The Consell d’Eivissa had not yet requested access to the vehicle-registration data collected by municipal surveillance cameras, despite having cooperation agreements in place with three of the island's town halls to use those systems to strengthen enforcement of Ibiza's vehicle-regulation law.

The information comes as Ibiza approaches the final weeks of the 2026 seasonal restrictions, which run until September 30 and limit the number of vehicles permitted to enter and remain on the island during the regulated period. 

Agreements Already Exist With Three Town Halls

The Consell has collaboration agreements in force with Sant Josep de sa Talaia, Santa Eulària des Riu and Sant Antoni de Portmany.

These agreements allow the island government to request lists of registration plates captured by municipal surveillance systems and use the information to reinforce checks on compliance with the vehicle-regulation law.

Despite the agreements being active, the Consell had not requested those municipal records as of September 16.  

Sant Josep Has One of the Largest Camera Networks

The issue has attracted particular attention because Sant Josep has installed an extensive network of cameras capable of reading vehicle number plates.

The municipality's new intelligent surveillance system includes 28 camera points, with automatic number-plate recognition among its functions. Some of the cameras are positioned at important traffic locations, including areas around Sant Jordi, Platja d'en Bossa, Cala de Bou and the entrance to Sant Josep.

The system was introduced primarily for police, security and traffic-management purposes, but the existing cooperation agreement creates the possibility of its data being used to support enforcement of the island's vehicle restrictions.

The Consell Is Using Other Controls

Although municipal camera records have not yet been incorporated into the vehicle-control system, the Consell is carrying out enforcement through other methods.

The fixed cameras at the port of Ibiza have been operational since the previous season and record vehicles entering and leaving the island.

According to the Consell, these cameras capture 100% of vehicles that embark and disembark at the port and form the main fixed-camera element currently being used for the vehicle-regulation system.  

The island government is also carrying out random mobile checks at different points around Ibiza.

Around 450 Number Plates Checked in Mobile Controls

By the end of August, the Consell said its mobile enforcement operations had recorded around 450 vehicle registration plates.

These checks were carried out at different locations, including roads in the south of the island such as the route through ses Salines.

The information gathered from those controls is being combined with the data from the port cameras to identify vehicles that may be circulating without the required authorisation.  

Ten Sanctioning Procedures Had Been Started

As of the end of August, the Consell had initiated 10 sanctioning proceedings involving private vehicles allegedly circulating on Ibiza without the appropriate authorisation.

The cases were detected during the first enforcement campaign.

These are sanctioning proceedings, not final findings of liability in every case, and the relevant administrative procedures must be completed before a definitive sanction becomes final.  

Ibiza's Vehicle Restrictions Run Until September 30

The current system operates from June 1 to September 30.

Under the applicable legislation, vehicles subject to the restrictions must obtain the corresponding authorisation or fall within one of the specified exemptions. The system uses number-plate recognition to verify compliance rather than requiring vehicles to display a physical sticker.  

The 2026 and 2027 vehicle ceiling was set at 17,668 vehicles per day during the regulated period, 2,500 fewer than the 20,168 ceiling established for 2025.  

The System Is Designed Around Number-Plate Recognition

Ibiza Circular, the Consell's official vehicle-regulation platform, states that enforcement is carried out through registration-plate reading.

Vehicles that require an authorisation must complete the relevant process, while several categories are automatically exempt, including vehicles with certain resident status, public-service vehicles, goods transport and motorcycles and mopeds under the applicable rules.  

This makes camera-based plate recognition an important part of the system's potential enforcement infrastructure.

The Consell Is Developing Its Own Island-Wide Cameras

The island government is also working on a separate camera network of its own.

According to the Consell, the system of fixed cameras to be distributed across Ibiza is still awaiting tendering.

That means the current enforcement structure consists mainly of the port cameras together with mobile controls, while additional fixed-camera infrastructure is still being developed.  

Why the Municipal Cameras Matter

The municipal camera systems could potentially provide information from roads and junctions away from the port, giving authorities another source of evidence about where vehicles are circulating once they are already on the island.

This is particularly relevant because the vehicle-regulation law is concerned not only with entry but also with unauthorised circulation and permanence during the restricted period.

However, the fact that the municipalities have cameras capable of reading registration plates does not mean that all of their data is automatically available to the Consell. The information has to be transferred under the relevant cooperation arrangements and within the applicable legal and data-protection framework.

The Law Allows Cooperation Between Authorities

The legislation establishing Ibiza's vehicle restrictions explicitly provides for coordination and collaboration between the Consell, Ibiza's municipalities and other public administrations in inspection and enforcement.

It assigns responsibility for inspection and control to the Consell or an entity to which those powers are delegated, while requiring the different administrations to cooperate to make enforcement effective.  

That legal framework is what allows agreements such as those signed with Sant Josep, Santa Eulària and Sant Antoni to support the Consell's enforcement work.

Fewer Vehicles Are Entering Through the Port

The Consell has also reported a decline of around 13% in vehicle entries through the port compared with the previous year.

The reduction comes during the second year of the island's vehicle-access restrictions, with the daily ceiling reduced from 20,168 vehicles in 2025 to 17,668 in 2026 and 2027.  

The port data is therefore currently the largest continuous source of vehicle information being used by the Consell.

What the Municipal Cameras Could Add

If the Consell begins requesting municipal camera records under its existing agreements, it would gain additional information from locations throughout the island rather than relying primarily on port data and random roadside checks.

For now, however, no such request had been made to Sant Josep, Santa Eulària or Sant Antoni as of September 16.

The Consell says its overall vehicle-control system remains in a development phase, while work continues on its own future fixed-camera network.  

A System Still Being Expanded

The current situation illustrates that Ibiza's vehicle-control system is still evolving.

The legal framework is already in force, the port's fixed cameras are operating, mobile inspections are being carried out and sanctioning proceedings have begun. At the same time, the Consell has not yet made use of the registration-plate data available through its agreements with three municipalities and is still preparing its own island-wide camera network.

For the final weeks of the 2026 restriction period, the key question is therefore not whether Ibiza has the technology to read vehicle plates, but how extensively the different systems will be integrated into the island's enforcement operation before the restrictions end on September 30.