Radar detectors: UK vs US vs Germany vs Norway
The single widest split in this dataset. The same device is an ordinary consumer product in one market and a fineable offence to merely carry in another.
The verdict is not the same in all four markets, so the column that matters to you depends on where the car is registered.
| Market | Verdict | The rule that decides it |
|---|---|---|
United Kingdom DVSA / GOV.UK |
Legal | Legal to buy, own and use A passive detector is lawful. Actively jamming a police laser is a separate and prohibited thing, and a screen mount must not block the driver view. |
United States EPA, NHTSA and state codes |
Conditional | Legal except Virginia and DC Legal in passenger cars in every other state. Federal rules ban them in commercial vehicles over 10,000 lbs, and they are prohibited on most military bases. |
Germany StVZO / KBA |
Not legal | Illegal to carry ready for use The offence is possession in a usable state, not use, and it extends to speed-camera apps and navigation warnings while driving. Expect a fine and a licence point. |
Norway Statens vegvesen |
Not legal | Illegal to use and to have in the car Banned since 1994 and aimed at anything built to warn of or interfere with traffic enforcement. GPS-based camera warnings in apps are not currently caught by it. |
If you drive across borders with one fitted, this is the row that matters. Germany and Norway punish possession, not just use, so leaving it switched off is not a defence.
Why the answers differ
Can you use a radar detector?
This is the widest divergence in the entire dataset, and the reason is that the four markets are not regulating the same thing. The UK treats a detector as a passive receiver, which is not an interference with enforcement and therefore not an offence. The US regulates it as a device with carve-outs, banned in Virginia and DC and in heavy commercial vehicles, permitted elsewhere. Germany and Norway both moved the offence upstream to possession: the question is not whether you used it but whether it was in the car ready to be used. That distinction is what catches drivers out, because switching it off is a defence in exactly none of those two markets, and Germany extends the same reasoning to speed-camera apps running on a phone.
Verdict at a glance
The same four markets, grouped by where they land.
Legal
LegalUnited Kingdom. No approval step and no conditions worth planning around in this market.
Conditional
ConditionalUnited States. Permitted, but only once the condition in the table above is met.
Not legal
Not legalGermany and Norway. No approval route exists for road use. Any offer of a compliant version is worth checking carefully.
Sources
Primary legislation and regulator guidance behind each market's verdict.
- UKRoad Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986
- UKMOT inspection manual: cars and passenger vehicles (GOV.UK)
- USFederal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSA)
- USVehicle modifications and equipment (NHTSA)
- Germany§ 23 StVO - Sonstige Pflichten von Fahrzeugführenden (Radarwarn-Verbot, Abs. 1c) (gesetze-im-internet.de)
- NorwayVegtrafikkloven § 13a - Forbud mot varslingsutstyr o.l. i motorvogn (lovdata.no)
Other cross-market comparisons
This is a comparison of national rules, not legal advice for your vehicle. Rules change, and the US row in particular summarises federal law where one exists and the common pattern across states where it does not. Confirm the position in your own state or region before you buy or fit anything. Sources last reviewed July 2026.