Does the NIP have to arrive within 14 days?

No — it must be sent within 14 days. The courts have held that correct posting within the window is sufficient; proof of receipt is not required. However, if the keeper can show it was posted late, the prosecution may be barred.

What if I was not the driver?

You must still respond to the NIP (and any accompanying Section 172 notice) by identifying who was driving. Failing to identify the driver is itself a criminal offence under s.172 Road Traffic Act 1988, carrying 6 penalty points and a fine.

Can I ignore a NIP if I think it was sent late?

No. Ignoring it creates a separate offence. Raise the late-service point in your formal response or with a solicitor, but do not simply ignore the NIP.

NIP (Notice of Intended Prosecution)

By GetRighted Legal Research TeamLast updated July 2026

Summary

Before prosecuting most road traffic offences — including speeding, dangerous driving, and careless driving — the police must serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) on the registered keeper within 14 days of the alleged offence. This requirement comes from s.1 Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. The 14-day clock runs from the date of the offence, not from when police reviewed the camera footage. If no NIP arrives in time and the driver was not stopped and warned at the scene, the prosecution is time-barred for those offences.

What a NIP is and why it exists

A Notice of Intended Prosecution is a statutory warning that tells you — or the registered keeper — that a prosecution is being considered for a specified offence at a specified time and place. Parliament introduced the requirement in the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 because road traffic events are brief; without timely notice, a driver might not remember the circumstances well enough to mount a proper defence. The NIP can be served verbally at the roadside (if the officer stops you), by posting it to the registered keeper at the address held by the DVLA, or by handing it directly to the driver.

The 14-day rule in practice

Section 1 RTOA 1988 requires the NIP to be served within 14 days of the offence. For camera-detected offences, the police post the NIP to the registered keeper's DVLA address. The courts have held that posting the NIP is sufficient — the prosecution does not have to prove receipt, only that it was correctly addressed and posted within the window (R v Gidden [2009] EWHC 2666). However, if the DVLA holds a stale address and the keeper updated it late, this can give rise to arguments about valid service.

When the 14-day rule does not apply

The NIP requirement only applies to specific offences listed in s.1 RTOA 1988 — speeding, careless driving, dangerous driving, and a handful of others. It does not apply to drink-driving, drug-driving, or driving without insurance. Also, if the police stopped you at the scene and warned you verbally, that warning counts as the NIP — no postal notice is required.

Checking whether your NIP was valid

✓Note the date of the alleged offence and the date shown on the NIP envelope or letter head.
✓If the postmark is more than 14 days after the offence date, photograph it and keep the envelope.
✓Check whether you were stopped and warned at the scene — if so, the verbal warning counts.
✓Verify the address on the NIP matches your DVLA-registered address at the time.
✓If the NIP appears late or wrongly addressed, raise this in your Section 172 response or at court.

What happens after the NIP

Receiving a NIP does not mean you will be charged. It is a prerequisite to prosecution, not a summons. After issuing the NIP, police will typically send a Section 172 notice asking you to identify the driver. If the offence is detected by a fixed camera and the speed is not excessive, a conditional offer of a fixed penalty or a speed awareness course may follow rather than a court summons.

Sources

Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s.1
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.172
R v Gidden [2009] EWHC 2666 (Admin)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the NIP have to arrive within 14 days?: No — it must be sent within 14 days. The courts have held that correct posting within the window is sufficient; proof of receipt is not required. However, if the keeper can show it was posted late, the prosecution may be barred.
What if I was not the driver?: You must still respond to the NIP (and any accompanying Section 172 notice) by identifying who was driving. Failing to identify the driver is itself a criminal offence under s.172 Road Traffic Act 1988, carrying 6 penalty points and a fine.
Can I ignore a NIP if I think it was sent late?: No. Ignoring it creates a separate offence. Raise the late-service point in your formal response or with a solicitor, but do not simply ignore the NIP.

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