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Traffic · United Kingdom

Notice of Intended Prosecution and Section 172 notice

Two things arrive in one envelope: a warning that a driving offence may be prosecuted, and a legal demand to say who was at the wheel. The second one is the dangerous half.

How serious: enforcement closeAlso called: NIP, s172 notice, request for driver's details, speeding notice

The Notice of Intended Prosecution tells the registered keeper that an offence — most often speeding caught by a camera — is being considered for prosecution. It normally has to reach the keeper within 14 days of the alleged offence.

Attached to it is the Section 172 notice: a demand under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to identify the driver. Answering it is a duty in its own right, and it is enforced separately from the offence the camera recorded.

People who put the envelope aside because they intend to dispute the speeding allegation often end up prosecuted for the paperwork instead, which carries a heavier endorsement than the speeding would have.

Who sends it

The police force for the area where the alleged offence happened, usually through its central ticket office or safety camera unit.

Look for the words 'Notice of Intended Prosecution' and 'Section 172', a vehicle registration mark, the date, time and location of the alleged offence, and a form asking for the driver's name, address and licence number.

The deadline

The Section 172 notice must be answered within 28 days beginning with the day it is served (Road Traffic Act 1988 s.172(7)(a)).

The Section 172 notice must be answered within 28 days beginning with the day it is served (Road Traffic Act 1988, s.172(7)(a)). The Notice of Intended Prosecution itself normally has to reach the registered keeper within 14 days of the alleged offence.

If you do nothing

Failing to return the Section 172 notice is an offence in itself under s.172(3), separate from the alleged driving offence. It is endorsed as MS90 — 'Failure to give information as to identity of driver' — which carries 6 penalty points and stays on the driving record for four years. The statutory defence in s.172(4) is that the keeper did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained who was driving.

Compute your date

The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.

How it escalates

  1. 01The police may prosecute for failing to give driver information under s.172(3), instead of or as well as the original offence.
  2. 02Conviction is endorsed MS90: 6 penalty points and a fine set by the court.
  3. 03Once the driver is identified, the case continues either as a conditional offer of a fixed penalty or as a court summons.
  4. 04Twelve points within three years brings the totting-up disqualification rules into play.

Your options, procedurally

  • Return the Section 172 notice naming the driver, within 28 days of service — the duty stands whatever the keeper thinks of the alleged offence.
  • Where the keeper genuinely cannot say who was driving, s.172(4) requires showing that the driver could not be ascertained with reasonable diligence; the notice is still returned, listing everyone with access to the vehicle.
  • Where a conditional offer of a fixed penalty follows, it can be accepted by paying and sending the licence, or declined so the matter goes before a court.
  • Some forces offer a speed awareness course instead of points; the offer comes from the force and cannot be demanded.

How to respond

Response types

  • Ask for clarificationSection 172 response naming the driver · Road Traffic Act 1988, s.172(2) · The Section 172 notice served with the NIP (returned completed and signed)
  • Confirm receiptSection 172 response where the keeper cannot identify the driver · Road Traffic Act 1988, s.172(4) · The Section 172 notice served with the NIP
  • Ask for more timeRequest for more time to identify the driver

Common questions

The car is registered to me but someone else was driving. What do I put?

The Section 172 notice asks for the driver's name, address and licence details, and that is what it is answered with. The person named then receives their own notice.

I want to dispute the speeding. Do I still return the form?

The two are separate. The Section 172 duty is enforced on its own, and disputing the alleged offence happens later — through the fixed penalty route or in court.

The notice arrived more than 14 days after the date of the offence.

The 14-day rule applies to service of the Notice of Intended Prosecution on the registered keeper. Whether it was met in a given case is a question for the court, and it does not suspend the 28-day duty to answer the Section 172 notice.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 10 September 2026.