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
The amount rises. The Road Traffic Act 2010 gives a first payment period at the amount printed on the notice, then a second period at a higher amount. If neither is paid a summons may follow, and a further, higher amount applies up to shortly before the court date. Ignoring it does not make it lapse.
No. Payment ends the matter without a prosecution — the Act says a prosecution will not be instituted during a payment period, and not at all if payment is made in accordance with the notice. But if the offence is a penalty point offence, points are still endorsed on your record for paying.
Because there are two. The First Schedule to the Road Traffic Act 2002 sets one number for paying the fixed charge and a different, higher number for being convicted of the same offence. Some offences carry no fixed-charge figure at all, which means there is no fixed-charge route for them.
Yes, and this is the single most commonly mis-stated fact in this market. A learner or novice driver is disqualified at a lower point total than a full licence holder. Both disqualifications last the same length of time.
Not in the statute book. Irish legislation admits speed readings from cameras and radar equipment without prescribing any deduction, margin or tolerance, and it defers the question to no regulation. That is a deliberate finding rather than a gap in our research: the Oireachtas did write an express margin-of-error power for breath alcohol, so it plainly knows how to write one, and it wrote none for speed. Any specific figure you have seen quoted is not from the statute book.
No. The Irish fixed charge for exceeding a speed limit is a single flat amount regardless of the excess. Speed can matter for whether you are prosecuted rather than given a notice, and for what a court does — but it does not change the fixed charge itself.
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.