Paying the traffic penalty fee and filing a claim for a revised decision

If you have been imposed a traffic penalty fee, pay it without delay. Not guilty of the violation? Do not pay the fee, but file a claim for a revised decision with the authority that imposed the fee instead.

What is the traffic penalty fee?

For violations committed on roads and waterways, a traffic penalty fee may be imposed. It can be imposed by the police, Customs or Border Guard.

A person’s income does not affect the amount of the traffic penalty fee. A traffic penalty fee is not a fine, but an administrative sanction for illegal conduct.

What is the vehicle-specific traffic penalty fee?

A vehicle-specific traffic penalty fee is a fee imposed based on the vehicle used in the violation. It is imposed for traffic violations detected by automatic traffic surveillance (camera post) or otherwise without stopping the vehicle.

The vehicle’s registered owner, holder or temporary user, or the person in charge of the vehicle’s use is liable for the traffic penalty fee. You will receive the vehicle-specific traffic penalty fee as a Suomi.fi message if you have adopted the service. If you are not using Suomi.fi messages, the police will send the traffic penalty fee to you by post.

If you consider that you are not responsible for the vehicle-specific traffic penalty fee, you can file a claim for a revised decision.

Payment of a traffic penalty fee

When you pay a traffic penalty fee, use the reference number provided to ensure that the payment is allocated correctly. Note! If you are filing a claim for a revised decision on the traffic penalty fee, do not pay the fee. Read more below under “How can I claim a revised decision on the traffic penalty fee?”

If you have not paid the traffic penalty fee by the time the matter is transferred to the Legal Register Centre’s (LRC) collection process, we will send you a reminder. The transfer of information to our debt-collection system and e-services may take from a few days to a few months, depending on the matter

Pay the demand by the due date, or the matter will be moved to Enforcement Authority. The matter will then be managed by the Enforcement Authorities, and you will no longer be able to apply for payment time from the LRC. So be prompt!

How can I claim a revised decision on the traffic penalty fee?

  1. Do not pay the traffic penalty fee if you are filing a claim for a revised decision.
  2. File the claim with the authority that imposed the fee. The Legal Register Centre (LRC) cannot revise the decision. More information is available in the instructions on filing a claim for a revised decision. They are enclosed with the traffic penalty fee.

More information on how to claim a revised decision can be found on the police website.

If you appeal the decision issued in response to your request for correction to the Administrative Court and the traffic penalty fee is cancelled as a result of the appeal, the LRC will refund the overpaid amount to the payer with the possible interest accumulated on it.

Reference number of the revised traffic penalty fee

If you have paid the traffic penalty fee and claimed a revised decision after that, the fee’s enforcement code or reference number may have changed due to the revised decision.

If you have paid the fee with the original details, the payment will not be automatically allocated to the revised traffic penalty fee decision.

Contact the LRC’s customer service to clear the matter up.

Can I get more time for payment?

You can apply for more time for paying the traffic penalty fee when the matter is listed in the electronic service or the LRC has sent you a reminder for payment. Payment time will only be granted for a justified reason.

Read more about applying for and granting payment time.

Further information: