Notice of Intended Prosecution: The 14-Day Rule Explained

What a notice of intended prosecution is

A notice of intended prosecution, often shortened to NIP, is the formal warning that prosecution is being considered for an alleged road traffic offence. For speeding, it is commonly sent after a fixed, mobile or average speed camera records a vehicle. It normally states the alleged offence, the vehicle details, and the time and place where the incident is said to have happened.

The NIP is not the same thing as a speeding fine. It does not, by itself, add points to your licence or require payment. Its job is to put the potential defendant on notice while the incident is still recent. In most camera cases it arrives with a driver information requirement, usually called a Section 172 notice in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the equivalent driver information duty is under different road traffic legislation, but the practical point is similar: the authorities need to know who was driving.

The notice is usually sent to the registered keeper because the camera records the vehicle, not necessarily the driver. The registered keeper may be the driver, but in company cars, hire cars, leased vehicles and shared family cars, the first recipient may need to nominate someone else.

The 14-day rule in plain English

For many speeding allegations in Great Britain, the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 means a person cannot usually be convicted unless they were warned at the time, served with court paperwork within 14 days, or served with a written NIP within 14 days. In camera cases, the written notice is normally sent to the driver if known, or to the registered keeper if the driver is not yet known.

The key phrase is served within 14 days, not necessarily printed, handled by a back office or opened by the keeper within that time. Postal rules and the facts of delivery can matter, but the basic expectation is that the first NIP is sent so it can reach the relevant address within the statutory period. The day of the alleged offence is not usually counted as day one in ordinary explanations of the rule, so drivers often think of it as the following 14 days.

There are important exceptions. If a driver is stopped at the roadside and warned verbally, a separate written NIP within 14 days may not be needed. The prosecution may also be excused from the NIP requirement where an accident happened at the time or immediately afterwards, where the name and address of the accused or registered keeper could not be found with reasonable diligence in time, or where the person’s own conduct contributed to the failure.

• Roadside verbal warning
• Written NIP within 14 days
• Court paperwork within 14 days
• Limited statutory exceptions

How long does a speeding fine take to arrive?

If you are asking how long does a speeding fine take to arrive, the practical answer is: the first notice should normally reach the registered keeper within 14 days, but the actual outcome can take longer. The first letter is usually the NIP and driver information request. After the completed driver details are returned, the police decide whether to offer a speed awareness course, issue a fixed penalty, or refer the matter to court.

A standard fixed penalty for speeding is commonly £100 and 3 penalty points, unless a course is offered and completed instead. A course is never guaranteed. It depends on the speed, police discretion, previous course history and local processing rules. Higher speed allegations, cases involving drivers with a high existing points total, or cases where the police consider a fixed penalty unsuitable may go straight to court.

The timing can be much longer when the registered keeper is not the driver. A lease company, employer, hire company or previous keeper may receive the first NIP, complete it, and nominate another person. The next notice to the nominated person can arrive outside the original 14-day period, because the 14-day rule is focused on the first valid notice to the driver or registered keeper, not every later piece of correspondence.

Why the name on the V5C matters

The police normally use keeper details held by DVLA. That makes the V5C registration certificate important. If you have moved house but not updated the V5C, a notice sent to the old keeper address may still cause problems even if you personally did not see it. Updating a driving licence address is not the same as updating the V5C for the vehicle.

If you recently bought or sold the vehicle, the keeper record may not have been updated when the offence was processed. In that situation, the first notice may go to the previous keeper, a motor trader, a finance company or another address that was current in DVLA records at the time. That can explain why a later notice arrives well after 14 days.

Company cars add another layer. The company, fleet department or leasing firm may be the first registered keeper, then the notice passes through one or more nominations before it reaches the person who was driving. Each recipient should follow the instructions on their own notice. Do not ignore it simply because you believe the original offence was more than 14 days ago.

If you use alert tools, set them up before you drive. The Speed Camera Radar Detector app can help you plan camera alerts in advance, but no app guarantees coverage or changes the duty to drive within the limit.

• Check the V5C keeper name
• Update the V5C after moving
• Keep company car records clear
• Do not rely on licence address changes alone

What to do when a notice arrives

Read the notice carefully and check the vehicle registration, date, time and location. If you were the driver, the form will explain how to confirm that. If someone else was driving, you will normally need to provide their details. If you genuinely do not know who was driving, you should still respond and provide the information required by the form. The duty to identify the driver is separate from the speeding allegation.

In Great Britain, the Section 172 notice normally gives 28 days to respond. Failing to provide the driver information is a separate offence and can be more serious in practice than the original lower-level speeding allegation. In England and Wales, sentencing guidance for failing to give driver identity information includes 6 penalty points and a fine, with the maximum for the offence set at level 3, currently £1,000. Northern Ireland has its own equivalent process and penalties.

Do not send payment or licence details unless the paperwork specifically asks for them at the correct stage. The NIP stage is usually about identifying the driver. Once that is processed, the named driver may receive a course offer, a fixed penalty offer or court papers. Keep copies or records of what you send, and use the response method stated on the notice.

Late, wrong or confusing notices

A notice that appears to arrive late is not automatically invalid in every situation. It may be a later notice after a hire company, employer or previous keeper has nominated you. It may also have been sent to the address held for the registered keeper within the required period. Small errors on a notice do not necessarily cancel it unless they are serious enough to mislead the potential defendant.

If the first NIP to the registered keeper was genuinely served late and no exception applies, that may affect whether the speeding allegation can proceed. However, deciding that is a matter for the court if it is disputed. The safest general point is to treat the driver information request as separate and respond within the time limit, even if you believe the NIP timing is wrong.

This article is educational, not legal advice. If a notice raises a court deadline, a possible disqualification, a disputed keeper issue or a late-service argument, consider getting independent legal advice promptly. Missing the response deadline can create a separate offence, so do not wait until the 14-day issue is resolved before dealing with the form.

• A later nominated-driver notice may be valid
• A roadside warning may replace a posted NIP
• Minor mistakes may not invalidate the notice
• The driver information duty still needs attention