10 km/h over the limit in Germany: the warning fine explained
Up to 10 km/h too fast, Germany only issues a warning fine: no formal notice, no fees, nothing on your Flensburg record.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
What 10 km/h over costs
Total including fees
€30
| Excess after tolerance | 10 km/h |
| Points | 0 |
| Driving ban | none |
| Probation | not relevant |
Driving a car up to 10 km/h above the limit in Germany costs €30 in a built-up area and €20 elsewhere. The figure that counts is the speed after the tolerance deduction: 3 km/h comes off readings up to 100 km/h and 3 per cent off anything faster, always rounded in your favour. So a camera showing 63 km/h in a 50 zone means exactly 10 km/h over. Both amounts sit below the €55 line for a Verwarnungsgeld, a warning fine under Section 56 of the Administrative Offences Act. You receive no formal fine notice, pay no processing fee or postage and get no point in the Flensburg register. Drivers on probation are not affected either, since nothing is recorded. From 11 km/h the rate rises to €50 or €40, still as a warning fine.
The one band where Germany waives the paperwork
German speeding fines climb in bands, and the first band is the only one where nearly all side costs disappear. The reason is procedural. Under €55, the authority may issue a warning fine (Verwarnungsgeld) instead of a formal fine notice (Bußgeldbescheid). At €30 in town and €20 outside towns, this band stays well below that line. What lands in your letterbox is a short letter or a hearing form (Anhörungsbogen) with a payment offer. Pay it and the case is closed. The neighbouring bands up to 15 km/h work the same way, but from 16 km/h a formal notice with fees takes over, as the page on 20 km/h over shows.
Reading the numbers on your letter
Newcomers often compare the speed in the letter with what they remember seeing on the speedometer and find a gap. Three numbers are in play: what your car showed, what the device measured and what you are charged with. Car speedometers tend to read slightly high, so your real speed was probably a little lower than the dial suggested. The device reading then loses the tolerance set by the national metrology institute (PTB). Here is how readings in a 50 zone translate:
| Device reading | After tolerance | Over the limit | Warning fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 km/h | 57 km/h | 7 km/h | €30 |
| 62 km/h | 59 km/h | 9 km/h | €30 |
| 63 km/h | 60 km/h | 10 km/h | €30 |
| 64 km/h | 61 km/h | 11 km/h | €50 |
| 65 km/h | 62 km/h | 12 km/h | €50 |
| 66 km/h | 63 km/h | 13 km/h | €50 |
On a country road limited to 100 km/h, readings above 100 km/h lose 3 per cent rather than a flat 3 km/h. A reading of 110 km/h is reduced to 106 km/h, and even 114 km/h on the device stays in this band at 110 km/h.
Where the small band catches people
Most 10 km/h letters come from 30 km/h zones near schools and in residential streets, where 40 km/h on the dial feels slow to anyone used to wider roads. A device reading of 43 km/h there counts as 10 km/h over and costs €30. Whether a stretch counts as a built-up area depends on the yellow town sign (Ortsschild), not on how many houses you can see.
Paying from a foreign bank account
The letter gives an IBAN, the amount and a reference (Aktenzeichen). International transfers in euros within the SEPA area usually cost nothing; from outside, check what your bank charges so the authority receives the full amount. A short payment can leave the case open. Paying late is the costlier mistake: the warning only takes effect once paid in time, and without payment the authority may switch to a formal notice with at least €25 in fees plus €3.50 postage under Section 107 OWiG. The €30 then becomes €58.50.
Company cars, rentals and the person behind the wheel
Camera letters go to the registered keeper first. With a company car that is your employer's fleet desk; with a rental, the rental firm, which forwards your details and may bill its own handling charge under the rental contract. If you borrowed a friend's car, they receive the letter and the hearing form asks who was driving. Since 1 July 2026, Section 4c of the Road Traffic Act forbids misleading the authority about the driver, with fines of up to €30,000. A warning fine is cheap enough that paying is rarely in doubt; naming someone else falsely is not worth the risk.
What stays off your record
A warning fine is not entered in the Fahreignungsregister, the national driver record in Flensburg. It does not add to your Flensburg points, does not count for probation and does not feed the repeat-offence rule that starts at 26 km/h. It also has no effect when you later exchange a foreign licence for a German one. The authority must act within 6 months of the offence, the time limit that applies to all traffic offences since July 2026.
Vans, motorhomes and trailers
The figures above apply to cars and motorcycles. Towing a caravan, driving a lorry over 3.5 tonnes or a bus puts you in table 1 a, where the first band costs €40 in town. Hazardous goods and buses with passengers fall under table 1 b at €70, which is above the warning limit. To check a specific case, the fine calculator lets you choose the vehicle class.