Speeding tickets explained
How speeding fines work
Exceeding the speed limit by too much is illegal. If you're caught by a speed camera or police officer, any of the following could happen:
You may be given a verbal warning. This may happen if an officer stops you on the road.
You may be asked to attend a speed-awareness course, which you will be expected to pay for. This may not be an option on repeat offences.
You may be prosecuted.
If you are prosecuted, your fine and punishment will depend on how fast you were driving. You will be put into one of these bands:
Band A - you will be put in this band if you were between 1 and 9mph over the legal limit. You will be issued with a fixed penalty notice (speeding ticket), which constitutes three penalty points on your licence and a fine between 25% and 75% of your weekly income. If there are other factors, such as driving near a school or driving a heavy-goods vehicle, you may need to appear in court and face a larger speeding fine.
Band B - you will be put in this band if you were between 11 and 20mph over the legal limit. You may need to appear in court where you would be fined between 75% and 125% of your weekly income. Between four and six penalty points will be added to your licence or you would be banned from driving for between seven and 28 days.
Band C - you will be put in this band if you were 21mph or more over the legal limit. You may need to appear in court and face a fine anywhere between 125% and 175% of your weekly income. You will be banned from driving for seven to 56 days or get six penalty points on your license.
Other factors can push you into bands D, E or F. Scroll down to find out more about these bands.
£1,000 is still the maximum speeding fine unless you were driving on a motorway - in this case, the maximum fine increases to £2,500.
Certain factors, such as having no previous convictions, good character and if you were speeding as a result of a genuine emergency, can reduce your fine.
Factors that can push you into bands D, E or F include prior convictions, offences committed while on bail, poor road and weather conditions, driving a large vehicle, towing a caravan or trailer, carrying passengers or a heavy load, driving for hire, evidence of unacceptable driving over the speed limit, location and if there was a high level of traffic or pedestrians in the vicinity.
Band D - you will be fined between 200% and 300% of your weekly income.
Band E - you will be fined between 300% and 500% of your weekly income.
Band F - you will be fined between 500% and 700% of your weekly income.
£1,000 is the maximum fine - this rises to £2,500 if you were driving on the motorway.
Again, remember that £1,000 is the maximum fine - this rises to £2,500 if you were driving on the motorway.
To understand how penalty points work and how long they stay on your licence, head to our driving offences guide.
If you're caught speeding
The owner of the car will be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), detailing the offence. Plus, a document called a Section 172 notice.
Whether you agree with the NIP or not, within 28 days you must complete the Section 172 notice declaring who was driving the car at the time of the offence.
If you were stopped by a police officer, they can give you a verbal warning of prosecution and a NIP is not required if the offence was part of a road traffic accident.
If you receive a speeding ticket
Once the NIP is returned, you’ll receive a conditional offer of a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). You can either pay the fine and accept the penalty points, or contest the fine in court.
To uphold the fine, a court only needs to prove you were speeding. Saying that you did not intend to speed, didn’t realise you were speeding or you only exceeded the limit briefly won’t hold water.
If you're prosecuted for speeding
If you have eight or more points on your licence, or you were driving way above the speed limit, the police may choose to prosecute you in court.
In this eventuality, you will be sent a court summons. The police has up to six months to issue it.