Fixed Charge Notices

This information is intended only to provide additional information which may assist you in understanding the contents of the Notice.

A total of 56 days is permitted by law for the payment of a fixed charge. The initial period of 28 days from the date of the Fixed Charge Notice allows for payment at the fixed charge amount. A further period of 28 days is permitted to accept payment at the fixed charge amount plus 50% of the fixed charge amount. After 56 days, payment cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

An Garda Síochána is governed by legislation regarding the time periods for nominating drivers and accepting payments. No discretion is allowed with regard to extending these time periods.

*Please note that these web pages do not amount to a legal document and are for guidance only. The information contained in these pages is designed to assist in resolving matters arising during the processing of Fixed Charge Notices and should not be read as an interpretation of the law.  

Alleged Offence

This section of the notice explains the nature or type of offence the Fixed Charge Notice has been issued for. It contains the date, time, and location of the alleged offence, and the registration number of the vehicle involved. If the notice relates to an alleged speeding offence, this section also includes the speed recorded and the speed limit. The time periods permitted start from the date of the Fixed Charge Notice and not the date of the offence.

Payments

The full Fixed Charge Notice must accompany any payment. It is a legal requirement that the Declaration Section on a Fixed Charge Notice for a penalty point offence (see footer on back of notice) be fully completed and signed in order for the payment to be processed.

Paying at a Post Office

You can pay by Cheque, Postal Order, Bank Draft, Cash or Debit card at any Post Office. Debit cards issued by banks outside of Ireland are not accepted.  When paying by post It is advised that you have your driving licence with you when paying. When paying at a Post Office, Cheques, Postal Orders, and Bank Drafts should be made payable to "An Post".

Paying by Post

Postal payments must be addressed to An Garda Síochána, P.O. Box 55, Kilrush, Co Clare. A pre-addressed envelope is enclosed with the Fixed Charge Notice. Payment may be made by Cheque, Postal Order, Bank Draft, Cash, Credit Card or Debit Card. Debit cards issued by banks outside of Ireland are not accepted.  When paying by post. Cheques, Postal Orders, and Bank Drafts should be made payable to Member in Charge. Please pay postage in full to ensure arrival.

Paying Online

Non-Penalty Point Offences Payments can now be paid online through An Post via the following link:

An Post online payment facility

Payment of Penalty Point Offences must be made by post or at a post office.

Payments are not to be sent to the Fixed Charge Processing Office

By law, payment can only be made in the manner specified in the Fixed Charge Notice i.e. at a Post office or by post to An Garda Síochána, P.O. Box 55, Kilrush, Co. Clare. Payments cannot be accepted in the Fixed Charge Processing Office. Any payments sent to the Fixed Charge Processing Office will be forwarded to the payments office in Kilrush.

One Cheque per Payment

Only one cheque for the full amount will be accepted per payment. If payment is sent in the form of two cheques for separate amounts, it will be rejected. This is to avoid situations where one of the furnished cheques is dishonoured while the other is accepted, thus leading to a part-payment of the fixed charge, which is not permitted under the legislation.

Adjustment of Credit/Debit Card Payment

When paying by Credit or Debit Card, where an incorrect amount has been indicated by you, the correct amount will be charged to your card. Please note that payment by Credit Card or Debit Card will appear on your Statement as Billpay - An Post. This reflects that the payment was processed by An Post on behalf of An Garda Síochána.

Copy of Driving Licence

It is strongly recommended that you provide a photocopy of your driving licence in order to assist in payment processing. In order to validate Driving Licence numbers entered on Fixed Charge Notices, An Garda Síochána uses data provided by the Department of Transport. This is to avoid delays where licence details are unclear or a conflict exists between the data provided on the Fixed Charge Notice and the Department of Transport data. In order to assist in the validation process, in the case of Non-Irish Driving Licences, a photocopy of the licence must be provided in order for the payment to be processed.

Declaration section/Driving licence number

On paper licences, the driver number is the number in BLACK print on the first page of the licence to the left of the photo. On plastic card licences/permits, the driver number required is at 4d.

Name

The declaration section requires the driver to fill in their full name, as per his or her Driving Licence, in the space provided. For example, if the name on the notice is John Smith, and the Driver’s Licence gives the name as John Patrick Smith, the name John Patrick Smith must be entered in the Declaration Section. If this is filled in incorrectly, payment will not be accepted.

Nominations

If you were not driving, or otherwise using the vehicle on the date of the offence, the Statement of Nomination of Name and Address of Driver of Vehicle section on the Fixed Charge Notice must be completed by the registered owner, not the driver, and the full notice must be returned to the Fixed Charge Processing Office. Under current legislation, a notice containing the completed Statement of Nomination of Name and Address of Driver of Vehicle section must be completed and sent to the Fixed Charge Processing Office within 28 days of the date of the notice.

Nominations sent after 28 days cannot be processed and the FCN remains the responsibility of the registered owner. In the case of Penalty Point offences, if the registered owner of the vehicle is a company, or a person trading as a company, the only requirement on the registered owner is to nominate the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence.

If the offence is a Non-Penalty Point offence, the registered owner may pay the fixed charge as outlined in the notice, without having to nominate a driver.

If you are nominating someone who is under 18 years of age, the date of birth must be filled in on the nomination section, and a copy of the birth certificate sent in with the nomination.

No payments are required when making a nomination, as a new Fixed Charge Notice will be issued to the driver. The 56 day payment period will begin again from the issue date of the new notice.

The full name and address of the person using the vehicle at the time of the offence must be provided by the registered owner. Care must be taken to nominate the correct driver as falsely nominating a person is a serious offence and may lead to a prosecution.

Court Convictions

If you are convicted of a fixed charge offence, the fine is paid to the Courts Service, not the Fixed Charge Processing Office. If you are appearing before a court for a road traffic offence, you must bring your driving licence to court, and present it to the court clerk for recording of the driver number.

Enquiries in relation to a Fixed Charge Offence

If you feel there has been an error with any details on the Fixed Charge Notice, then you should contact the Fixed Charge Processing Office by telephone at 0818 50 60 80 within Ireland or +353 504 59800 from outside the jurisdiction or by email at npo@garda.ie where you will be advised by a member of staff regarding your enquiry. Please note: While such enquiry is being processed, the time periods involved for payment and nomination purposes as outlined in the Fixed Charge Notice are not suspended. This means that the time continues during the period that the enquiry is being conducted. Any problems or difficulties highlighted by the enquiry must be acted upon immediately by the person named in the Fixed Charge Notice and contact made with the Fixed Charge Processing Office as soon as practical.

Lost/Misplaced Notices

If you have misplaced, lost or damaged your Fixed Charge Notice, contact the Fixed Charge Processing Office at 0818 50 60 80, or send an e-mail to npo@garda.ie, and a re-print of the notice will be sent to you by post. Please note again that time continues even when a re-print request is submitted.

Photograph Requests

This facility is only available for camera speeding detections (i.e. Fixed Charge Notice where reference number begins S00….). The applicable notices are identified by a cropped photograph of the registration number of the vehicle on the top right of the FCN, just below the reference number of the notice. If you want to get an enlarged copy of the photograph, the request must be made in writing, by fax to 353 504 59844, by post to the Fixed Charge Processing Office, Thurles, Co. Tipperary or by e-mail to npo@garda.ie. The photograph will then be issued by post. Such requests can only be processed for the registered owner or the nominated driver. The primary purpose of photographs is to identify the offending vehicle, and not the driver. The identification of the driver is the responsibility and legal requirement placed on the registered owner of the vehicle. Care must be taken to nominate the correct driver in each instance.

Juvenile Diversion Programme

If the recipient of a Fixed Charge Notice is under 18 years of age on the date of the offence, he/she is entitled to be considered for inclusion in the Juvenile Diversion Programme (JDP). The recipient of the notice should send a photocopy of the notice, along with a photocopy of their birth certificate, and a letter requesting inclusion in the JDP, to the Fixed Charge Processing Office, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. This should be done immediately, so that consideration can be given for inclusion in the JDP. Any request received without a copy of a Birth Certificate will not be processed and will be rejected. A Birth Certificate is the only acceptable form of age identification.