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Speeding and Penalty Points

Most speeding matters end with a fixed penalty or a speed awareness course and never trouble a court. The ones that matter are the ones that take you to twelve penalty points within three years, because that triggers a disqualification of at least six months — and the only thing standing between you and that ban is an exceptional hardship argument you have to make properly, in court, on evidence. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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A notice of intended prosecution must normally reach the registered keeper within 14 days of the offence. You then have a short window to name the driver, and failing to do so is a separate offence carrying six points — more than the speeding itself.

Speeding and Penalty Points at a glance

14-day notice

The notice of intended prosecution must normally arrive within 14 days of the alleged offence

Naming the driver is compulsory

Failing to identify the driver is an offence carrying six points, often worse than the speeding

3 to 6 points

Speeding carries three to six points, or disqualification in serious cases

12 points in three years

Totting up brings a minimum six month disqualification

Exceptional hardship

A totting ban can be avoided or shortened only by proving hardship beyond the ordinary

From notice to outcome

The registered keeper receives a notice of intended prosecution and a request to identify the driver, and that request must be answered — it is not optional, and prosecutions for failing to furnish driver details are common and carry six points. What follows is usually a fixed penalty with points, or an offer of a speed awareness course if the speed falls within the qualifying band and you have not done one within three years. A course is not a conviction and adds no points, which makes it far more valuable than the fee suggests. Higher speeds are referred to the magistrates' court, where the guidelines can mean disqualification rather than points. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Totting up, and the hardship argument

Twelve points within three years means a disqualification of at least six months, and the court must impose it unless you establish exceptional hardship. That is a high bar and it is not simply inconvenience: losing your job is common enough that on its own it is rarely exceptional, and courts hear it daily. What succeeds is hardship falling on other people — employees who would lose their jobs if your business failed, a disabled relative who depends on you for transport, a child whose care arrangements collapse — supported by evidence rather than assertion. And an argument run successfully once generally cannot be run again on the same facts within three years. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

When it is worth challenging

Most speeding allegations are not worth fighting, and losing a contested case costs you the plea credit and adds costs. The ones worth examining are those where the notice arrived outside the statutory period, where the device or the operator's procedure is genuinely in question, where you were not the driver and can prove it, or where the consequence is disqualification rather than points — because then the stakes justify the effort. New drivers face a particular trap: six points within two years of passing revokes the licence entirely and means retaking both tests. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

If you have a speeding notice, step by step

Answer the driver identification request on timeIgnoring it is a worse offence than the speeding, at six points.

Take the course if it is offeredNo conviction, no points, and worth far more than the fee.

Get advice before a totting hearingExceptional hardship must be evidenced, not asserted. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Speeding and Penalty Points — your questions answered

I did not receive the notice within 14 days. Is the case dead?

Not automatically. The notice must normally be served on the registered keeper within 14 days, and if it was not there may be a defence — but the rule applies to service on the keeper, so a notice correctly sent to a former address or delayed in the post after proper service may still count. It is a technical point worth raising properly rather than assuming either way.

Will I definitely be banned at 12 points?

The court must disqualify for at least six months unless you prove exceptional hardship. That argument has to be made in person, with evidence — employment contracts, accounts, medical letters, statements from the people who would suffer — and it fails when it is simply about your own inconvenience. It succeeds far more often when properly prepared than when attempted from the dock without notice.

Can I take a speed awareness course more than once?

Not within three years of a previous course. If you have completed one in that period you will not be offered another, which means points instead — and that is exactly how drivers who thought they were managing their record arrive at twelve points without expecting to. Keep track of the dates.