Traffic Fine Lookup

How much is a speeding ticket in Delaware?

amounts written into the statute · 4 tiers · every row cited · sources retrieved 2026-07-17

$119state-set

15 mph over the limit, first offense, paid by voluntary assessment (without appearing in court) — the full arithmetic is on this page.

Delaware writes speeding fines into state law itself — 1-5 mph over: $96 · 6-15 mph over: $105 – $119 · 16-19 mph over: $144 – $153. Where mandatory surcharges attach on top, this page itemizes them with their statutes. For 15 mph over the limit, the all-in figure is $119. What raises it: subsequent offense (within 24 months); work zone / residence district electronic speed monitoring (civil). Reckless driving by absolute speed — a criminal charge, outside a fine table's scope, noted here as a fact. Points: Delaware's DMV operates a driver-improvement point system, but its current per-offense point values for speeding are published only through the DMV's script-driven website and could not be verified from a fetchable official document for this build — no point values are asserted here (an honest hole; see caveats). Every row on this page carries its citation — 9 primary sources (statute text, court fine schedules, DMV publications), each with a retrieval date, plus the local-variation caveat that applies in Delaware. This is a reference to what the law and the schedules print; it is not legal advice.

How Delaware sets it Delaware's statute prices the fine to the exact mph: $20 base for a first offense, plus $1 per mph over the limit once you're more than 5 over, $2 per mph at 16-19 over, and $3 per mph at 20+ (all counted from the limit, not from the threshold). What triples the check is the statewide add-on stack — court costs, an 18%-of-fine victim compensation assessment (minimum $10), a 50%-of-fine transportation fund fee, and four flat funds — all itemized by the Justice of the Peace Court itself. A $35 fine for 15 over becomes $118.50 paid by mail.

The fine, tier by tier

Speeding fines in Delaware by speed over the limit. “Base fine” is what the statute or schedule names; “what you actually owe” includes the mandatory add-ons where state law fixes them.
Speed over the limit Base fine What you actually owe Citation
1-5 mph over the limit $20 state-set $96 state-set 21 Del. C. §4169(c)(1); JP Court fines/costs explanation

First offense: $20 flat (no per-mile addition at 5 or less over). Total shown is the voluntary-assessment (pay-by-mail/online) path: fine + $20 costs + $10 victim compensation + $1 videophone + $10 transportation fund (50% of fine) + $10 court security + $10 ambulance fund + $15 violent-crimes fund. Paying after a court hearing raises costs from $20 to $35.
6-15 mph over the limit $26 – $35 state-set $105 – $119 state-set 21 Del. C. §4169(c)(1)-(2); JP Court fines/costs explanation

First offense: $20 + $1 for EACH mph over the limit ($26 at 6 over, $35 at 15 over). Totals are the voluntary-assessment path with every statutory add-on itemized under add-ons.
16-19 mph over the limit $52 – $58 state-set $144 – $153 state-set 21 Del. C. §4169(c)(1), (c)(3); JP Court fines/costs explanation

First offense: $20 + $2 for each mph over the limit ($52 at 16 over, $58 at 19 over). At the top of this band the 18% victim compensation assessment ($10.44 on a $58 fine) exceeds its $10 floor, which is why the high end carries cents.
20+ mph over the limit at least $80 cap only at least $190 cap only 21 Del. C. §4169(c)(1), (c)(4); JP Court fines/costs explanation

First offense: $20 + $3 for each mph over the limit — $80 at exactly 20 over, growing $3 per additional mph with no statutory cap. The total floor shown is the voluntary-assessment stack at 20 over ($80 fine + $56 in fixed items + $14.40 victim compensation at 18% + $40 transportation trust fund at 50%); it rises with speed.

The mandatory add-ons

These attach on top of whatever fine the court sets:

Add-on How it is computed Citation
Court costs (voluntary assessment) $20 flat when paid through the voluntary assessment center (mail/online/kiosk); $35 if the case is taken before a judge JP Court Criminal Rule 58, per the JP Court fines/costs explanation
Victims' Compensation Fund assessment 18% of the fine or $10, whichever is greater — cannot be suspended 11 Del. C. §9016(a)
Transportation Trust Fund fee 50% of the base fine (Title 21 cases only) 11 Del. C. §4101(g), per the JP Court fines/costs explanation
Fund to Combat Violent Crimes (police fund) $15 flat on any criminal or traffic charge — may not be suspended 11 Del. C. §4101(h), per the JP Court fines/costs explanation
Court security assessment $10 flat on each traffic charge, including voluntary assessments 10 Del. C. §8505(a)
Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund fee $10 flat on all Title 21 violations — may not be suspended 11 Del. C. §4101(j), per the JP Court fines/costs explanation
Videophone Fund assessment $1 flat on criminal/traffic charges (not civil) — shall not be suspended 11 Del. C. §4101(d), per the JP Court fines/costs explanation

Worked example: 15 mph over the limit, first offense, paid by voluntary assessment (without appearing in court)

Line Amount Citation
Fine — $20 base + $1 x 15 mph over $35 21 Del. C. §4169(c)(1)-(2)
Court costs (voluntary assessment) $20 JP Court Criminal Rule 58, per JP Court explanation
Victims' Compensation Fund — 18% of fine or $10 minimum ($6.30 < $10, so $10) $10 11 Del. C. §9016(a)
Videophone Fund $1 11 Del. C. §4101(d)
Transportation Trust Fund — 50% of the fine $18 11 Del. C. §4101(g)
Court security assessment $10 10 Del. C. §8505(a)
Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund $10 11 Del. C. §4101(j)
Fund to Combat Violent Crimes $15 11 Del. C. §4101(h)
Total $119 state-set lines sum to $119

The $35 statutory fine is less than a third of the payment: seven statewide assessments — two computed from the fine (18% victim compensation with a $10 floor, 50% transportation fund) and five flat — bring the voluntary-assessment total to $118.50. The structure mirrors the JP Court's own published sample (9 mph over: $29 fine, $109.50 total). Choosing a court hearing instead makes the costs line $35 rather than $20, and second offenses within 24 months carry a $25 base and higher per-mile rates.

What raises it

License points

Delaware's DMV operates a driver-improvement point system, but its current per-offense point values for speeding are published only through the DMV's script-driven website and could not be verified from a fetchable official document for this build — no point values are asserted here (an honest hole; see caveats).

Accumulation consequences (behavior conferences, suspension thresholds) are administered by the DMV's driver improvement program; thresholds are not asserted here for the same sourcing reason. (Delaware DMV, Driver Services — Driver Improvement (dmv.de.gov))

When a court appearance is required

Speeding under §4169 is a 'motor vehicle offense subject to voluntary assessment' (it is not on the §709(e) exclusion list), so a driver offered voluntary assessment may pay within 30 days without appearing. Appearance is required when the officer does not offer voluntary assessment, when the driver requests a hearing, or when payment is not made within 30 days of arrest. (21 Del. C. §709(a), (e), (f))

Where speed becomes a criminal charge

Criminal penalties are a courtroom matter and outside a fine table's scope — this page records the threshold as a fact and stops there.

Local variation — the honest caveat

The fine formula and every assessment are statewide statutes — no county or municipal speeding schedules. The variables are procedural: paying by voluntary assessment carries $20 costs while a courtroom disposition carries $35 (and judge-set fines within the statute), and a case heard in a different court than a Justice of the Peace Court may carry that court's cost figures. (21 Del. C. §4169(c); §709; JP Court fines/costs explanation)

Sources

Every figure above was compiled from these sources, with a verbatim quote of the sentence carrying each number stored in the dataset so any row can be re-checked against its origin.

This is not legal advice This page republishes what Delaware's statutes, court fine schedules, and driver-licensing publications print, for reference. Amounts change on legislative cycles, and the court named on a citation is the authority on what is owed in that court. Nothing here is advice about any citation or case.