The calculation sheetFrench Highway Code · speed
Speeding in France: the fine, the points deducted and the criminal offence above 50 km/h
Speeding uses the notice’s retained speed, after the technical margin. Since December 2025, exceeding the limit by at least 50 km/h is a criminal offence; below that, fines and points depend on excess and speed limit (R413-14 and L413-1). Retention from 40 km/h excess requires interception. Accidents and professional passenger transport may increase administrative suspension limits. Check the contest deadline against the type of notice received.
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Give the limit, the retained speed on the notice and whether you were stopped.
Example questions
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What do you risk for the speed shown on your notice?
Choose the limit, enter the retained speed shown on the notice and say whether you were stopped: the calculator gives the type of offence, the fine, the points and the risk of suspension. The example: 112 km/h retained on a road limited to 80. The result is indicative: confirm the ordinary-case conditions; a special case or unknown decisive fact prevents calculation.
Fictional example · speeding penalties
Petty offence with a risk of suspension: the court can suspend the licence for up to 3 years.
- Excess retained
- 32 km/h
- Type of offence
- Class 4 petty offence
- Fixed fine
- €135
- Reduced or increased
- €90 or €375
- Points deducted
- 3
The court can suspend the licence for up to 3 years.
Paying the fixed fine counts as admitting the offence: the points are then deducted.
Which penalty applies to each band of speeding?
The band is read from the retained excess, that is the retained speed minus the limit.
| Excess retained | Type | Fixed fine | Points | Suspension |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 km/h | Class 3 petty offence if the limit is above 50 km/h, class 4 otherwise | €68 or €135 | 0 | No |
| 5 to under 20 km/h | Class 3 petty offence if the limit is above 50 km/h, class 4 otherwise | €68 or €135 | 1 | No |
| 20 to under 30 km/h | Class 4 petty offence | €135 | 2 | No |
| 30 to under 40 km/h | Class 4 petty offence | €135 | 3 | Up to 3 years, by the court |
| 40 to under 50 km/h | Class 4 petty offence | €135 | 4 | Withheld on the spot if stopped, then up to 3 years |
| 50 km/h or more | Criminal offence | €300 fixed criminal fine, or up to €3,750 in court | 6 | Up to 3 years with no allowance for work; confiscation and cancellation possible |
Reduced or increased fixed fine: €45 or €180 for class 3, €90 or €375 for class 4 (Code of Criminal Procedure, articles R49-9 and R49-7), €250 or €600 for the criminal offence.
Sources: C. route R413-14 · C. route L413-1 · CPP R49
What has changed for speeding in France since 2024?
Three texts changed the penalty scale and the procedure in less than three years.
Exceeding the limit by less than 5 km/h no longer costs a point; the fine is still due (decree no. 2023-1150 of 6 December 2023, Highway Code article R413-14).
Source: C. route R413-14
Exceeding the limit by 50 km/h or more becomes a criminal offence from the first time, punishable by 3 months’ imprisonment and a €3,750 fine; it was previously a class 5 petty offence, and a criminal offence only for a repeat (law no. 2025-622 of 9 July 2025, article L413-1).
Source: C. route L413-1
The articles on withholding and administrative suspension of the licence are rewritten; withholding on the spot for 40 km/h or more over the limit is kept (law no. 2026-798 of 18 August 2026, articles L224-1 and L224-2).
Source: C. route L224-2
Is 50 km/h over the limit a criminal offence the first time?
Yes, since 31 December 2025. Exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h or more is punishable by 3 months’ imprisonment and a €3,750 fine, with the loss of half the maximum points, 6 (Highway Code, article L413-1). Before that date, it was a class 5 petty offence, and a criminal offence only for a repeat.
The prosecution can be ended by a fixed criminal fine (amende forfaitaire délictuelle) of €300, €250 reduced, €600 increased, even for a repeat. Otherwise the criminal court (tribunal correctionnel) decides: it can suspend the licence for up to 3 years with no allowance for driving for work, cancel it with a ban on taking a new test for up to 3 years, and confiscate the vehicle if the driver owns it, a confiscation that is compulsory for a repeat unless the court gives specific reasons.
Sources: C. route L413-1 · Service-public F19460
When is the licence withheld on the spot, then suspended by the prefect?
When the vehicle is stopped and an approved device establishes an excess of 40 km/h or more, the police withhold the licence (Highway Code, article L224-1). The prefect can then suspend it within 72 hours, for up to 6 months, or a year after an accident causing injury or death (article L224-2).
These periods are doubled for a professional driver carrying passengers. Without a decision from the prefect within that time, the licence is returned. This administrative suspension is separate from the one the court can order, up to 3 years from 30 km/h over the limit.
Sources: C. route L224-2 · C. route R413-14
What margin of error is allowed for a speed camera?
A fixed speed camera in service can be wrong by at most 5 km/h below 100 km/h, and by 5% above; for a camera in a moving vehicle, the margin is 10 km/h or 10% (article 6 of the order of 4 June 2009 on road-traffic speed meters).
The fine notice shows the measured speed and the retained speed: the retained speed sets the band of excess, and therefore the fine and the points.
Source: Order of 4 June 2009
What does article L413-1 of the Highway Code say about extreme speeding?
The text created by the law of 9 July 2025 against road violence, in force since 31 December 2025.
I.-Le fait, pour tout conducteur d’un véhicule à moteur, de dépasser de 50 kilomètres à l’heure ou plus la vitesse maximale autorisée est puni de trois mois d’emprisonnement et de 3 750 euros d’amende. (…)
III.-Ce délit donne lieu de plein droit à la réduction de la moitié du nombre maximal de points du permis de conduire.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): Any driver of a motor vehicle who exceeds the speed limit by 50 km/h or more faces three months’ imprisonment and a €3,750 fine. The offence automatically halves the maximum number of points on the driving licence. Part IV of the same article allows the prosecution to be ended by a fixed criminal fine of €300, including for a repeat.
What do drivers ask after a French speed camera flash?
Do you lose a point for 3 km/h over the limit?
No, since 1 January 2024: less than 5 km/h over the limit costs no point. The fine is still due, €68 if the limit is above 50 km/h, €135 otherwise (Highway Code, article R413-14, decree no. 2023-1150 of 6 December 2023).
Does paying the fine cost you the points?
Yes. Paying the fixed fine establishes the offence, as do the enforcement order for the increased fine and a final conviction, and the points are then deducted (Highway Code, article L223-1). To contest, you do not pay the fine: you file the request shown on the notice, within the time limit it gives.
How much does 25 km/h over the limit on a motorway cost?
A class 4 petty offence: a €135 fixed fine, €90 reduced, €375 increased, and 2 points deducted (Highway Code, article R413-14; Code of Criminal Procedure, articles R49, R49-9 and R49-7).
Which court tries 50 km/h or more over the limit?
The criminal court (tribunal correctionnel), since it has been a criminal offence since 31 December 2025, unless the prosecution is ended by paying the fixed criminal fine of €300 (Highway Code, article L413-1).
Which texts is this speeding penalty scale based on?
- Highway Code, article R413-14 (speeding petty offence, points, suspension)Légifrance, in French
- Highway Code, article L413-1 (criminal offence of speeding by 50 km/h or more)Légifrance, in French
- Highway Code, articles L224-1 and L224-2 (withholding and administrative suspension of the licence)Légifrance, in French
- Code of Criminal Procedure, articles R49, R49-7 and R49-9 (fixed fine amounts)Légifrance, in French
- Order of 4 June 2009 on road-traffic speed meters, article 6 (maximum permitted errors)Légifrance, in French
- Speed at the wheel (fiche F19460)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 29 December 2025
- Highway Code, article L223-1 (points deducted after payment)Légifrance, in French
Texts cited last checked: 25 September 2026