | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Arizona | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Arkansas | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| California | Limited | Allowed | Cities and counties anywhere in the state may run red light cameras under the Vehicle Code; a 2025 law also lets them choose a civil, no-point red light program. Speed cameras are allowed only in a state pilot for named cities (school zones, safety corridors, street-racing streets) and in state highway work zones. | Official |
| Colorado | Allowed | Allowed | Any county or city may adopt red light and speed cameras by ordinance, and the state and local agencies may use them on state highways under CDOT rules (including speed camera corridors, school zones and work zones). Camera tickets are civil, and first minor speeding violations get only a warning. | Official |
| Connecticut | Limited | Limited | Towns may use red light and speed cameras only at locations in a plan approved by the state DOT after a local ordinance and public hearing. The state also runs speed cameras in selected highway work zones, with tickets starting July 2026. | Official |
| Delaware | Limited | Allowed | The state, counties and cities may run red light camera programs (installations need DelDOT approval). Speed cameras are allowed only in highway work zones and in residential districts that pass a speed study, and that authority ends June 30, 2028. | Official |
| District of Columbia | Allowed | Allowed | D.C. law lets the city use automated cameras for moving violations, and speed and red light cameras run citywide. Camera tickets are fines on the vehicle owner and carry no license points. | Official |
| Florida | Limited | Allowed | The state, any county or any city may use red light cameras. Speed cameras are allowed only in school zones, ticketing drivers more than 10 mph over the limit around school start and end times. | Official |
| Georgia | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Hawaii | Limited | Limited | Red light cameras operate under a state program in urban Honolulu. Since 2024 the law lets those same red light camera sites also enforce speed, with speeding citations starting November 1, 2025; there are no stand-alone speed cameras elsewhere. | Official |
| Idaho | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Illinois | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Indiana | Limited | No state law | Speed cameras are allowed only in highway work sites under an INDOT pilot program (IC 8-23-32), ticketing drivers 11+ mph over: a warning first, then civil penalties of $75 and $150. State law does not address red light cameras. | Official |
| Iowa | Allowed | No state law | Cities and counties anywhere in the state may run speed cameras by ordinance, but each location needs an Iowa DOT permit, tickets start above 10 mph over, and towns of 20,000 or fewer cannot use mobile units. The state camera law (Code ch. 321P) covers speed only, so red light cameras are left to local ordinance. | Official |
| Kansas | No state law | No state law | Kansas law is silent on traffic enforcement cameras: it neither authorizes nor bans red light or speed cameras, and no city program is known. | Official |
| Kentucky | Limited | No state law | Speed cameras may be used only in highway work zones, and only when a worker is present and a police officer in a marked car is at the zone to issue the ticket (2025 HB 664). State law does not address red light cameras. | Official |
| Louisiana | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Maine | Banned | Banned | Maine law bars the state and towns from using red light or speed cameras to enforce traffic laws. The only exceptions are school bus stop-arm cameras and Maine Turnpike toll enforcement. | Official |
| Maryland | Limited | Allowed | Red light cameras may be used by state and local police agencies statewide. Speed cameras are limited to school zones, highway work zones, safety corridors and specific roads or counties named in state law (for example Montgomery County and I-83 in Baltimore). | Official |
| Massachusetts | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Michigan | Limited | No state law | Speed cameras are allowed only in MDOT highway work zones while workers are present, with no more than 4 systems per MDOT region at once; a first violation brings a warning, then civil fines up to $150 and $300. State law does not address red light cameras. | Official |
| Minnesota | Limited | Limited | A state pilot (Aug 1, 2025 to Jul 31, 2029) lets only Minneapolis and Mendota Heights use red light and speed cameras, near schools or in work zones, and has the state run speed cameras in 2-4 trunk highway work zones. | Official |
| Mississippi | Banned | Banned | Mississippi law bars counties and cities from using or enforcing automated traffic cameras for red lights or speed, and required existing systems to be removed by October 1, 2009. | Official |
| Missouri | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Montana | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Nebraska | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Nevada | Banned | Banned | Nevada law bars government agencies from using photo, video or digital equipment to gather evidence for traffic citations. The only exception is equipment held by an officer or installed in a law enforcement vehicle or facility, so unattended speed and red light cameras are not allowed. | Official |
| New Hampshire | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| New Jersey | Banned | No state law | New Jersey has banned photo radar speed enforcement since 1992. Its red light camera pilot expired on December 16, 2014, and no law currently authorizes or bans red light cameras, so none operate. | Official |
| New Mexico | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| New York | Limited | Limited | Red light cameras are allowed only in cities and counties named in state law, such as New York City. Speed cameras are limited to school zones in New York City and a few other named places, plus highway work zones. | Official |
| North Carolina | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| North Dakota | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Ohio | Limited | Limited | Ohio lets cities and villages use speed and red light cameras under conditions set by state law, but counties and townships may not. Camera tickets are civil violations: no points, and they are not reported to the BMV. | Official |
| Oklahoma | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Oregon | Allowed | Allowed | Any Oregon city may run red light cameras, and since 2023 any city may run photo radar on residential streets, in school zones, and on other streets it finds have a speeding safety problem, but not on controlled-access highways. State law also provides for photo radar in highway work zones. | Official |
| Pennsylvania | Limited | Limited | Red light cameras are allowed only in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and towns of over 20,000 people in certain suburban counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery). Speed cameras are limited to active highway work zones statewide, Roosevelt Boulevard and up to five more corridors in Philadelphia, and a Philadelphia school-zone pilot. | Official |
| Rhode Island | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| South Carolina | Banned | Banned | Speeding and red light tickets must be handed to the driver at a traffic stop and cannot be issued from photos (speeding: not even partly) or mailed; the only carve-outs are toll collection, school-bus passing tickets, and narrow federal-emergency periods with in-person notice within one hour. | Official |
| South Dakota | No state law | Banned | State, county, city and township governments may not contract with a private company to run red light cameras. No state law authorizes or bans speed cameras, though the state will not share driver data with other states to collect camera fines. | Official |
| Tennessee | Limited | Allowed | Local governments may use red light cameras statewide under rules on engineering studies, yellow-light timing and right turns on red; since July 2015 speed cameras are allowed only near marked school zones and S-curves. Camera-only citations count as non-moving violations with uncontested fines capped at $50. | Official |
| Texas | Banned | Banned | State law has banned red light cameras since 2019 and also bars cities from using speed cameras. A few red light programs under contracts signed before May 2019 were allowed to run until those contracts ended. | Official |
| Utah | Limited | No state law | Photo radar may be used only in school zones or on roads posted 30 mph or less, with a peace officer present, warning signs posted and local approval; such tickets are not reported to the driving record and carry no points. State law does not address red light cameras. | Official |
| Vermont | Limited | No state law | Speed cameras are allowed only in work zones on limited-access highways while workers are present, under a pilot law set to expire by July 1, 2027; the first violation in 12 months carries a $0 penalty, and violations are civil and stay off the driving record. State law does not address red light cameras. | Official |
| Virginia | Limited | Allowed | Any county, city or town may run red light cameras, up to one intersection per 10,000 residents. Speed cameras are limited to school crossing zones, highway work zones with workers present, high-risk road segments with a past fatality, and a few other listed areas. | Official |
| Washington | Limited | Allowed | Any city or county may use red light cameras at signalized intersections of two or more arterials. Speed cameras are limited to school, park and hospital speed zones, school walk zones, crash prevention zones, work zones with workers present, certain state highways inside city limits, and a capped number of high-crash spots; camera tickets are handled like parking tickets and stay off the driving record. | Official |
| West Virginia | Banned | Banned | Police may not use automated photo or video devices to detect traffic violations, and such images cannot be used as evidence of a violation; ordinary radar speed devices are still allowed. A 2026 work-zone law raised fines but did not authorize cameras. | Official |
| Wisconsin | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |
| Wyoming | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear: check your state DMV or legislature. | Official |