Caught speeding in Germany: what happens next, step by step
Between the camera and the end of the matter lie several letters and deadlines, each one counted from a different date.
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Your deadline to respond
Objection period ends on
26.10.2026
| Period | 2 weeks from delivery |
| If it falls on a weekend/holiday | next working day |
Days above 28 are set to the 28th.
If you are caught speeding in Germany, the case runs through a fixed sequence: the measurement, a hearing form, a formal fine notice, the notice becoming final, payment and, where applicable, a Flensburg point and a driving ban. Amounts up to €55 are settled with a warning fine and no costs. Above that, the fine office issues a Bußgeldbescheid, the formal fine notice, adding a fee of five per cent, at least €25, and €3.50 for delivery under Section 107 OWiG, so a €100 fine costs €128.50. You have 2 weeks from delivery to lodge an objection (Einspruch). If you do not, the notice becomes final (rechtskräftig) and payment is normally due within two further weeks. Points are entered and start to expire only from that date. Since 1 July 2026 the authority has 6 months to pursue the offence under Section 26(3) StVG.
The sequence at a glance
German speeding cases are administrative offences, handled under the Administrative Offences Act (OWiG) and the Road Traffic Act (StVG). The steps are almost always the same; the gaps between them vary from one authority to the next.
| Step | What arrives or happens | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Offence measured | Limitation period of 6 months starts |
| 2 | Hearing form or witness questionnaire | Restarts the limitation period |
| 3 | Formal fine notice, delivered by registered post | 2 weeks to object |
| 4 | Notice becomes final | Day after the objection period ends |
| 5 | Payment | Normally two weeks after step 4 |
| 6 | Point entered in the Flensburg register | Expires after 30 months (one point) |
| 7 | Driving ban, if any | Licence handed in within up to 4 months |
Below €55, the case stops after step 2: you are offered a warning fine (Verwarnungsgeld), and paying it on time closes the matter with no record. The first letters and who receives them are explained on the page about speed cameras.
How long Germany has to pursue you
The fifth amendment to the Road Traffic Act simplified the limitation rules. Since 1 July 2026, Section 26(3) StVG gives authorities 6 months for traffic offences. Before, it was three months until a notice was issued and six months after. The period runs from the date of the offence, but steps listed in Section 33 OWiG, such as the first hearing or the notice itself, interrupt it, and each interruption starts the clock again. A notice that arrives five months after the camera is therefore not automatically late. The details are on the page about the limitation period.
The fine notice and what it costs
A formal notice is delivered with a postal certificate, usually in a yellow envelope. The postal worker writes the delivery date on the envelope. If nobody is home, the notice counts as delivered when it is put in your letterbox or when you are notified that it is waiting at a post office. Keep the envelope: every deadline after this point is counted from that date.
The costs come from Section 107 OWiG: five per cent of the fine, at least €25 and at most €7,500, plus €3.50 for delivery. The minimum applies to virtually every speeding case, because five per cent only exceeds €25 on fines above €500. For a car in town under table 1 c:
| Over the limit in town | Fine | Fee | Delivery | Total | Points | Ban |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 km/h | €50 | none | none | €50.00 | 0 | no |
| 18 km/h | €70 | €25.00 | €3.50 | €98.50 | 0 | no |
| 23 km/h | €115 | €25.00 | €3.50 | €143.50 | 1 | no |
| 28 km/h | €180 | €25.00 | €3.50 | €208.50 | 1 | no |
| 35 km/h | €260 | €25.00 | €3.50 | €288.50 | 2 | 1 month |
| 45 km/h | €400 | €25.00 | €3.50 | €428.50 | 2 | 1 month |
| 55 km/h | €560 | €28.00 | €3.50 | €591.50 | 2 | 2 months |
The fine notice page walks through each line of a real notice, in German with English explanations.
The two-week window
Section 67 OWiG gives you 2 weeks from delivery to lodge an objection, in writing or in person at the authority. No reasons are required. It is a right, not an obligation, and its effects are worth knowing in advance. The authority reviews the case and either keeps or withdraws the notice. If it keeps it, the file goes via the public prosecutor to the local court (Amtsgericht), which decides the amount afresh and is not bound by the figure in the notice. Court costs can be added. Until the court decides, the notice is not final, so no point is entered and no ban takes effect.
With no objection, the notice becomes final when the two weeks have run. Example: delivered on Monday 2 November 2026, the period ends at midnight on Monday 16 November, and the notice is final from 17 November. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the period runs to the next working day. Public holidays differ between German states, so the state of the authority counts.
Paying, and paying from abroad
The notice asks for payment within two weeks of becoming final (Section 66(2) OWiG). It shows a German IBAN and a reference number; international transfers within the SEPA area cost the same as domestic ones from most banks. If you cannot pay at once, Section 18 OWiG allows the authority to grant time or instalments on request. Ignoring the payment leads to reminders and enforcement, for example by seizing a German bank account, and, as a last resort, to coercive detention under Section 96 OWiG. Detention does not cancel the debt.
Seeing the file
Under Section 49 OWiG, the person concerned may inspect the case file at the authority under supervision, unless overriding interests of third parties stand in the way. The file usually holds the camera photo, the measurement record with the device type and location, and details of its calibration. Asking to see it does not stop any clock: the two weeks for an objection keep running whether or not you have seen the file.
The probation track for new drivers
If you are in your Probezeit, a second procedure runs alongside the fine, handled by the driving licence authority (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) where you live. Once a speeding offence with a point is final and on the register, that authority is informed. Speeding with a point is an A offence, and a single one leads to an order to attend a remedial course and extends probation by 2 years. The order often arrives weeks after you have paid the fine, with its own deadline and its own cost. Residents with an EU licence less than two years old are on the same track.
Moving house or leaving Germany mid-case
Fine offices write to the address in the vehicle register or the residents' register. Germans and foreigners alike must register a move (Anmeldung) and deregister when leaving the country (Abmeldung); a mail-forwarding order with Deutsche Post bridges the gap. Deadlines run from delivery, not from the day you open the envelope. A notice delivered while you are on holiday starts its two weeks on the day it went into your letterbox, which is why some residents ask a neighbour to check their post during long trips.
Points: counted from the final date
No point exists on the day of the offence. When the notice becomes final, the fine office reports it to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). Under Section 29 StVG, the expiry period starts then: 30 months for one point and 60 months for two, followed by a further year before the entry is deleted for good. For the measures triggered by your total, however, the date of the offence decides. More on the Flensburg points page.
A ban: choosing your month
If the notice includes a ban, Section 25 StVG sets the start. With no ban in the two years before the offence, the ban takes effect at the latest 4 months after the notice is final, and you decide when within that window to hand in your licence. Otherwise it starts when you hand it in, no later than one month after the notice is final. At 32 km/h over in town that means €260, 2 points and 1 month. Practical steps, including for foreign licences, are on the driving ban page.
A sample timeline
A car is measured at 128 km/h on a 100 road: 24 km/h over after the deduction, €100 fine. Offence in October, hearing form in November, notice in December. Delivered just before Christmas, it becomes final in early January, and €128.50 is due two weeks later. The point counts from the January date and is due for deletion 2.5 years after it. To work out your own case, use the fine calculator.