Sending a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) is the first step the police take when they are considering legal action against you for a motoring offence. The most common application of an NIP is when you have been caught speeding, although it can also be served for a range of other driving offences.

In most cases, the notice serves two purposes: 

1. To warn you of a potential prosecution
2. To ask for information about who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.

Depending on the offence and whether the police stop you at the time, the NIP may be issued verbally rather than you receiving a posted NIP to your address. The police must inform you of their intention to prosecute within 14 days of the alleged offence, and before sending a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN), whether that be immediately at the roadside, or via NIP 14 days post-alleged offence.

It is important to understand that you have options when you receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution. Notices do not mean that you will be prosecuted, only that the police may decide to do so, and not every NIP results in charges. A person prosecuted following an NIP will have the option to plead guilty to an offence or to defend themselves in court. Further, there are legal requirements that an NIP must meet, and if these are not satisfied, it may not be considered legally binding. 

Why Have I Received a Notice and What Steps Should I Take Next?

A Notice of Intended Prosecution will be issued by the police to inform the registered keeper of a vehicle that they may be prosecuted for a motoring offence such as speeding, dangerous or careless driving, or failing to stop at a red light. The NIP essentially acts as a warning that legal action may be initiated and is a legally required part of the process of prosecuting a driver for an alleged offence.

If you have received one, take the following steps:

1. Review the S172 Notice: As well as formally warning a potential defendant that they may face prosecution for an alleged offence, the NIP is a tool used by the police to establish the identity of the person driving the vehicle at the time. It is almost always accompanied by a Section 172 notice (under the Road Traffic Act 1988), which creates a legal obligation for you to provide this information.
2. Check the validity: For a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be valid, it must clearly specify certain details about the incident. You should check that the notice includes:

• The make, model, and registration number of the vehicle involved;
• The nature of the alleged offence (whether speeding, careless driving or something else); and
• The date, time and location where the offence allegedly occurred.

1. Comply with your legal obligation: The registered keeper of the vehicle has a legal obligation to identify the driver who was in control of the vehicle during the alleged offence. It is the responsibility of the registered keeper to take all reasonable steps to ascertain who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.

You have 28 days from the date you receive the notice to respond and provide the requested information. 

Please note that responding to the NIP is not an admission of guilt for the primary offence but fulfils your legal obligation under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Failing to do so can lead to a separate charge of failing to identify the driver, which is associated with stricter penalties than many of the most minor driving offences.

The 14-Day Rule for a Notice of Intended Prosecution

There are strict time limits within which NIPs must be issued by the police force local to where the alleged offence took place. 

The law states that for a prosecution to proceed, the notice must be served on the driver or the registered keeper of the vehicle within 14 days of the commission of the offence, beginning from the day after the alleged offence occurred.

The police typically send the notice via first class post to the address of the registered keeper as held by the DVLA. It is important to note that while the requirement is for the notice to be received within 14 days, the law presumes that a letter sent by first class post is served two working days after it was posted. If the police can prove they sent the notice to the last known address within the required timeframe, and that any delay was due to unforeseeable circumstances, the NIP is considered valid. This means that even in cases where an NIP was delayed, it may remain binding if the police can show that the note was sent with the expectation that it would be received within 14 days.

You should consult a motoring offences solicitor before ignoring an NIP or failing to respond even if you believe the NIP arrived outside of the legal time limit or is invalid because it contains incorrect information or fails to offer the details listed above. 

While there are potential legal defences available in these cases, there is also a risk that you will receive a stronger penalty than you would have if you were found guilty of the original offence.

For more information on the 14-day rule and whether it may apply in your case, read our blog: The Speeding Ticket 14-Day Rule - JMW Solicitors

Are There Exceptions to the 14-Day Rule?

There are several key exceptions where a written Notice of Intended Prosecution is not required or the time limit does not apply. A Notice of Intended Prosecution is typically issued for road traffic offences where the driver was not stopped by a police officer at the scene, including those like speeding or using a mobile phone while driving that may be detected by automated equipment. However, if the police stop you at the scene at the time of the alleged offence, and they give you a verbal warning that you might be prosecuted, a written notice is not required. This verbal warning of intended prosecution serves the same purpose.

Other situations where the 14-day rule may not apply, or where you may not be able to rely on this for your defence, include:

Involvement in an accident

A written notice is not necessary if the alleged offence was part of an accident where you were the driver of the vehicle involved. The law assumes that being involved in an accident is enough to make you aware that legal proceedings might follow.

Incorrect address with the DVLA

If the notice is sent to an old or incorrect address because you, as the registered keeper, failed to update your details with the DVLA, this does not invalidate the notice. The responsibility is on the keeper of the vehicle to ensure their address is current. The police only need to show they sent the notice to the relevant address shown on the DVLA database. As such, if you do not receive the NIP because it arrives at the wrong address, this will not be a defence.

Company or hire vehicles

When the alleged offence involves a company car or a vehicle from a hire company, the initial Notice of Intended Prosecution is sent to the company as the registered keeper. The company then has a legal requirement to identify the driver. This can lead to a delay before the actual driver receives their own notice from the police. This delay does not invalidate the process, as the original notice was served correctly on the registered keeper within 14 days.

Common Defences to a Notice of Intended Prosecution

A Notice of Intended Prosecution should be taken seriously. It is a formal warning that you may face prosecution, and it carries a legal requirement to provide driver information. Failure to follow the necessary instructions can lead to significant penalties, including penalty points, fines and a potential driving ban.

At the same time, if you believe the NIP has been issued incorrectly or you wish to contest the alleged offence, there are several potential defences.

Late service of the notice

If the NIP was not served on the registered keeper within 14 days of the offence, and none of the exceptions apply, the prosecution cannot proceed. You will need to prove when the notice arrived and have a solicitor assess the viability of this defence according to your circumstances.

You were not the driver

A straightforward defence is that you were not the driver. While you would still have a legal obligation to identify who was driving, you may have a defence against a charge of failing to provide driver details if you were genuinely unable to identify the driver after exercising reasonable diligence.

Faulty camera equipment

If the alleged offence was detected by a speed camera, the technology itself can be subject to challenges. The police must be able to prove the device was working correctly. This may involve requesting the device’s calibration certificate in court to show that it was not properly maintained and calibrated. A valid calibration certificate is essential for the prosecution's evidence in cases where you are accused of exceeding the speed limit, but you must still fulfil your obligations to the NIP.

Errors on the notice

While small mistakes or minor typographical errors on the notice will not automatically invalidate an NIP, significant errors that make the notice ambiguous could be grounds for a challenge. The details of the alleged offence must be clear.

What Are the Consequences of Not Responding to an NIP?

Ignoring a Notice of Intended Prosecution and the accompanying Section 172 notice is a serious mistake. Failing to provide driver information is an offence, and the penalties are often more severe than those for the original alleged offence.

If you fail to respond within the 28-day time limit, you will likely face prosecution for this failure. The consequences can include:

• Six penalty points on your driving licence
• A band C fine (125 – 175% relevant weekly income)
• A court summons and a criminal conviction following a court hearing
• A disqualification from driving

These are often stricter than the penalties for some offences for which you would receive the NIP in the first place. For example, for a first offence that is relatively minor, you may be offered a Speed Awareness Course or a Driver Awareness Scheme course instead of penalty points and a fine, which is often seen as the minimum penalty. It is therefore vital to respond to the notice, even if you intend to contest the original alleged offence. Providing false information is an even more serious crime that can lead to a prison sentence.