Speeding outcomes

Possible outcomes after being stopped by an officer or receiving a speeding ticket, known as a Notice of Intended Prosecution and Reply to Notice Form.

If you received a speeding ticket, you could be:

offered an option to attend a speed awareness course
sent a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)
subjected to court procedures

Speed awareness course

You may be offered an educational course, such as speed awareness, but this is at our discretion.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a speed awareness course, you must not:

have completed the same course within the last three years
be booked on an upcoming course

If you are eligible for the speed awareness course and have paid to attend, you must not pay a fixed penalty and you will not receive any penalty points.

If you are eligible to attend a speed awareness course but have not received an invitation letter to attend within 14 days of replying to the speeding ticket, contact our Speed Enforcement Unit. A copy of the letter or course provider details can be emailed to you.

If you pay the fixed penalty fine or give your driving licence details to the Conditional Offer Unit, you will not be able to attend a speed awareness course under any circumstances.

Booking a course

The course must be attended within 120 days from the date of the alleged offence.

Once it has been confirmed you are eligible, you can register acceptance of your course offer on the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme website.

Costs

The cost will vary depending on the type of course and which area you choose to take it. If you want to pay for a course in instalments, you must liaise with the course provider directly.

Related information

You can find further information on the UKROEd website.

Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)

If you are not eligible for a speed awareness course, you may be sent an FPN. This is a conditional offer to accept a fine and have points added to your driving licence.

If you accept and want to pay the fine within the time stated on the speeding ticket or from other correspondence we have sent you, you are able to pay by credit or debit card:

Penalty Notice Portal, or
call 0300 123 1481

Alternatively, cheques or postal orders should:

be made out to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)
have the speeding ticket number written on the back
be sent to the Conditional Offer Unit (COU)

Failure to pay the fine on time may result in a court summons. It is not possible to pay in instalments under any circumstances.

If you have an enquiry about a fixed penalty fine, contact the COU by phone, Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 14:30 — 01702 283860

Driving licence endorsement

Once you have paid the fixed penalty, you must send the ‘submission of driving licence details form’ to:

The Conditional Offer Unit
PO Box 5992
Southend-on-Sea
SS1 9PX

Court procedures

If you did not accept the FPN, you will be subject to court procedures.

Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN)

An SJPN lays out the charges you are being prosecuted through the court for. Individuals or companies can be issued with an SJPN.

This requires you to:

submit a plea – guilty or not guilty
respond online or by post before the deadline

If you plead guilty, you choose if you want to go to court or a magistrate will write to you with their decision. If you plead not guilty, you will receive a court summons.

If you plead guilty, you can either:

have your case heard in your absence and the court will write to you with the Magistrates’ decision
attend court in person – you will receive a court date in writing

If you plead not guilty, the court will list your case for either a Case Management Hearing or a Trial. In both cases, the courts will notify you in writing.

Court summons

You may be issued with a court summons if you:

failed to pay the fine and/or send your driving licence details to the COU within the stated time limit
failed to satisfactorily respond to the speeding ticket within 28 days
disputed the speeding ticket
the speed detected was so excessive
already have too many points on your licence
elected for the case to be heard in court

Delaying a court summons

To change a court date you must contact Bath Magistrates’ Court directly to request an adjournment.

Out of the country

Both a court summons or an SJPN needs to be served to an address. However, if you are out of the country, a copy can be emailed if you contact the SEU and provide your email address.

You will then have the option to make a plea online or in writing to the courts as per the instructions on the paperwork.