The process for completing a Notice of Intended Prosecution may appear confusing.
This article will guide you through the most important things you need to know about a Notice of Intended Prosecution, and how you can deal with it properly.
A Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) is a document issued by the police to the registered keeper of a vehicle. The purpose of the NIP is to discover who was driving a vehicle at the time an alleged offence was committed, for example, driving offences such as speeding, dangerous driving, or using a mobile phone while driving.
It is vital that you deal with it correctly as it is very easy to get the procedure wrong. You have to personally complete, sign and post it. Here's a list of what you need to do:
If the registered keeper for a vehicle received a NIP more than 14 days after the road traffic offence was committed, then it should be invalid & any subsequent prosecution will have to be abandoned.
You must still comply with a NIP received late & then argue the point when the case comes to Court.
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Who is the “registered keeper” of a vehicle?
The registered keeper is the person listed by DVLA. That person should have the V5C document for the vehicle. The V5C, or vehicle logbook, is a legal document issued by DVLA outlining essential information about the car:
• the date it was first registered;
• engine size; and
How long does a notice of intended prosecution take to arrive?
If a notice of intended prosecution is sent by first class post, it is deemed served two days after it was posted, irrespective of the fact that it went to an address provided by DVLA that is no longer current for you.
If you received it late or did not receive it, the presumption of service can be rebutted based on your evidence.
Therefore, it is important to make sure that the address on your licence and the address DVLA has for any vehicle registered to you are current. If it is not or if DVLA mistakenly provides the wrong address to the Police, this does not give you a defence to a charge of not complying with a notice of intended prosecution.
Is there a NIP time limit?
You must comply with an NIP within 28 days. Given that it is deemed served 2 days after it was posted (using first-class post), an NIP posted on July 1st will be deemed served on July 3rd and must be complied with by July 31st.
What happens if I do not comply with a NIP?
If you do not comply with an NIP & have no defence, your licence will be endorsed with 6 points & you will face various financial penalties, including a fine.
As you are liable for a 6-month driving ban under what is known as the “totting up procedure” when you reach 12 or more points, you do not want to get 6 points if you can avoid doing so. Therefore, you must comply with an NIP, especially if you were not the driver when an offence was committed.
If you are a “probationary driver” and get 6 points for this offence, your licence will be revoked. You will be regarded as not having complied with an NIP if you:
• return it validly completed but outside the prescribed time limit or;
• return it inadequately completed.
If you were the registered keeper of the vehicle & are regarded by the Police as not having complied with the NIP, you are usually charged with:
• the substantive driving offence, and
• the additional offence of failing to comply with the NIP
What if there are errors in the NIP?
The NIP should be accurate. If you see errors related to your name, address, or date of birth, you should correct them. However, they are not usually sufficiently serious to invalidate the Notice.
If you think any errors about your details are important, get professional advice. The NIP should give sufficiently precise information to:
• the location of the offence
So far as the location is concerned it is insufficient for example to state “M53” or “M53 Wirral” but “M53 near J4 southbound” would probably be sufficient.
What happens if a limited company does not comply with a NIP?
A limited company is a legal entity & can be sued in civil proceedings & prosecuted in criminal proceedings. However, it does not have a driver's licence, so it cannot get points.
If a car is registered to a limited company, or the company is the customer of the lease company, the NIP will be sent to the limited company.
The limited company is then under the same obligations as an individual so far as the NIP is concerned. A Director or, possibly, a Fleet Manager should complete & return the NIP identifying the driver, making it clear that they have the authority to do so.
If the company fails to comply with the NIP for any reason, it will likely be prosecuted. If convicted, the company can only face a financial penalty.
A limited company facing this charge should seek advice from a driving offence solicitor as to how the failure to comply with the NIP can be explained & more importantly, what measures have been taken to avoid a recurrence.
What happens if I knowingly provide false information as to who was driving?
If you are caught doing this, you take the risk of an immediate prison sentence.
People who share the use of a car and receive an NIP may have a conversation about who has the fewest points and who should admit to being the driver when the offence was committed.
While this may seem like a decision with no risk of repercussions, you cannot be certain of that. Apart from the available photographic evidence, which may immediately show that you could not have been the driver, Police have recently started using mobile phone masts to establish the location of an individual’s phone when the alleged offence was committed.
What if it was not my car caught by the camera?
Cars are cloned more often than you might imagine. “Cloning” happens when someone uses the same number plate registered to your car to engage in criminal activity or avoid paying fines, road tax, and insurance.
Research shows that this is one of the fastest-growing types of motor-related crime. Fraudsters copy legitimate registration plates and use fake identities to drive similar cars—almost always the same colour. Research in 2016 showed that one in 12 cars on UK roads could have cloned registration plates.
If this happens to you, you will often know first when you receive written notification that a car with your registration plate has committed a driving offence, not paid parking charges, etc.
You should contest the charge and hopefully be able to provide evidence that neither you nor your car were at the location where the alleged offence occurred. You may then be well advised to liaise with the DVLA on getting a new registration plate.
Are there any defences to not complying with a NIP?
Yes – in fact, two specific defences are set out in the Act of Parliament creating this offence. They are that you:
• provided a validly completed NIP as soon as was reasonably practicable but outside the prescribed time limit & that it was reasonable for you to be late in replying;
• were unable to identify the driver or potential drivers despite making all reasonable enquiries as to who that might be.
You should also plead not guilty if you returned a validly completed NIP within the prescribed period, but the Police say your reply was not received.
It would be best to get legal advice as to the exact basis on which you are going to contest the charge & the evidence that you and/or others may have to give.
Remember that this offence carries a significant 6-point penalty!
How long do the Police have to issue proceedings?
Generally, the Police or Crown Prosecution Service have 6 months from the date of the alleged offence to issue proceedings. There may be a further delay before you receive them. The key point is whether the proceedings were issued on time.
If the offence requires a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be served, remember that the first NIP has to be received within 14 days of the alleged offence.
The driver left the country. What should I do?
In situations such as this, the authorities may request you to provide proof that:
• the person exists;
• he or she was in the country at the time of the offence;
• he or she has returned abroad or has gone abroad for an indefinite period; and
• he or she has insurance to drive the vehicle at the time of the offence.
If you cannot prove that the driver is insured, you may still be prosecuted for failure to furnish driver details or Permitting No Insurance.
I've got an NIP. Do I have to plead guilty?
No. It's not a question of pleading guilty or not guilty. An NIP, or Notice of Intended Prosecution, is designed to provide the police who have sent it with the name, address, date of birth, and driving licence number of whoever was driving the vehicle at the time and on the date specified.
Can I contest an NIP if I wasn't driving?
No. You don't contest it. There is a space on the Notice of Intended Prosecution where instead of ticking the first box to say, “Yes. I was the driver”, you tick a box (or select an option online) saying, “I was not the driver”, and then you will be asked to give the name, address, date of birth of whoever was the driver if you know who that was.
What is the time limit for responding to a Notice of Intended Prosecution NIP in the UK?
That is 28 days. The way it works is that (nearly) all police forces send an NIP by first-class post, and that does make a difference in relation to the presumption of service. An NIP sent by first-class post is deemed as a matter of law to have been served or received by the addressee two working days after the date of posting.
What happens if I ignore a Notice of Intended Prosecution?
A number of things can happen. Nearly all police forces will send a reminder notice, usually about seven days before the 28-day period for complying with the notice expires. Usually (but not always), they will attach a duplicate notice because, very often, due to the vagaries of Royal Mail, people don't receive the original.
If the police do not receive a reply, they will sometimes access the motor insurer's database. Often, people move house and don't update DVLA with the address to which the vehicle is registered. The police will see who is insured to drive the car and cross-check the address to where the Notice of Intended Prosecution was sent.
Sometimes, this check shows a more up-to-date address. The police often do this where a limited company is involved. If a limited company doesn't respond, they will look to see who is insured to drive the vehicle and whether that person is an officer of the company.
Will I receive a reminder to comply with a NIP?
The Police are not obligated to send reminders, but most Police forces do so. They are normally sent out when about seven days of the original time limit remain.
The reminder normally includes a copy of the original Notice in case you mislaid that or did not receive it.
Are there any defences to not complying with a NIP?
Yes – in fact, two specific defences are set out in the Act of Parliament creating this offence. They are that you:
• provided a validly completed NIP as soon as was reasonably practicable but outside the prescribed time limit & that it was reasonable for you to be late in replying;
• were unable to identify the driver or potential drivers despite making all reasonable enquiries as to who that might be.
You should also plead not guilty if you returned a validly completed NIP within the prescribed period, but the Police say your reply was not received.
It would be best to get legal advice as to the exact basis on which you are going to contest the charge & the evidence that you and/or others may have to give.
Remember that this offence carries a significant 6-point penalty!
Can I see photographic evidence relating to the offence?
Yes. If you ask for photographic evidence, insist on getting colour copies because the difference in quality between B/W & colour copies is often significant.
The last thing you want to do is to state that someone was driving based on poor quality B/W photos & when you arrive at Court, you are shown clear colour pictures demonstrating you were wrong. This could have major repercussions for you.
Can I drive after receiving a Notice of Intended Prosecution?
Absolutely. Notices of Intended Prosecution aren't limited to speeding, but they are more often than not used for speeding offences where the driver hasn't been stopped by the police and given a verbal warning of intended prosecution.
So an NIP isn't a charge. It's not a conviction. It is simply a statutory notice issued by the police to establish who was driving the vehicle. It is not an admission of guilt nor is it a conviction.
What is the cost of points on driving licence from a Notice of Intended Prosecution
It's the points for a driving conviction that are variable, whether the offence is careless driving or speeding, for example.
If the offence that is covered by the NIP is, for example, using a mobile phone or if it is for driving without insurance, the points can go from 6 to 8, or conventionally 6 for speeding depending on the speed of the speed limit. And assuming a discretionary disqualification isn't imposed, the points can range from 3 to 6. For careless driving, the points can range from 3 to 9.
Can I take a course to avoid points from a Notice of Intended Prosecution?
Yes, but you have to comply with the NIP. So, assuming this was, for example, a speeding offence caught by a handheld or fixed camera and the driver wasn't warned at the scene, the process starts with complying with the NIP.
The police will then establish whether the offence's nature and circumstances, and your driving record make you eligible for a driver awareness course.
Driver awareness courses can be offered for a variety of offences, speeding, careless driving, failing to comply with a traffic light, or even using a mobile phone. Your eligibility will depend, to a large extent, on your driving record and the seriousness of the offence. But you must comply with the Notice of Intended Prosecution first.
Driver awareness courses are at the discretion of the police—it doesn't matter what the circumstances are. You have no absolute entitlement to the course.
How to appeal a NIP decision in the UK?
You can't appeal a Notice of Intended Prosecution decision because it isn't a decision. The police need to know who was driving a vehicle either registered to you or because somebody has nominated you as a possible driver.
So, you are simply indicating that you were the driver at that time on that date in that location. It's not an admission of guilt.
You have to comply with the NIP. If you don't, you commit a stand-alone offence for which you can be prosecuted. So, there's no appeal against an NIP. You can challenge its effectiveness or argue that it's defective if it is too vague or has been served outside the statutory period.
What are the differences between a Notice of Intended Prosecution and a summons?
Well, as we've established, a NIP is designed simply to identify who the driver was on the date in question at that location so that the police can decide whether to call that person in for a voluntary interview, offer them a driver awareness course, or a conditional fixed penalty offer, or prosecute them through a court.
If somebody receives a summons, which these days can still be a postal requisition or can be called single justice proceedings, they will either, usually in the case of a postal reposition, have a hearing date at which they are required to attend a court on the specified date and time and enter their plea, or, in the case of single justice proceedings, have 21 days to respond and enter their plea.
Can I get legal aid for a Notice of Intended Prosecution case?
No. It wouldn't meet the criteria for seriousness. So, generally, legal aid will be offered— leaving aside financial eligibility issues—if a complex issue is involved, for example, where somebody needs expert evidence or where there is a real risk of a custodial sentence.
If somebody receives a summons, which these days can still be a postal requisition or can be called single justice proceedings, they will either, usually in the case of a postal reposition, have a hearing date at which they are required to attend a court on the specified date and time and enter their plea, or, in the case of single justice proceedings, have 21 days to respond and enter their plea.
Notice of Intended Prosecution received, but I wasn't speeding. What can I do?
First, comply with the NIP because not doing so is committing a stand-alone offence, which carries six points.
And then, if you are going to deny the allegation, you would have to reject a conditional fixed penalty offer if that was made and either opt to take a driver awareness course, if you want to keep the time and cost you're going to incur down, or you await the single justice proceedings and you then either plead not guilty and say you weren't exceeding the speed limit or if you are admitting exceeding the speed limit but not to the extent alleged, you can enter a limited basis of plea.
Can I use dashcam footage to contest a Notice of Intended Prosecution?
You can't use dashcam footage to contest an NIP because it isn't something that can be contested. You simply have to comply with the notice (to avoid prosecution for not doing so) by either saying you were the driver, saying Mr X was the driver, saying one of an identified pool of people was the driver, or that you are unable to identify the driver. So that's what you have to do. And after that, then the process will take its course.
You can use dashcam footage if you're charged with an offence. So, let us say you were charged with careless driving for which a Notice of Intended Prosecution can be issued, and you received single justice proceedings and wanted to plead not guilty. In that case, you can use your dashcam footage to support your defence. You would need to, at some point, make that available to the police and the prosecution.
These days, a Notice of Intended Prosecution is often issued outside the normal 14-day rule, which doesn't apply because many people, such as cyclists or horse riders, have helmet cameras and send their footage to the police.
The police will then issue an NIP to the registered keeper of the vehicle, asking them who was the driver. Normally, if they then say it was them, the police will call that person in for a voluntary interview and show them the dashcam footage that they have received. That said, you can use your own as part of your defence after you've complied with the NIP.
What if I do not know who the driver was?
The notice is designed only for you to confirm that you were the driver or to identify one other person as being the driver.
If you cannot identify the driver, then you need to return the NIP with a cover letter either stating that:
• you cannot identify the driver or anyone who potentially could have been the driver or;
• the driver could have been one of several people, but;
• you are not sure exactly who it was
Make sure you send this response within the prescribed time limit & keep a copy of what you send.
What if more than one person could have been the driver?
This happens more often than you think. Examples of how this can happen include:
• where work colleagues share the driving on a long drive, allowing each the opportunity to relax or deal with emails on their phone
In the above situations, the person who receives the NIP is expected to make all reasonable enquiries of those who could have been the driver to see if they can establish who the driver was. If those enquiries do not establish who the driver was, the NIP should be returned with a cover letter listing:
• the names of the potential drivers;
• their dates of birth; and
At this stage, you need not include your enquiries in the written response, but you should document them in case you end up in court. The enquiries you should make of yourself & others include:
• can you identify by reference to any diary where each person was at the relevant time;
• check mobile phones for the day in question (and earlier) to see if there are text messages, calls, etc., that may shed light on the whereabouts of any potential driver;
• Check visas and credit cards to see if any of the potential drivers spent money on the route in question on the relevant date. This could include petrol, refreshments, etc.
Document the enquiries you make, especially if they were made by email so that you can demonstrate the lengths you went to identify the driver.
Can I nominate a driver on an NIP if I wasn't driving?
Absolutely. And if you weren't driving, that's what you should do. That person will then receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution, and they will either accept that they were the driver or not.
What happens if I attend a speed awareness course after receiving an NIP?
It's an alternative to a prosecution, so you don't get any points or financial penalty the court could impose. You have to pay for the course yourself, and you wouldn't be eligible for that specific course for another 3 years, but it's an alternative to points or a prosecution.
NIP sent to your old address?
This isn’t so much to do with property you own, but where you may be living somewhere else for a period. So, let us assume someone moves address. People will then update those organisations in order of their importance as they see it, so their bank, their employer, etcetera. People will usually notify their motor insurer, either at least on renewal or strictly they should, when they move because, obviously, the change of address will alter the level of risk in terms of postcode. Is the car parked on the road? Is it in a secure car park, etcetera?
People often remember to change the address on their driving licence and to do that; they will notify the DVLA. It is an offence—a low-level offence—but still an offence to have a driving licence with an incorrect address on it. But the address people often forget to update with DVLA, and it is the most important document or issue when you move house, is the V5 vehicle registration document (the old logbook).
People think that when they contact DVLA and, say, update the address on their licence, DVLA will filter that information through all systems where that name appears. But DVLA will not do that. The system isn't that integrated. You have to update the address to which the vehicle is registered.
Why is that important? When the police issue a Notice of Intended Prosecution, they send it to the registered keeper at the address held by the DVLA. This might turn out to be many months after you've moved.
People may be prudent and pay Royal Mail to redirect their mail for 3 months or 6 months. But after that, if they still haven't updated the vehicle registration document and the police contact DVLA and send an NIP to their previous address, the likelihood is that the people who were then living there will put it in the bin. They will do the same with the reminder and the court proceedings, and you will then find that you are convicted in absence of failing to comply with an NIP. And without you realising it, you will have 6 points endorsed on your licence plus a fine and court costs.
If you had started with a clean licence, and that happens twice, then you will get 6 points per offence. If you reach 12 points, you are liable to be disqualified under the totting-up procedure. I’ve had it happen to clients 4 or 5 times. I’ve had clients banned without their knowing it because the police and the court have relied on the address given by DVLA that is attached to the vehicle. And from that address, everything else flows. So when you move house, it is absolutely vital to update the address on your licence with your insurer and for the vehicle.
If you are convicted in your absence, there are processes whereby you can set those convictions aside. But by the time you've done that, especially if you've been banned, then the havoc that is caused is incalculable.
