Free deadline calculator
Road traffic offence deadline calculator
The notice of intended prosecution must be served within 14 days of the offence under section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, and the section 172 request carries its own 28 day period with a separate offence for failing to answer it.
England & Wales ยท Deemed service, clear days and bank holidays applied ยท Methodology
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Cited to the rule
Deadlines this calculator covers
40 encoded deadlines, each cited to its rule.
14 days from Commission of the offence (offences listed in Schedule 1 to the RTOA 1988: speeding, careless and inconsiderate driving, dangerous driving, failing to comply with traffic signs or directions, leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position, and others)
14 days from Commission of a Schedule 1 offence, where no oral warning was given at the time and no separate notice of intended prosecution is relied on
2 days from Posting of the notice of intended prosecution by first class post or equivalent
6 months from Commission of the offence. Not displaced by RTOA s 6 for the offences listed in this entry; RTOA s 6 displaces the start date only for the distinct offences shown against 'section 6' in column 3 of RTOA Schedule 1 (notably driving while disqualified, RTA s 103(1)(b), and using a vehicle uninsured, RTA s 143).
6 months from The date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the proceedings came to the prosecutor's knowledge, but only for offences with 'section 6' shown in column 3 of RTOA Schedule 1 (RTA ss 92(10), 94(3), 94(3A), 94A, 99(5), 99B(11), 103(1)(a), 103(1)(b), 143, 174(1) or (5), 175) together with the offences added by Sch 1 para 2 (RTOA ss 37A and 67; in Scotland RTA s 173; and offences under Sch 1 to the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995). It does not apply to speeding, careless driving, dangerous driving, drink driving, failing to provide a specimen or failing to identify the driver.
36 months from Commission of the offence
28 days from Service of the written notice; day of service counts as day one (s 172(7)(a), 'beginning with the day on which the notice is served'). Discretion field to read: no power to extend the 28 days, but s 172(7)(b) gives the notice recipient a statutory defence if he shows either that he gave the information as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of that period, or that it has not been reasonably practicable for him to give it. The separate reasonable diligence defence is in s 172(4) and applies to the keeper under s 172(2)(a); by s 172(6) it is restricted for bodies corporate.
21 days from Date of the fixed penalty notice
21 days from Date of the fixed penalty notice, being the start of the suspended enforcement period under RTOA s 52(3)(a); the request for a hearing must be given before the end of that period (21 days following the date of the notice, or such longer period as the notice specifies).
21 days from Service of the notice to owner
28 days from Date on which the conditional offer was issued
21 days from The date, specified in the declaration, on which the accused first learned of the summons or the proceedings
21 days from The date, specified in the declaration, on which the accused first learned of the single justice procedure notice or the proceedings, that date being after the court began to try the written charge
21 days from The date on which the person making the declaration received notice of the registration of the sum for enforcement as a fine
21 days from The date on which the person making the declaration received notice of the registration of the sum for enforcement as a fine
21 days from Service of notice of the registration of the sum for enforcement as a fine
15 days from Service on the defendant of the written charge, single justice procedure notice and accompanying documents listed in r 24.9(1)(c)
15 days from Service on the defendant of the documents listed in r 24.9(1)(c), including the notice explaining the automatic online conviction option
5 days from The defendant's acceptance of the automatic online conviction option
15 days from Sentence, the date sentence is deferred or the date of committal for sentence, whichever is earlier, where the appeal is against conviction; sentence, where the appeal is against sentence
15 days from Service of the appellant's appeal notice
15 days from Service of the appeal notice; the application must be served with it
21 days from The day on which the decision of the magistrates' court was given; where the court adjourned the trial after conviction, the day on which it sentences or otherwise deals with the offender (s 111(3))
10 days from Service of the application to state a case
15 days from Expiry of the time for service of representations under r 35.2(3)
12 months from Conviction of an offence involving obligatory disqualification
36 months from Conviction of a listed drink or drug driving offence where the offender was convicted of any such offence within the ten years immediately preceding the commission of the new offence
72 months from Conviction under RTA 1988 s 3A where the offender was also convicted of a s 3A offence within the ten years immediately preceding commission of the new offence
60 months from Conviction under RTA 1988 s 1 (causing death by dangerous driving) or s 3A (causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs)
24 months from Conviction of manslaughter, or of an offence under RTA 1988 s 1A, s 3ZC or s 3ZD; or conviction of any obligatory disqualification offence by a person on whom more than one disqualification for a fixed period of 56 days or more has been imposed within the three years immediately preceding commission of the offence
6 months from Conviction of an offence to which s 35(1) applies where the penalty points to be taken into account on that occasion number twelve or more
36 months before Commission dates of the offences whose penalty points are being aggregated
6 months from The day on which the interim disqualification order is made
48 months from Conviction, where a disqualification is ordered; commission of the offence, where no disqualification is ordered
48 months from Conviction under RTA 1988 s 1, s 1A, s 2, s 3ZC or s 3ZD
132 months from Conviction under RTA 1988 s 3A, s 4(1), s 5(1)(a), s 5A(1)(a) and (2), s 7(6) involving obligatory disqualification, or s 7A(6)
3 months from The date of refusal of the previous application under s 42(1)
24 months from The day on which the person becomes a qualified driver, that is the first occasion on which they pass a relevant test of competence to drive
2 months before The last day of the period of disqualification as reduced by the order
20 days from The date by which the defendant was required to complete the course, or the giving of the certificate of failure fully to participate in the programme
Time limits at a glance
The headline periods below restate the encoded rules. Run the calculator above for the exact date, with deemed service, clear days and bank holidays applied.
Notice of intended prosecution served on driver or registered keeper: what is the time limit?
14 days from Commission of the offence (offences listed in Schedule 1 to the RTOA 1988: speeding, careless and inconsiderate driving, dangerous driving, failing to comply with traffic signs or directions, leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position, and others), under Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s 1(1)(c). The calculator applies deemed service, clear days and bank holidays automatically and shows the rule behind the date.
Summons served within 14 days as alternative to a notice of intended prosecution: what is the time limit?
14 days from Commission of a Schedule 1 offence, where no oral warning was given at the time and no separate notice of intended prosecution is relied on, under Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s 1(1)(b). The calculator applies deemed service, clear days and bank holidays automatically and shows the rule behind the date.
Deemed date of service of a posted notice of intended prosecution: what is the time limit?
2 days from Posting of the notice of intended prosecution by first class post or equivalent, under Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (SI 2025/909), r 4.11(2)(b). The calculator applies deemed service, clear days and bank holidays automatically and shows the rule behind the date.
Six month limitation on laying an information for a summary offence: what is the time limit?
6 months from Commission of the offence. Not displaced by RTOA s 6 for the offences listed in this entry; RTOA s 6 displaces the start date only for the distinct offences shown against 'section 6' in column 3 of RTOA Schedule 1 (notably driving while disqualified, RTA s 103(1)(b), and using a vehicle uninsured, RTA s 143)., under Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, s 127(1). The calculator applies deemed service, clear days and bank holidays automatically and shows the rule behind the date.
Six months from the date sufficient evidence came to the prosecutor's knowledge: what is the time limit?
6 months from The date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the proceedings came to the prosecutor's knowledge, but only for offences with 'section 6' shown in column 3 of RTOA Schedule 1 (RTA ss 92(10), 94(3), 94(3A), 94A, 99(5), 99B(11), 103(1)(a), 103(1)(b), 143, 174(1) or (5), 175) together with the offences added by Sch 1 para 2 (RTOA ss 37A and 67; in Scotland RTA s 173; and offences under Sch 1 to the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995). It does not apply to speeding, careless driving, dangerous driving, drink driving, failing to provide a specimen or failing to identify the driver., under Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s 6(1). The calculator applies deemed service, clear days and bank holidays automatically and shows the rule behind the date.
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