Speeding Fines, Penalty Points and Totting Up Explained
Most speeding offences end with a £100 fixed penalty and three points, or a speed awareness course. Drive well over the limit, ignore the notice or reach 12 points in three years and you face an income-based court fine and a possible ban.
Key points
- The standard penalty is £100 and three points; a speed awareness course is often offered instead if you were only slightly over the limit and have not done one in the last three years.
- You must identify the driver within 28 days of a notice of intended prosecution; failing to do so carries six points and a fine of up to £1,000.
- In court, fines are 50, 100 or 150 per cent of weekly income depending on the band, with three to six points or a ban of up to 56 days.
- Twelve points from offences within three years means a ban of at least six months unless you prove exceptional hardship; new drivers lose their licence at six points in two years.
- Points stay on your record for four years, count for totting up for three, and must be declared to insurers for five; a solicitor is worth it when a ban is possible.
Most speeding offences in England and Wales end in one of three ways: a speed awareness course, a fixed penalty of £100 with three penalty points, or a prosecution in the magistrates' court where the fine is set as a share of your weekly income and a driving ban becomes possible. Which of the three you face depends on how far over the limit you were, how many points you already hold and whether you deal with the paperwork on time. This guide explains the notice of intended prosecution, the duty to name the driver, how the court bands work, the special rules for new drivers, totting up and exceptional hardship, how long points last, and when paying a motoring solicitor makes sense.
The paperwork comes first: the notice and the duty to name the driver
Unless you were stopped at the roadside and warned there and then, the police must send a notice of intended prosecution to the registered keeper within 14 days of the alleged offence, under section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. The notice almost always arrives with a request under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 asking the keeper to identify who was driving. The 14 days run to the keeper's address on the DVLA record, so a notice delayed because you moved without telling the DVLA is still valid, and a later notice to a driver named by the keeper is not out of time.
You have 28 days to return the section 172 form. Not doing so is a separate and more serious offence: six penalty points under code MS90 and a fine of up to £1,000, even where the speeding itself would only have attracted three points. The only defence is that you did not know who was driving and could not have found out with reasonable diligence, which is hard to run for a family car. If several people use the vehicle, say who you believe was driving; if you genuinely cannot tell, explain in writing what you did to find out. If you doubt the allegation itself, ask for the camera photographs; most forces supply them on request.
The fixed penalty and the speed awareness course
For an offence a little over the limit, the usual outcome is a conditional offer of a fixed penalty: £100 and three points, which you have 28 days to accept. Accepting it is not a court conviction, but the points go on your driving record and count towards totting up in exactly the same way as points imposed by a court. A fixed penalty cannot be offered if adding three points would take you to 12 or more; those cases go straight to court.
Instead of the fixed penalty, the police may offer a speed awareness course. Eligibility is at the discretion of the force, but the national scheme is normally used where the recorded speed was between the limit plus 10 per cent plus 2 mph and the limit plus 10 per cent plus 9 mph, so broadly 35 to 42 mph in a 30 limit, and where you have not attended a course in the previous three years. The course lasts about half a day and typically costs between £80 and £100, with no points. Most insurers do not ask about courses, although some do, so answer honestly if a proposal form asks.
The familiar 10 per cent plus 2 mph margin is enforcement guidance from the National Police Chiefs' Council, not a legal tolerance; a prosecution for 1 mph over the limit is lawful.
Going to court: the single justice procedure and the fine bands
If you reject the fixed penalty, were too far over the limit for one, or already hold too many points, you will receive a single justice procedure notice. You have 21 days to respond, online or by post, with a plea. A guilty plea can be dealt with on the papers by a single magistrate sitting with a legal adviser, without you or a prosecutor attending; you can instead ask for a hearing, and the court must call you to one before it can disqualify you. A not guilty plea leads to a trial date.
Sentencing follows the Sentencing Council's speeding guideline, in force since 24 April 2017, which bands the offence by how far over the limit you were. Taking a 30 mph limit as the example:
- Band A, 31 to 40 mph: a fine of 50 per cent of your relevant weekly income (within a range of 25 to 75 per cent) and three points.
- Band B, 41 to 50 mph: a fine of 100 per cent of weekly income (75 to 125 per cent) and four to six points, or a ban of 7 to 28 days.
- Band C, 51 mph and above: a fine of 150 per cent of weekly income (125 to 175 per cent) and six points, or a ban of 7 to 56 days, with longer bans considered for grossly excessive speeds.
In a 70 mph limit the same bands run 71 to 90, 91 to 100 and 101 mph and above; in a 20 limit they are 21 to 30, 31 to 40 and 41 and above. The fine is capped at £1,000 (level 3), or £2,500 (level 4) on a motorway, and is reduced by up to a third for a guilty plea at the first opportunity. The court also adds a victim surcharge of 40 per cent of the fine (capped at £2,000) and prosecution costs, for which the Crown Prosecution Service's standard figure is £85 after an early guilty plea and several hundred pounds after a trial. Complete the means form: if you give no income details the court assumes a weekly income of £440 and fines you on that basis.
A ban imposed for the offence itself replaces the points for that offence; you do not receive both.
New drivers: six points means starting again
Under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, a driver who reaches six or more points within two years of passing their first practical test has their licence revoked by the DVLA. Points from before the test count as well, and there is no hearing about the revocation: it follows automatically from the record. Two Band A speeding offences are enough. To drive again you must apply for a new provisional licence and pass both the theory and practical tests. A speed awareness course therefore matters far more to a new driver than the £100 saved. A court can sometimes impose a short discretionary ban instead of points, which avoids revocation but leaves a disqualification on your record.
Totting up: 12 points and the exceptional hardship argument
Section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires a ban of at least six months where the points on your licence reach 12 or more for offences committed within three years of each other. The minimum rises to 12 months if you have had a ban of 56 days or more in the previous three years, and to two years if you have had two. Points are counted by offence date, not by the date they were imposed, so a late prosecution can still tip you over.
The court can impose a shorter ban, or none, only if you prove that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship. Losing your job is not automatically enough; the court expects hardship beyond the ordinary consequences of a ban, and it is most persuaded by the effect on other people: employees who would lose their work, a dependant who relies on you for care or hospital transport, a business that would fold. You give evidence on oath, and documents such as payslips, a letter from your employer, medical letters and evidence that alternatives to driving are unrealistic carry real weight. The same circumstances cannot be relied on again within three years, so the argument is best made once and made properly.
If a totting-up ban is imposed, the points that led to it are wiped and you return to a clean record when the ban ends, although the disqualification itself stays on your record for four years. You must apply to the DVLA for your licence back before driving again.
How long points last and what they do to your insurance
Speeding endorsements (codes SP10 to SP50) and the MS90 endorsement for failing to name the driver stay on your driving record for four years from the date of the offence, but they count towards totting up for three years from that date. Drink and drug driving endorsements stay for 11 years. The view driving licence service on GOV.UK shows your record and when each endorsement expires.
Insurers are entitled to ask about unspent motoring convictions, and under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 an endorsement is spent five years after conviction, so expect to declare points for five years. Failing to declare them when asked can allow the insurer to refuse a claim or void the policy. Three points for a single offence usually adds a modest amount to a premium; six or more points, or any disqualification, can increase it substantially. The penalties for drink driving are heavier still, with a mandatory ban of at least 12 months.
When a motoring solicitor is worth the fee
You can sensibly deal with a fixed penalty, a course offer or a Band A guilty plea by post on your own: the outcome is largely fixed and a solicitor cannot change it. Paying for advice makes sense when something is at stake that the paperwork alone will not protect: a possible ban under Band B or C, a totting-up hearing, a new driver facing revocation, a dispute about who was driving or whether the notice was served in time, doubts about the camera or the signage, or a livelihood that depends on a licence. A solicitor can check the evidence, draft written mitigation, prepare an exceptional hardship application with the right documents and witnesses, and appear for you.
Motoring work is usually charged at fixed fees, and firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority must publish their prices for summary-only motoring offences dealt with at a single hearing, so you can compare. Written mitigation for a guilty plea is typically a few hundred pounds; representation at a hearing for a plea in mitigation or an exceptional hardship application is commonly quoted in the hundreds to low thousands of pounds plus VAT, with separate fees for adjournments, trials and expert reports. Legal aid is rarely granted for speeding because there is no risk of imprisonment, but legal expenses cover attached to a motor insurance policy often pays for motoring prosecutions, so check your policy first. See also how much solicitors charge.
Criminal and motoring law solicitors are listed by area, including motoring solicitors in Birmingham and criminal law solicitors in Leeds, or you can start with the solicitors near me search. Unlike many minor offences, speeding is not in practice dealt with by a police caution; the fixed penalty and the course are the only out-of-court routes. Scotland and Northern Ireland use the same 12-point threshold for a ban but have their own court procedures and fixed penalty arrangements, so the detail above is for England and Wales. For the wider picture of how prosecutions work, see what criminal law covers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask for a speed awareness course instead of points?
You can ask, but the decision is the police force's and there is no right to a course. Courses are normally offered only within a narrow band above the limit, roughly 10 per cent plus 2 mph to 10 per cent plus 9 mph, and only if you have not done one in the past three years. Once a case has gone to court, the magistrates cannot substitute a course for points.
What happens if I ignore a speeding notice?
Ignoring the section 172 request is itself an offence carrying six points and a fine of up to £1,000, which is worse than the speeding. If you ignore a single justice procedure notice the case is decided in your absence: the court assumes a weekly income of £440, imposes the fine, surcharge and costs on that basis, adds the points and can list a hearing to consider a ban. Unpaid fines are enforced by deductions from earnings or benefits, bailiffs or, eventually, a court appearance.
Will I be banned for doing 100 mph on a motorway?
Possibly. At 101 mph or more in a 70 limit the offence falls in Band C, where the guideline is six points or a ban of 7 to 56 days, and the Sentencing Council says courts should consider a longer ban where the speed was grossly excessive. Many courts impose a short ban at 100 mph and above. If six points would take your total to 12, the totting-up rules apply instead and the minimum ban is six months unless you prove exceptional hardship.
Do I have to tell my insurer about penalty points?
Yes, whenever the insurer asks, which is usually on every new policy and renewal. Motoring endorsements are spent five years after conviction under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, so most insurers ask about the last five years. Leaving points off a proposal form is a misrepresentation that can let the insurer reduce or refuse a claim or cancel the policy. A speed awareness course is not a conviction and most insurers do not ask about it.
Can a totting-up ban be shortened once it has started?
Not in practice. An application to lift a ban early can only be made once two years have passed where the ban is for under four years, which is longer than the six-month minimum itself. The time to argue for a shorter ban or none at all is at the sentencing hearing, through an exceptional hardship application supported by evidence. If you missed the hearing and were disqualified in your absence, ask a solicitor urgently about reopening the case or appealing to the Crown Court within 15 business days.
Does a speeding conviction give me a criminal record?
A fixed penalty is not a conviction at all. A conviction in the magistrates' court is a criminal conviction, but speeding is not a recordable offence, so it goes on your driving record at the DVLA rather than the Police National Computer and does not normally appear on a criminal record check. It is spent after five years and must be declared before then if an insurer, employer or visa form asks about unspent convictions.
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This guide describes the law in England and Wales as at 30 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your situation; the law and the figures it quotes change, so check the position with a solicitor before acting. LawFirms.co.uk is a directory and does not provide legal services.