Civil Litigation & Business Disputes
Pennsylvania Speeding Tickets & Points
Last updated June 2026
8 min read
✓ Verified Jun. 2026The cheapest path with a speeding ticket is to mail in the fine and forget about it. The math on that path is worse than most people think. The fine is the small piece. The points stay on your driving record. The insurance premium goes up at renewal. If you collect another ticket or two in the next few years, you hit a license suspension that PennDOT imposes automatically with no further opportunity to contest the underlying tickets. By the time the suspension notice arrives, the deadline to fight the original citation is long gone.
Paying a citation by mail is a guilty plea. Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 460(a), the conviction is entered on the date the magisterial district judge records the plea in the MDJ computer system. From that date, three things happen on their own without further action by you or by the court:
None of this is reversible by calling the prosecutor or writing a letter. The only mechanism PA law provides is a timely de novo appeal to the Court of Common Pleas under Pa.R.Crim.P. 462.
The point schedule lives at 75 Pa.C.S. § 1535. For speeding under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3362 (the general maximum-speed-limit statute), the schedule assigns points based on how many miles per hour you were over the posted limit:
| Miles per hour over the limit | Points | Additional consequence |
|---|---|---|
| 6-10 mph over | 2 | None |
| 11-15 mph over | 3 | None |
| 16-25 mph over | 4 | None |
| 26-30 mph over | 5 | None |
| 31+ mph over | 5 | Mandatory departmental hearing and possible 15-day suspension under § 1538(d) |
A few other commonly-charged Vehicle Code offenses and their point assignments under § 1535(a):
Two procedural rules from § 1535 worth knowing:
Multiple offenses from the same incident. Under § 1535(b), if you are convicted of § 3361 (driving too fast for conditions) or § 3714 (careless driving) at the same time and place as another points-eligible offense, no points are assigned for the § 3361 or § 3714 charge if points are assigned for the other offense. The two charges do not stack for points purposes.
Six-month assignment window. Under § 1535(c), PennDOT has six months from the date of conviction to assign points to your record. Points added after that six-month window are void.
Work-zone speeding. Under § 1535(e), if you are convicted of speeding 11 mph or more over the limit in an active work zone, PennDOT must impose a 15-day suspension in addition to the regular points.
Pennsylvania has two separate point-based mechanisms that escalate as your point total climbs.
The first time your record shows 6 or more points, PennDOT will send you a notice under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1538(a) requiring you to either:
You pick one or the other. If you do nothing, § 1538(a)(3) suspends your operating privilege until you complete the school or pass the exam.
If your record was reduced below 6 points and then climbs back to 6 or more, § 1538(b) requires both a departmental hearing and the driver improvement school. The hearing examiner can recommend:
Two points come off after you complete the imposed sanctions. Failing to attend the hearing or comply triggers an open-ended suspension that does not lift until you do.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1539, when your record reaches 11 points, PennDOT must suspend your license. The duration scales with how many prior suspensions you have had under this section:
| Which suspension | Length |
|---|---|
| First suspension under § 1539 | 5 days per point |
| Second suspension | 10 days per point |
| Third suspension | 15 days per point |
| Fourth or any subsequent suspension | 1 year (flat) |
For a driver with 11 points on a first suspension, that is 55 days. For the same point total on a fourth or later suspension, it is a full year. Under § 1539(c), every prior suspension or revocation under this subchapter counts toward determining whether the current suspension is a first, second, third, or subsequent one. Acceptance of ARD for a § 1532 offense or a § 3802 DUI also counts as a prior suspension for purposes of the count.
Section 1539 suspensions are imposed in addition to any other suspension. They do not absorb the work-zone or excessive-speeding suspensions discussed elsewhere on this page.
A conviction for speeding 31 mph or more over the limit triggers § 1538(d) regardless of your point total. You will be required to attend both a departmental hearing and a driver improvement school. The hearing examiner can recommend a suspension up to 15 days, and PennDOT must impose at least one sanction.
Under § 1538(e), an additional suspension is imposed if, before age 18, the driver either (i) violates § 3362 by 26 mph or more over the limit, or (ii) accumulates 6 or more points under § 1535. The first such suspension is 90 days. Subsequent ones are 120 days. These suspensions are imposed consecutively to each other and to any other suspension.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1537(a), 3 points come off your record for each 12 consecutive months during which you are not under suspension or revocation and have not committed any violation that results in points or in a suspension or revocation.
Once your record is reduced to zero and stays at zero for 12 consecutive months, § 1537(b) treats any future point accumulation as an initial accumulation. That matters because the harsher consequences under § 1538(b) and § 1539 turn on whether you are at 6 points (or 11 points) for the first time, second time, or beyond.
Speed-related citations are sometimes written or pleaded down to charges that are technically not "speeding" under the points schedule but carry their own consequences.
Careless driving (75 Pa.C.S. § 3714). A summary offense for driving in careless disregard for the safety of persons or property. Subsection (a) carries 3 points under § 1535. If the careless driving unintentionally causes the death of another person, § 3714(b) requires a $500 fine on conviction. If it causes serious bodily injury, § 3714(c) requires a $250 fine.
Reckless driving (75 Pa.C.S. § 3736). A summary offense for driving in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. The fine is $200, but the bigger consequence sits in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1532(b)(1), which mandates a six-month license suspension on a reckless driving conviction. Reckless driving is the charge officers escalate to when the speed is dangerously high or coupled with aggressive driving, and it is the charge most worth fighting because of the suspension.
Racing (§ 3367), careless driving with unintentional death (§ 3714(b)), and certain accident-related offenses. All trigger a 6-month suspension under § 1532(b)(1) on conviction.
Two technical rules govern how speeding citations have to be written and how the underlying speed evidence has to be gathered. Defects on either front can defeat a citation.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3366, every charge of violating a speed provision in the subchapter, except for a violation of § 3361 (driving too fast for conditions), must specify the actual speed at which the defendant was alleged to have driven and the applicable speed limit. A citation that lists only one of those two numbers, or that lists neither, is fatally defective. The Superior Court enforced this requirement in Commonwealth v. Morris, 268 Pa. Super. 269 (1979), dismissing a § 3367 racing complaint because it failed to specify speed.
The rules in 75 Pa.C.S. § 3368 govern how speed can be measured for prosecution. The provisions that matter most often:
These rules are why expired calibration certificates and undocumented speed-timing methods continue to be productive defenses.
The base fine under § 3362(c) is $42.50 for violating a maximum speed limit of 65 mph or higher and $35 for violating any other maximum speed limit, plus an additional $2 per mile for each mile in excess of 5 miles per hour over the limit. Court costs, the Judicial Computer Project fee, and the EMS surcharge typically push the actual amount due into the $150-$350 range depending on speed.
Most speeding tickets get defended on one of a few common fronts:
The citation does not specify speed and limit (§ 3366). Look at the citation. Is the actual speed filled in? Is the posted limit filled in? If either is missing on a non-§ 3361 charge, the citation is defective.
The speed-timing method is improper or undocumented. Was the device used legally permitted in the hands of the officer who used it (municipal police cannot use radar under § 3368(c)(2))? Was the device calibrated within the required period (one year for radar, 60 days for other devices under § 3368(d))? Does the Commonwealth have the calibration certificate available?
The minimum mph requirement is not met (§ 3368(c)(4)). Was the recorded speed at least 6 mph over for radar or a two-sensor device? For two-sensor devices in a sub-55 zone, was it at least 10 mph over? The § 3368(c)(4) minimum does not apply to LIDAR.
The posted speed limit was not lawfully posted (§ 3362(b)). Speed limits established under § 3362(a)(1), (1.2), or (3) require posted signs at the beginning and end of each speed zone and at intervals not greater than one-half mile. The Commonwealth must prove the posting if challenged.
Negotiated reduction. Many speeding charges resolve by plea to § 3361 (driving too fast for conditions, 2 points) or to a non-moving violation. Whether this is available depends on the officer, the prosecutor, your driving history, and the charge level.
If the MDJ finds you guilty, Pa.R.Crim.P. 460 gives you 30 days from the entry of the conviction to file a notice of appeal with the clerk of courts. The notice must contain ten specific pieces of information listed in Rule 460(b), including the appellant's name and address, the issuing authority, the magisterial district number, the affiant on the citation, the date of the conviction, the offenses, the sentence, the bail (if any), defense counsel's information (if any), and (except for guilty pleas and convictions) the grounds for the appeal.
Within 20 days of receiving the notice of appeal, Rule 460(d) requires the MDJ to file with the clerk of courts the transcript of the proceedings, the original complaint or citation, the summons or warrant of arrest, and any bail bond. Under Rule 460(f), this appeal procedure is the exclusive means of appealing a summary guilty plea or conviction. Courts of common pleas may not issue writs of certiorari in summary cases.
The appeal is heard as a trial de novo under Pa.R.Crim.P. 462. The entire case is tried fresh before a Court of Common Pleas judge sitting without a jury. The Commonwealth has to prove the case again. The MDJ's finding is not entitled to deference.
Two features of Rule 462 are particularly important on a Vehicle Code summary appeal:
The officer must appear (Rule 462(C)). In appeals from summary proceedings arising under the Vehicle Code or local traffic ordinances, the law enforcement officer who observed the alleged offense must appear and testify. Failure of the officer to appear results in dismissal of the charges unless the defendant waives the appearance in open court or in writing, or the trial judge finds good cause for the unavailability and grants a continuance. This procedural rule is the reason many speeding-ticket appeals are dismissed without a trial.
Nunc pro tunc relief is narrow (Rule 462(F)). If you miss the 30-day deadline, you can petition the Court of Common Pleas to permit the appeal nunc pro tunc. The standard is demanding and generally requires a showing of fraud, a breakdown in court operations, or extraordinary circumstances outside your control. Missing the deadline because you forgot, did not read the mail, or did not realize how the points system works does not meet the standard. If the petition is denied, the MDJ conviction stands.
In Bucks County, summary appeals are heard by the Criminal Division of the Court of Common Pleas at the Bucks County Justice Center, 100 North Main Street, Doylestown, PA 18901, regardless of which MDJ district the citation originated in. For a directory of all 18 districts, see our Bucks County Magisterial District Courts page.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1535, points scale with how fast you were over: 2 points for 6-10 mph over, 3 for 11-15, 4 for 16-25, 5 for 26-30, and 5 plus a mandatory hearing under § 1538(d) for 31+ over.
Two thresholds. The first time you hit 6 points, § 1538(a) requires either driver improvement school or a special exam (no automatic suspension, but failure to comply triggers one). At 11 points, § 1539 imposes a mandatory suspension: 5 days per point on the first, 10 on the second, 15 on the third, and a flat one-year suspension on the fourth or subsequent.
Under § 1537, three points come off for every 12 consecutive months without a suspension, revocation, or new points-eligible violation. Once you reach zero and stay at zero for 12 months, any new points are treated as an initial accumulation for purposes of the § 1538(b) and § 1539 escalation rules.
Only the Pennsylvania State Police can use radar or LIDAR under § 3368(c)(2) and (c)(5). Municipal officers in Bucks County must use other methods (speedometer pacing under § 3368(a), or two-sensor electronic timing devices under § 3368(c)(3)).
The calibration certificate is prima facie evidence under § 3368(d). Radar must be calibrated within one year of the violation; other devices within 60 days. If the Commonwealth cannot produce the certificate or the certificate is expired, the speed evidence is not admissible.
Under § 3368(c)(4), no conviction on radar or two-sensor-device evidence unless the recorded speed is 6 or more miles per hour over the limit. For two-sensor devices in areas where the limit is less than 55 mph, the minimum is 10 mph over. Neither minimum applies in a school zone or active work zone. The § 3368(c)(4) threshold does not apply to LIDAR.
Generally no. Paying the citation is a guilty plea entered when the MDJ records it under Rule 460. The 30-day appeal window under Rule 460(a) runs from that entry. After 30 days, the only remaining option is a petition for nunc pro tunc relief under Rule 462(F), which requires showing fraud, a breakdown in court operations, or extraordinary circumstances outside your control. Forgetting or misunderstanding the consequences is not enough.
I defend speeding and Vehicle Code citations across all 18 Bucks County magisterial districts and on appeal to the Court of Common Pleas in Doylestown. If you have a citation or are facing a suspension notice under §§ 1538 or 1539, call 215-949-0888 or request a free consultation. The 30-day appeal window is short, so it is worth getting advice early.
Statutory content on this page was last verified against Pennsylvania statutes (20 Pa.C.S.; 72 P.S. Art. XXI): Jun. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.
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