Speeding fines - how much you have to pay

Our expert guide will walk you through the entire process – from how much you will pay for a speeding fine to the varying degrees of punishments for different road offences.

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Exceeding the UK speed limit is considered breaking the law, and could put the safety of yourself and other motorists at risk. That is why the UK has strict speed limits, which are enforced directly by the police or indirectly via speed cameras.

If you’ve been caught driving at excessive speed, you will be sent a Section 172 notice and a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP). If you ignore these notices you may have to go to court.

After the Section 172 has been returned, informing the police who was driving the vehicle, you will be given a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) or a letter instructing you to attend court. If you get a FPN, you can plead guilty and pay the fine or take the matter to court by pleading not guilty.

A fine or Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) should arrive within 14 days but may take longer if the vehicle you were driving is not registered to your home address.

The fine or NIP will always be sent to the address of the registered keeper of the vehicle.

If you have been caught speeding in a hire vehicle or a company car then you may wait longer than the stipulated 14 days for the speeding fine to arrive at your door. Likewise, if you haven't updated your V5C logbook since moving home then the NIP may be sent to the wrong address.

You can’t check if you’ve been caught speeding unless you’ve been stopped at the roadside by the police.

Officers will usually tell you your speed versus the posted speed limit. If you're only slightly over they may let you off with a warning, but don't always expect this. Of course there is no leeway with speed cameras - if you're caught even slightly above the limit then you'll receive notice in the post.

The only way to be 100% sure if you’ve been caught speeding is to wait for a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to arrive in the post.

The majority of people speeding will be classed as committing a 'minor offence' and will still receive a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of a £100 fine and three points on their licence.

However, you can avoid the points and opt for a speed awareness course if it is offered to you. Whether you're eligible for an awareness course varies depending on which police force is handling your offence.

According to the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme, the body that manages speed awareness courses in the UK (with the exception of Scotland), you will only be offered to take the course if: "you haven’t been convicted of any other speeding offences in the past three years."

In some instances, however, the punishment can be more severe and you may be prosecuted in court leading to a significantly higher fine, more points on your licence or even a driving suspension or disqualification. This occurs for serious, excessive speeding offences - for example being caught driving at more than 100mph on the motorway.

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Whether or not you're prosecuted or just given a speeding fine is down to the police officer's discretion.

The police will usually only opt to prosecute if you are considered a 'serious offender' and have either severely exceeded the speed limit or have repeatedly committed the offence.

However, the fact remains that it is illegal to drive at 31mph in a 30mph zone. 

So, while it's unlikely you would ever get penalised for this - and even if you did you would most likely be offered an FPN - it is still technically possible to be prosecuted for this offence and sent to court, where you could face the fines, outlined in the table below.

You will also find yourself in court to be sentenced if you are issued a speeding fine and ignore it, or if you choose to dispute the charge. 

If you are then found guilty in court, your sentence will follow these guidelines: 

The speeding fines are calculated as a percentage of weekly income after tax and National Insurance deductions are applied.

For lower income offenders or those on state benefit (such as Universal Credit) the Sentencing Council bases the speeding fine calculation on "an amount that is deemed to represent the offender’s relevant weekly income" currently this is calculated as a weekly income of £120.

For unemployed offenders, the speeding fine calculation will depend on a range of factors including current financial circumstances, amount of outgoings, earning potential, and savings.

How much is a speeding fine for doing 40 in a 30?

If you are caught driving 40mph in a 30mph zone then you will be prosecuted under the Band A rules, which means three penalty points will be added to your licence. You will also incur a fine, likely a fixed penalty notice of £100.

However, for serious speeding offences or repeat offenders the fines can increase depending on your income. This is usually decided in court rather than via the post. 

For example. Based on an annual income of £30,000:

• If you’re caught driving 40mph in a 30mph zone (10mph over the speed limit) you could receive a fine of £288 (50% of your weekly wage) and 3 points on your licence
• If you’re caught driving 45mph in a 30mph zone (15mph over the speed limit) you could receive a fine of £577 (100% of your weekly wage) and 4 - 6 points on your licence
• Finally, if you’re caught driving 51mph in a 30mph zone (21mph over the speed limit) you could receive a fine of £865 (150% of your weekly wage) and 6 points on your licence

In the eyes of the law, you’re liable for a speeding fine as soon as you exceed the limit. So if you’re doing 31mph in a 30 limit or 71mph on a motorway, you’re breaking the law.

Guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) does recommend giving drivers a so-called ‘10% plus 2’ leeway, to aid police officers in using 'discretion', however, it is well worth remembering this is only a recommendation, not the law.

Most speed cameras have to be manually set to trigger at a speed, however, it is unconfirmed whether they are in fact set 10% above the limit. It's not worth gambling and assuming they give you 10% - never exceed the speed limit.

When you are caught speeding by a mobile camera, it is up to the police officer's discretion to penalise you if you are over the speed limit in any way, they can choose to take the NPCC's guidance, but do not have to, because - as stated above - 1 mile an hour over is still breaking the law. 

It sounds like simple advice, but to avoid all of the above complications it's best to never speed at all. 

This really depends on the severity of the speeding offence you've committed. The following sections outline what happens when you commit either a minor or a serious offence. 

Minor speeding offences

If you think you have been flashed by a speed camera, you have to wait 14 days for it to be confirmed or not: that’s how long the police have to issue a Notice of Intended Prosecution, or NIP.

It is sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle – worth bearing in mind if you drive a company vehicle or a hire car.

For minor speeding offences, and if you're eligible, the police can offer the chance to take a speed awareness course, instead of issuing speeding fines and penalty points. You have to pay for this – and it usually takes half a day – but it does help keep your licence clean.

Whether you're eligible for an awareness course varies depending on which police force is handling your offence.

Serious speeding offences

Speed awareness courses are rarely offered for more serious speeding offences. According to the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme, "Most police forces offer a course to drivers who are caught speeding between 10% plus 2 and 10% plus 9 of the legal limit."

Beyond that upper limit usually calls for a minimum fine of £100 and three or six penalty points on your licence.

The police give 28 days to nominate the driver and pay the penalty; points will then be issued against the driver’s licence.

If you don’t reply within 28 days, the matter can be referred to court.

Very serious speeding offences are referred to court anyway, where the penalty could be as high as £1000 – or £2500 if you were caught on a motorway.

If you collect more than 12 points in any three year period, you face disqualification from driving; you can apply to have points removed after four years.

Disqualification from driving

If you've been caught speeding and it's referred to court, you could face an instant ban.

Generally, magistrates will only consider imposing a ban if you've been caught driving a significant amount above the speed limit.

So, according to the Band C fines in the table above: in a 30mph limit you'll need to be driving at more than 51mph, 66mph in a 40, 75mph in a 50, 85mph in a 60 and 100mph in a 70.

Bans generally range from 7 to 56 days depending on the seriousness of the offence.

In extreme cases, they could be as long as 120 days, and you'll need to reapply for your licence once the ban is up.

You may need to resit your driving test, or even take an extended driving test.

The court does have some discretion around driving bans. They'll take into account factors like the road conditions when you were caught speeding.

And you might also be shown some leniency if you were speeding for an emergency, or losing your licence could cost you your job. 

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If you plead guilty you will you be given a fixed penalty notice (FPN) and the minimum penalty for speeding is £100 and three penalty points on your driving licence. You do not get a discount for paying early, like with some parking fines. 

How you pay your speeding fine depends on where it occurred.

• In England and Wales, you can pay the fine online here
• In Scotland, there are four ways to pay outlined here
• In Northern Ireland you'll need to contact the Laganside Courts Complex directly here

You usually have 28 days to pay the fine. If you ignore the FPN or do not pay within 28 days, the case may be referred to court.

If you plead not guilty, you will go to court where you can be fined the maximum amount and get more penalty points. 

Speeding fines are in place to protect all road users and disputing them is a task that shouldn't be undertaken if you think you may have broken the limit. Always obey traffic laws and never exceed the speed limit.

However, if you think you have been given a speeding ticket unfairly, you can appeal it by filling out the correct section on the Notice of Intended Prosecution within 28 days.

Consider carefully whether you have grounds for dispute beforehand though, because if the police do not accept your appeal, you will have to go to court to contest the conviction.

If this happens it’s best to seek professional legal advice, but you should also be prepared for - if it doesn’t go your way - the fact that you will probably end up with a much heavier fine than in the first instance.

Acceptable grounds for dispute

Some successful speeding fine appeals are on the ground of technicalities, such as missing or incorrect details provided on the NIP, or incorrect, absent or obscured road signs.

You can also appeal if you weren't the one driving, or you believe you weren't speeding and can prove it.

If the road signs were unclear, you will need to provide photographic evidence to prove that.

If you are confident you weren't speeding, the only way to prove your innocence will be to go to court.

There you can ask for the relevant calibration certificate for the speed camera that caught you to be produced in court.

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Unacceptable grounds for dispute

Prosecutors have heard every excuse under the sun for speeding.

Excuses that won’t cut it include not being aware of the speed limit, saying the roads were quiet as it was late at night, or being in a rush and saying it was an emergency.

If you accept you were caught speeding, some of these ‘excuses’ could be used as mitigating factors, however, which could result in a more lenient penalty if you plead guilty in court.

How to send a mitigation letter

If you decide to dispute a speeding fine, the case will go be heard in magistrates court.

Although you should consider attending in person (they might be more sympathetic if you show you’re remorseful and outline any mitigating factors), you can also argue your case by letter.

Be apologetic - admit you realise you made a mistake, but give the reasons for this.

If you’re at risk of losing your licence (e.g. if you already have points on your licence), outline the consequences should this happen (such as losing your job).

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