How to check whether you will be fined for a speeding offence in France

Several million speeding fines are issued each year in France. If you are concerned about if you have received – and potentially missed – a speeding fine, there are ways to check this, even for drivers no longer in the country. 

This can be useful not only as it allows you to contest them, but also because fines that are left unpaid attract a progressively higher penalty.

This is how you can check.

How long do fines take to arrive and how are they sent?

There is no limit on the timeframe for when a fine must be sent following an incident, however drivers can only be penalised within one year of an incident being committed. 

If the fine is not sent before this date it becomes void. 

Note if sent anytime before the one year date the fine will still apply even if the camera that registered your vehicle speeding is no longer in use.

Fines are usually issued within five-10 days if caught by a fixed camera, or two-four weeks if caught by a mobile radar. 

Notices after being stopped by authorities usually take up to 15 days to arrive.

The penalties are sent by physical mail, using the address linked to your vehicle registration (certificat d’immatriculation or carte grise), so it is important to update this information if you move. 

Failure to do so means you are likely to miss fines sent to your home, which was the case last year for a driver in Clermont-Ferrand who amassed over €14,000 in fines after failing to notify driving authorities of a recent move. 

If you believe you should have received a penalty notice (for example, you saw your vehicle be flashed) but you have not done so within around two weeks ensure that the authorities have the correct address information for you.

This can be updated online – read instructions on how to do so in our article.

Read more: Driving in France: what are the acceptable ‘error’ margins of speed cameras?

Check for outstanding fines online

Fines being sent by the post pose issues in particular for second-home owners worried they may miss a notice. 

Driving authorities do not send texts or emails notifying drivers of a fine – if you receive one of these, especially one with a link asking you to pay, it is likely to be a scam.

If you have received a fine notice and want to find out further information – such as whether the payment for it has gone through – you can do this online through the official ANTAI website. 

You will need to provide information about yourself and your vehicle, as well as the numéro d'avis or référence de l'amende forfaitaire majorée from the notice itself (the website explains where these can be found). 

If you are unsure about the status of a potential fine that you have not received, you can contact your local Trésor to see if there are any outstanding fines under your name. 

You must ask for a bordereau de situation des amendes et condamnations pécuniaires (BSACP).

The request must be made with a written letter addressed to your local Trésor (you can find this via an online search for ‘Trésorerie amendes’ plus the name of your department).

The letter must include your civil information (ID, address, etc) and information about the vehicle. A full checklist can be found in a previous article.

Note that in several but not all situations it is possible to contest a driving fine. 

Read more: Is it necessary to pay a French driving fine before contesting it?