Fines (Guide)

Paying A Fine

Payments are made to the jurisdictions Court, NOT a solicitor, and there are four ways to pay a fine, however not every type of fine can be paid online (see below):


Fines for Speeding or Red Light Offences

Fines issued by the Police and Safety Camera Partnerships for speeding or red light offences are not payable online as your driving record must be endorsed with penalty points. You must post your payment and licence to any sheriff court, or take these to the court in person. Your licence means either your photocard, or your old style paper licence (i.e. a licence introduced before the photocard was introduced in 1998). If you send your licence counterpart it will be sent to DVLA for destruction.

You can check your “Driving Record” by contacting the DVLA online at www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence or by telephone by contacting the DVLA enquiry line on 0300 790 6801.

Any concerns about the destruction of counterparts should be directed to DVLA


Fines for Other Traffic Offences

If the bottom of your ticket is marked ‘ENDORSABLE’, it will not be payable online as your driving record must be endorsed with penalty points. You must post your payment and licence to Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Central Processing Unit, PO Box 23, Glasgow, G5 9DA or go in person to any Scottish court. Your licence means either your photocard, or your old style paper licence (i.e. a licence introduced before the photocard was introduced in 1998). If you send your licence counterpart it will be sent to DVLA for destruction.


Fines Enforcement (Recovery)

From 10 March 2008 there were changes to the fines enforcement process throughout Scotland. From 23 February 2009 these will apply to the Justice of the Peace Courts in Tayside, Central and Fife.

A major change was the introduction of Fines Enforcement Officers. The main role of a Fines Enforcement Officer is to:

  • Make the enforcement of fines and financial penalties more effective and efficient;
  • Give information and advice to offenders about how to make payments;
  • Give advice and assistance to those that want to pay but have a genuine difficulty in paying; and
  • Use a range of sanctions against those who can pay but choose not to pay.

To assist the Fines Enforcement Officer, when a court imposes a financial penalty, it can also make an Enforcement Order.

If an offender defaults in payment of their fine or financial penalty, the Enforcement Order allows the Fines Enforcement Officer to:

  • Take money directly from the offender’s benefits
  • Take money from the offender’s earnings
  • Arrest funds in the offender’s bank or building society account
  • Seize a vehicle belonging to the offender. The vehicle can be sold to clear the unpaid fine or financial penalty.

A Fines Enforcement Officer can also refer an offender back to the court where the ultimate sanction might be imprisonment or a Supervised Attendance Order.


For more information, visit the Scottish Court Service website: www.scotcourts.gov.uk