Speeding Fine Received after 14 Days – What to Do

Did you receive your speeding fine after 14 days? Are you feeling confused about what to do next?

Don’t worry; you’ve come to the right place. Every month, over 130,000 people visit our website for advice about fines and parking tickets. 

In this easy-to-understand guide, we’ll explain:

• What a Fixed Penalty Notice is.
• If you need to pay this notice right away.
• How to say you don’t agree with the notice.
• Times when you might not need to pay.
• What could happen if you choose not to pay.

Getting a speeding fine can be frustrating; some of us have been there too. But remember, we’re here to help you understand what to do if you get your speeding fine after 14 days.

Punishments when you’re caught speeding

If you’re caught speeding in the UK, you could be:

1. Given a verbal warning
2. Given a fine
3. Give a fine and have points added to your licence.
4. Offered to attend a speed awareness course (and pay for it!)
5. Summoned to court

You’ll only be summoned to court for excessive speeding or if you already have at least eight penalty points on your licence under the UK road safety regulations. The most common punishment is a speeding fine, with more than two million UK motorists receiving one yearly.

How much are speeding fines in the UK?

The most you can be fined for speeding in the UK is £2,500 on a motorway or £1,000 on other roads. Your fine amount will be determined by how much you were over the speed limit and your weekly income. 

Different “bands” and the speed limit breaches determine the exact amount you’re fined.  

For example, someone just a couple miles above the speed limit will be in Band A and fined between 25% and 75% of their weekly income (plus three penalty points). 

Whereas someone doing between 11mph and 20mph over the speed limit will be in Band B and fined between 75% and 125% of their weekly income (plus 4-6 penalty points or a short driving ban). 

Speeding Fine Calculator

Salary (annual)

£

Speed Limit

20 30 40 50 60 70

Alleged Speed

This is a guidance tool only and not an assessment. For accurate speeding fine figures, contact the issuing authority credit. Do not rely solely on this calculator’s results.

What is a Notice of Intended Prosecution?

A Notice of Intended Prosecution is sent to a registered vehicle owner when the vehicle they own has been identified as speeding or committing other motorist offences. These offences are usually caught on camera. 

The Notice of Intended Prosecution is a legal notice for traffic violations and comes before the actual speeding fine. It is used as a way for the vehicle owner to respond and declare who was driving the vehicle and actually committed the alleged motor offences UK.

Once the offending individual has been confirmed, the police will send a Fixed Penalty Notice to that person. This is to notify them how much they have been fined and if penalty points will be added to their license. They can accept this or allow the matter to go to court, where the fine can become bigger. 

Unlock says a Fixed Penalty Notice is not a conviction. It won’t affect your banking or housing, but the police will record it.¹

It is important to remember that there is likely to be photographic evidence from the speed camera, so if you choose to go to court, you really need robust proof that you were not breaking the speed limit.

What is the 14-day rule?

What is the speeding ticket 14-day rule? A speeding ticket (or NIP) must be sent to the vehicle with the purpose of being received by the registered owner within 14 days after the offence. If the ticket was issued or sent outside of the 14-day window, there is a possibility that the ticket could be cancelled. But this isn’t true for all cases.

For example, if the registered address is wrong or associated with a hire company, it may take longer than 14 days for the ticket to reach you. However, as long as the ticket was sent to the registered address in the appropriate time frame, it is still valid, regardless of how long it took to get to you.

What happens if I don’t receive the notice after 14 days?

If you don’t receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) after 14 days, you can no longer be prosecuted for the alleged offence. You won’t have to pay the fine and you won’t have to accept penalty points on your license. This is as long as the NIP was sent within the 14 days.

However, it’s important to remember that a NIP doesn’t have to be sent to the registered vehicle keeper if a police officer gave you a verbal warning and collected the required details. In these instances, you should expect a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) instead of a NIP.

Does it include weekends?

The NIP 14-day rule is based on calendar days and therefore does include weekends and public holidays. 

As per the Road Traffic Offenders Act (1998) Section One, the NIP must be sent, so it’s expected to arrive by the 14th day after the alleged speeding offence. Posting the NIP within 14 days but it not actually arriving until the 15th day or thereafter will break the rule, and you won’t have to accept a fine.

How long after a speeding offence can you be charged?

As such, you can only bear the consequences of speeding if you’re given an immediate verbal notice or the vehicle owner is issued a NIP within 14 days. The police know about this prosecution window, so endeavour to send the NIP to the registered vehicle keeper swiftly to keep within the legal timeframe for traffic offences.

Can I appeal my speeding fine?

You have the right to appeal a speeding ticket. But whether it’s worth it or not is another matter. A court may decide the police have enough evidence against you. The result? A relatively small speeding fine could be a lot more expensive.

Challenging traffic violations could be a gamble which is why many experts estimate that only a tiny percentage (1%) of speeding fines are challenged. Plus, only about half of the appeals succeed! It is also important to remember that there is likely to be a stack of photographic speeding camera evidence against you.

To ensure you have the best chance of successfully appealing your speeding ticket, here are some valid reasons you can use.

Violation Category	Specific Offense	Common Appeal Reason
Traffic Signal	Running a Red Light	Traffic light was malfunctioning/out
Insurance	Driving without Insurance	Proof of valid insurance at the time
Speed Limit	Exceeding Speed Limit	Incorrect speed limit signage/malfunctioning speedometer
Seat Belt	Not Wearing a Seat Belt	Belt was worn but not visible or medical exemption
Mobile Phone Use	Using a Mobile Phone while Driving	Emergency situation or not in use
Vehicle Condition	Driving a Vehicle in Poor Condition	Recent vehicle maintenance or misjudgment of condition
Parking	Illegal Parking	Unclear, obscured, or misleading parking signs
Documentation	Failure to Display Tax Disc	Disc was displayed but not visible
Driving License	Driving without a Valid License	License was valid but not present
Vehicle Registration	Driving Unregistered Vehicle	Registration was in process/delayed

Possible impacts on insurance

If you are convicted of speeding and have points on your license, you can almost certainly expect to see your insurance premium rise. Not only that, but if you are a professional driver – taxi driver, HGV driver, courier etc -you may see other restrictions placed upon you by your employer or regulatory body.

Points last for three years on your license, and if you ‘tot up’ more than 12, you will find yourself with a ban. If you have held your license for two years or less, you can only get a maximum of six points before having to resit your theory and practical test.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

Quick recap

The police have up to six months to issue you a speeding fine. But they can only fine you or add penalty points to your licence if they had previously sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to the registered vehicle owner. The NIP must have been received within 14 days from the date of the alleged speeding offence. 

So, what is the speeding ticket 14-day rule? If the NIP was received after 14 days, the offender cannot:

1. Be fined for speeding.
2. Be subject to penalty points
3. Be summoned to court and prosecuted

References

1. Unlock-Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) / Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND)