Traffic Fine Lookup

How much is a speeding ticket in Virginia?

statewide schedule — one set of amounts everywhere · 2 tiers · every row cited · sources retrieved 2026-07-17

$141state-set

15 mph over the limit, first offense, no special zone, prepaid without a court hearing — the full arithmetic is on this page.

Virginia runs a statewide schedule, so the number printed is the number you pay anywhere in the state — 1-19 mph over the limit (ordinary speeding): $57 – $165 · 20+ mph over the limit, or any speed over 85 mph: set by the local court. Those totals already include every mandatory assessment and surcharge, and this page itemizes each one with its statute. For 15 mph over the limit, the all-in figure is $141. What raises it: school crossing zone; highway work zone (workers present); signed residence district; highway safety corridor; driving over 80 mph in a 65-mph zone (below 86 mph); photo-monitored school crossing or highway work zone (10+ mph over). Reckless driving by speed — a criminal charge, outside a fine table's scope, noted here as a fact. Points: DMV demerit points scale with speed: 3 points for 1-9 mph over, 4 points for 10-19 over, and 6 points for 20+ over — the same 6 points as a reckless driving conviction. Speeding convictions stay on the DMV record for 5 years. 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 Virginia. This is a reference to what the law and the schedules print; it is not legal advice.

How Virginia sets it Virginia prices ordinary speeding by formula, not by tier: the Supreme Court of Virginia's Uniform Fine Schedule (Rule 3B:2) sets the prepayable fine at $6 for every mph over the limit, plus a fixed $51 processing fee, and clerks statewide may not charge anything different. The formula itself is written into statute ($6/$7/$8 per mph by zone type). The sharp edge is the top of the range: at 20 mph over the limit, or over 85 mph at any limit, the offense is defined as reckless driving — a criminal charge, not a prepayable ticket.

The fine, tier by tier

Speeding fines in Virginia 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
1-19 mph over the limit (ordinary speeding) $6 – $114 state-set $57 – $165 state-set Rules of Sup. Ct. of Va., Rule 3B:2; Va. Code §46.2-878.3; Va. Code §16.1-69.48:1(D)

The fine is $6 per mph over the limit ($6 at 1 over, $114 at 19 over); the total adds the fixed $51 district-court processing fee. Driving over 80 mph but under 86 mph on a 65-mph highway adds a further $100 statutory fine (Va. Code §46.2-878.3).
20+ mph over the limit, or any speed over 85 mph set by the local court court-set set by the local court court-set Va. Code §46.2-862; Va. Code §46.2-868(A); Va. Code §18.2-11(a)

At these speeds Virginia law defines the offense as reckless driving — a Class 1 misdemeanor handled in court, not a prepayable infraction (see the criminal-threshold box). No prepayable schedule amount is printed here. Where an officer instead writes the ticket as ordinary speeding under §46.2-870, the Rule 3B:2 rate ($6 per mph over, plus the $51 fee) governs prepayment, and DMV assigns 6 demerit points.

The mandatory add-ons

Already inside the totals above — this is the arithmetic that turns the base fine into the payment:

Add-on How it is computed Citation
Fixed traffic-infraction fee (processing fee) $51 flat, assessed as court costs on every prepaid or convicted traffic infraction in district court Va. Code §16.1-69.48:1(D); Rule 3B:2 processing-fee column

Worked example: 15 mph over the limit, first offense, no special zone, prepaid without a court hearing

Line Amount Citation
Fine — $6 x 15 mph over (Uniform Fine Schedule) $90 Rule 3B:2; Va. Code §46.2-878.3
Fixed traffic-infraction processing fee $51 Va. Code §16.1-69.48:1(D)
Total $141 state-set lines sum to $141

Prepaying a 15-over ticket costs $141 statewide: the $6-per-mph formula produces a $90 fine and the fixed $51 district-court fee is added as costs. The schedule is applied uniformly — a clerk or magistrate may not impose a different fine — but it does not restrict what a judge may impose if the case goes to a court hearing.

What raises it

License points

DMV demerit points scale with speed: 3 points for 1-9 mph over, 4 points for 10-19 over, and 6 points for 20+ over — the same 6 points as a reckless driving conviction. Speeding convictions stay on the DMV record for 5 years.

Violation Points
Speeding 1-9 mph over 3
Speeding 10-19 mph over 4
Speeding 20+ mph over 6
Reckless driving (including by speed) 6

DMV orders a driver improvement clinic at 12 demerit points in 12 months (or 18 in 24 months), and suspends the license for 90 days at 18 points in 12 months (or 24 in 24 months). (Virginia Driver's Manual (DMV 39), Section 5 — Penalties)

When a court appearance is required

Ordinary speeding under the listed statutes is prepayable by written waiver and payment. For traffic offenses not listed in the Uniform Fine Schedule — which is how reckless driving by speed is handled — a court hearing is required. (Rule 3B:2 (preamble))

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

Less local variance than almost any state: the Uniform Fine Schedule is applied statewide and a clerk or magistrate may not impose a different fine, whether the ticket is written under state law or a parallel local ordinance. The real variables are (1) a judge at a court hearing is not bound by the schedule, and (2) small local-option court fees (courthouse security under §53.1-120, criminal-justice academy under §9.1-106) can attach where a locality has adopted them. (Rule 3B:2 (preamble and fee notes); Va. Code §46.2-1300)

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 Virginia'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.