Fixed charge notices · Ireland
In Ireland the fine is not the number. The date is.
A fixed charge notice states one amount — and that amount is only what you pay for a limited period. Miss it and the charge rises by half; miss that and the route ends in court, where a further uplift applies. The offence does not change. The clock does.
- €160Speeding, paid in the first periodS.I. 227/2024, Schedule 2
- €240Paid in the second periodRoad Traffic Act 2010, s. 36(2)(c)
- €320After a summons is servedRoad Traffic Act 2010, s. 44(5)
The three windows
The amount on the notice is only the first of three
Each window is created by its own section of the Road Traffic Act 2010, and each has its own clock. Missing one does not cancel the notice — it moves you to the next.
- First period — 28 days from the date of the noticePay the amount printed on the notice. A prosecution will not be instituted while this period runs. s. 36(2)(b)
- Second period — a further 28 daysThe charge rises by half. Same offence, same notice, higher amount. s. 36(2)(c)
- On a summons — until 7 days before the court dateIf a summons is served you may still pay, at double the original amount, up to seven days before the day you are required to appear. Pay it and the proceedings are discontinued. s. 44(4)(b) and s. 44(5)
← swipe to see the whole table →
| Schedule | First period | Second period | On summons | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €200 | €300 | €400 | Traffic and parking offences – Act of 1994 and exceeding permitted weight |
| 2 | €160 | €240 | €320 | Driving offences under Road Traffic Acts |
| 3 | €150 | €225 | €300 | Offence under Act of 1994 |
| 4 | €120 | €180 | €240 | Driving offences under Road Traffic Acts |
| 5 | €80 | €120 | €160 | Traffic and parking offences under Road Traffic Acts |
| 6 | €60 | €90 | €120 | Traffic offences under Road Traffic Acts |
| 7 | €50 | €75 | €100 | Offences under Road Traffic Acts |
| 8 | €40 | €60 | €80 | Offences under Road Traffic Acts |
Penalty points
Two numbers per offence, and two thresholds
Paying the fixed charge and being convicted attract different numbers of points for the same offence. And the total that disqualifies you is lower if you are a learner or a novice driver.
- 12Points that disqualify a full licence holderRoad Traffic Act 2002, s. 3(1)(a)
- 7Points that disqualify a learner or novice driverRoad Traffic Act 2002, s. 3(1)(b)
- 6 monthsHow long the disqualification lastsThe same for both
The full table of offences and their point values is set out in the First Schedule to the Road Traffic Act 2002.
What the law does not say
There is no statutory speed tolerance in Ireland
Checked, and deliberately not filled in
Irish law states no tolerance, margin or deduction for speed measurement. Section 81 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 is the provision that governs speed evidence: it admits readings from electronic apparatus, including a camera or a radar gun, and it sets out no deduction and points to no regulation that would. That is a finding about the statute, not a gap in what we read — the Oireachtas wrote an express margin-of-error power for alcohol testing in section 13(1A) of the same Act, so it plainly knows how to create one, and it created none for speed. So if you are wondering how many kilometres per hour come off a reading before a fixed charge notice issues, the answer under the legislation is none. Any figure you have seen quoted is enforcement practice, not law, and we do not publish it as though it were.
Questions
Common questions
Start here
Work out which window your notice is in
The date on the notice is what decides the amount. Everything else follows from it.