Indiana Camera Ticket Laws: Work-Zone Speed Camera Pilot

Indiana's only camera-enforcement program is a narrow, INDOT-run pilot that photographs speeders in active highway work zones. There is no red light camera authorization anywhere in Indiana law, and the speed-camera pilot itself is capped at just four systems statewide. If you got a notice from an Indiana work zone, that is almost certainly what generated it.

Are Red Light Cameras Legal in Indiana?

No. There is no Indiana statute authorizing red light camera ticketing anywhere in the state. This is an absence of authorization, not a ban; Indiana has never passed a law either allowing or prohibiting red light cameras specifically. If you see Indiana listed as «prohibited» for red light cameras in a national tracker, that typically reflects this same absence of any enabling law, not a dedicated ban statute.

The Work-Zone Speed Camera Pilot

Indiana's only camera-enforcement program targets speeding in active highway work zones. It was created by 2023 HEA 1015, codified at IC 8-23-32, and effective July 1, 2023. The Indiana Department of Transportation runs it under the name «Safe Zones,» and INDOT's own program description explains the mechanics: «Camera technology will document vehicles traveling 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit using images of rear license plates,» and critically, «workers must be present for violations to be valid.» That worker-presence requirement means the cameras are not simply always-on; they are tied to actual construction activity.

The program is also geographically narrow, which matters if you are holding a notice from somewhere other than an interstate. IC 8-23-32-1 applies the entire chapter only to «a part of a road or bridge on the interstate system (as defined in IC 8-23-1.1-24) or a U.S. route.» A work zone on a state road or a local street falls outside chapter 32, so chapter 32 could not have produced a notice from one.

IC 8-23-32-11 sets two separate numerical limits rather than one. Under subsection (b), the department «may purchase not more than four (4) worksite speed control systems under the pilot program,» and under subsection (c) it «may operate and monitor not more than four (4) worksites in a single calendar year.» INDOT's description of the program running at «up to four sites at any given time» is the agency's own paraphrase of those limits, not the statute's wording.

Subsection (a) of that same section allows a system to operate only when highway construction or maintenance is occurring and workers are present at the worksite. IC 8-23-32-13 further restricts who may operate a system to an employee of the Department of Transportation or a police officer employed by the Indiana State Police. INDOT continued to describe it as a pilot program as of 2026, rather than a permanent, fully rolled-out system, but that is INDOT's own program framing; the statute itself sets no expiration date (see below).

Fines and Points

IC 8-23-32-18 sets out the tiered penalty structure directly: a written warning for the first violation, a $75 civil penalty for the second violation, and a $150 penalty for the third and each subsequent violation, with the money deposited into the state general fund. The statute ties those tiers to the number of violations a person has under the chapter and does not limit the warning to a first violation at a particular camera or worksite. The section does not apply to a person who is separately charged for the same conduct under Indiana's ordinary speeding statute, IC 9-21-5-11.

The statute itself sets no payment deadline. IC 8-23-32-19 applies Indiana's administrative procedure law, IC 4-21.5, to determinations, notices, hearings, and appeals under the chapter, and IC 8-23-32-21 lets INDOT adopt rules covering those procedures. INDOT's program materials supply the due date: the Safe Zones program site states that «Payment is due within 30 days of a violation being mailed,» and that «violations may be paid online, by phone, or by mail.» Check the due date printed on your own notice against that 30-day window.

On license points, the statute is firmer ground than the program FAQ. IC 8-23-32-18 makes a Safe Zones violation a civil penalty assessed by INDOT rather than an infraction judgment, and subsection (e) provides that a person assessed that civil penalty is not liable for an infraction under IC 9-21-5-11. No section of the chapter provides for license points or for reporting a violation to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. INDOT's program FAQ does carry a question about license points, but its answer is loaded by the page's script and could not be retrieved at the source for this article, so nothing from it is quoted here. Whether the violation affects insurance rates is not addressed anywhere in the statute or the program materials reviewed for this article, and no assumption is made here either way.

No Statutory Sunset Date

IC 8-23-32 has been read in full for this article, all 21 sections, including the administrative-procedure, reporting, and rulemaking sections near the end of the chapter. No sunset or expiration clause appears anywhere in the chapter as currently written. INDOT continuing to call this a «pilot» is the agency's own program framing, not a statutory time limit; nothing in the law itself requires the program to end or be re-authorized by a specific date. If that changes in a future legislative session, this page will be updated.

Owner Liability

IC 8-23-32-17 creates a rebuttable presumption that the vehicle's registered owner is liable for a captured violation. That presumption has one explicit carve-out: it does not apply to a motor vehicle rental company. The statute lists four specific defenses an owner can raise to rebut the presumption: (1) the recipient was not the vehicle's owner or was not driving it at the time, (2) the vehicle was reported stolen before the violation, (3) the speed control system was not properly tested or calibrated, or (4) workers were not actually present in the work zone when the violation was recorded. A driver cited in person at the scene, rather than by mailed notice, is handled outside this owner-liability process entirely.

Information last verified on 2026-08-12. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Related Resources

• Traffic Camera Ticket Laws by State
• Do You Have to Pay a Camera Ticket?
• How to Fight a Camera Ticket
• Automated License Plate Reader Laws

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Last updated: 2026-08-12.

More Indiana Laws

• Indiana Car Accident Laws
• Indiana Dashcam Laws
• Indiana DUI Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Are speed cameras legal in Indiana?

Only in a narrow context: active highway work zones under INDOT's «Safe Zones» pilot, authorized by IC 8-23-32. IC 8-23-32-1 confines that chapter to the interstate system and U.S. routes, so a work zone on a state road or a local street is outside it. There is no general highway or neighborhood speed-camera program in Indiana.

Are red light cameras legal in Indiana?

No. Indiana has no statute authorizing red light camera enforcement anywhere in the state. This reflects an absence of any enabling law, not a specific ban.

How much is an Indiana work-zone camera ticket?

The first violation is a zero-fine warning. The second is a $75 civil penalty, and every violation after that is $150, under IC 8-23-32-18 and INDOT's official program materials.

Does an Indiana work-zone camera ticket go on my driving record?

IC 8-23-32-18 treats it as a civil penalty assessed by INDOT rather than an infraction judgment, and subsection (e) says a person assessed that civil penalty is not liable for an infraction under the ordinary speeding statute. No section of the chapter provides for license points or for reporting the violation to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Whether it affects insurance rates is not addressed in the materials reviewed for this article.

Do I get a warning before I'm fined in an Indiana work zone?

Yes. IC 8-23-32-18(c) makes the first violation a written warning with no fine, before any monetary penalty applies on a second or later violation. The statute does not tie that warning to a particular camera or worksite.

What happens if I don't pay an Indiana work-zone camera ticket?

INDOT's program materials state that payment is due within 30 days of a violation being mailed. Neither IC 8-23-32 nor the program materials reviewed for this article state a specific collection consequence for nonpayment; IC 8-23-32-19 applies Indiana's administrative procedure law, IC 4-21.5, to determinations, notices, hearings, and appeals under the chapter.

How many work-zone cameras does Indiana actually use?

IC 8-23-32-11 sets two limits: the department may purchase not more than four systems under the pilot program, and may operate and monitor not more than four worksites in a single calendar year. A system can only be used where highway construction or maintenance is occurring and workers are actually present in the zone.

Can I get out of an Indiana work-zone camera ticket by showing I wasn't driving?

Yes. IC 8-23-32-17 lets the registered owner rebut the presumption of liability by showing they weren't the owner or driver at the time, that the vehicle was reported stolen, that the camera system wasn't properly tested or calibrated, or that workers weren't actually present. That presumption does not apply to a rental car company at all.

Does Indiana's work-zone camera pilot have an end date?

No. IC 8-23-32 has no sunset or expiration clause anywhere in its text. INDOT's continued use of the word «pilot» reflects the agency's own program framing, not a statutory deadline.