Fixed Charge Notices in Ireland: Pay, Nominate or Challenge

A fixed charge notice, usually shortened to FCN, is the document An Garda Siochana serves when it alleges a road traffic offence that can be dealt with by payment instead of prosecution. Paying it in time closes the matter without a court appearance, though penalty points may still follow.

The system sits in Part 3 of the Road Traffic Act 2010, sections 34 to 48, and the list of offences and amounts is prescribed by S.I. No. 227 of 2024. Everything about it runs on fixed statutory deadlines counted from the date of the notice, and An Garda Siochana states plainly that it has no discretion to extend any of them. This page sets out the full sequence, what to do if you were not the driver, and the one address mistake that costs people money.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page is general legal information for the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice.

Which offences carry a fixed charge?

An offence is a fixed charge offence only where the Minister has declared it to be one. Regulation 7 of S.I. No. 227 of 2024 declares the offences listed in its eight schedules, and Regulation 8 sets a single amount for each schedule: €200 for Schedule 1, then 160, 150, 120, 80 and €60, with €50 for the e-scooter offences in Schedule 7 and €40 for pedal cycle and most parking offences in Schedule 8.

Speeding sits in Schedule 2 at €160, and mobile phone, seatbelt and child restraint offences in Schedule 4 at €120. Some fixed charge offences carry penalty points as well as the charge; parking, motor tax and insurance disc, bus lane, yellow box, pedal cycle and e-scooter offences are charge only.

How a fixed charge notice is served

Where a Garda alleges a fixed charge offence and identifies the driver, the notice is served on that driver. Where the driver is not identified, which is the normal position with a camera detection, it is served on the registered owner of the vehicle, or affixed to the vehicle itself.

Section 35 allows service personally or by post to the address where the person ordinarily resides, the address given to the Garda at the time, or the address at which the vehicle is registered. Keeping the registered address current matters, because a notice properly posted to it starts the clock whether or not you read it.

The payment timeline

Every period below runs from the date of the notice, not from the date of the offence and not from the date you received it.

No prosecution can be brought during the payment periods, and none is brought at all where payment is made in accordance with the notice. For a €160 speeding charge the three figures are 160, 240 and €320, as set out on our speeding fines page.

The third payment option before court

This is the stage most drivers do not know exists. Where a summons issues, a notice under section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 is served with it. You may pay an amount 100 per cent greater than the original prescribed amount, not later than seven days before the court date, and the proceedings are discontinued.

The penalty points still apply if the offence carries them. What you avoid is the court appearance, the higher conviction level points, and the court fine.

Section 44 also closes off a common argument. Once you have been served with a summons together with a section 44 notice, it is not a defence to claim you were never served with the original fixed charge notice.

How to pay a fixed charge notice

The method depends on whether the offence carries penalty points.

• Penalty point offences must be paid by post or at a post office. They cannot be paid online.
• Non penalty point offences can be paid online through the An Post payment facility. Card payments show on statements as Billpay, An Post.
• Postal payments go to An Garda Siochana, P.O. Box 55, Kilrush, Co. Clare, using the pre addressed envelope supplied with the notice.
• Cheques, postal orders and bank drafts should be made payable to Member in Charge. Debit cards issued outside Ireland are not accepted.
• The full notice must accompany any payment, and only one cheque per payment is permitted, because part payment is not allowed by the legislation.
• A photocopy of your driving licence is recommended, and is required for a non Irish licence.

One detail is worth more than the rest. Payments must not be sent to the Fixed Charge Processing Office. The FCPO in Thurles handles enquiries, nominations and cancellations, not payments. A payment sent there is merely forwarded, and the statutory clock keeps running in the meantime, so a payment posted in good time at the first stage can land as a second stage payment.

On a penalty point notice there is also a declaration section, which must be completed and signed by the driver who is paying, giving their full name exactly as it appears on their driving licence. A mismatch gets the payment rejected.

What if I was not the driver?

The obligation to identify the driver falls on the registered owner. Photographs from safety cameras exist to identify the vehicle, not the person behind the wheel.

The registered owner completes the section on the notice headed Statement of Nomination of Name and Address of Driver of Vehicle and returns the full original notice to the Fixed Charge Processing Office. Despite what is often written, this is not a statutory declaration sworn before a commissioner for oaths. It is a prescribed form on the notice itself, prescribed under section 35(6) of the Road Traffic Act 2010, signed by the registered owner.

The deadline is 28 days from the date of the notice. Nominations received after that cannot be processed and the notice remains the registered owner's responsibility.

Other rules that apply to nominations:

• Do not enclose payment with a nomination. A new notice issues to the nominated driver and the full 56 day clock restarts from the date of that new notice.
• The owner must also supply any further information reasonably requested to identify and locate the driver.
• Where the registered owner is a company, or a person trading as one, the only obligation for a penalty point offence is to nominate the person who was driving.
• Nominating a person under 18 requires their date of birth and a copy of their birth certificate.

Failing to comply with the nomination duty is a separate offence in its own right, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to €1,000. Ignoring a notice for a car you no longer drive is therefore not a neutral act.

Challenging a notice or correcting an error

There is no appeal tribunal for fixed charge notices. Two things are available instead.

For an error on the notice, or a query about it, contact the Fixed Charge Processing Office by phone on 0818 50 60 80 from within Ireland or +353 504 59800 from abroad, or by email to npo@garda.ie. Making an enquiry does not suspend the payment period, and neither does asking for a reprint of a lost or damaged notice.

For cancellation, you can ask An Garda Siochana to cancel the notice on procedural grounds, for example that the wrong speed limit was recorded, that you were exempt from the offence, that tax or insurance was in fact held, that the vehicle had been stolen, or that you were no longer the registered owner. Exceptional grounds such as a genuine medical emergency are also accepted. An Garda Siochana publishes a guide to cancelling fixed charge notices and a request form on garda.ie.

Someone under 18 who receives a notice may ask to be considered for the Juvenile Diversion Programme by sending a copy of the notice, a copy of their birth certificate, which is the only acceptable proof of age, and a letter to the FCPO in Thurles.

What happens if you ignore it

Nothing stalls because you did not engage. After 56 days a summons issues to the District Court, and on conviction the higher conviction level penalty points apply instead of the payment level ones, a court fine is imposed, and for repeat or serious offences the court may disqualify you. The section 44 route remains open until seven days before the hearing and is almost always the cheaper outcome.

Garda contact routes

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information about road traffic law in the Republic of Ireland and is not legal advice. The deadlines described here are statutory and An Garda Siochana has no power to extend them, so check the date printed on your own notice rather than relying on when you received it. If a summons has issued or you intend to contest a charge, speak to a solicitor. See also penalty points, drink driving limits and the Ireland law hub.