What happens on a speed awareness course
Around 1.5 million drivers a year in England and Wales take a speed awareness course rather than accept points. If a letter has just offered you one, the short version is: take it, it is four hours, it costs a little more than the fine would have, and it keeps your licence clean. The longer version covers who is offered it, what actually happens in the room, and the one situation where it is worth thinking twice.
Who is offered a course
The National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme, which police forces use to run the courses, sets the bands. You will usually be offered a course if all three apply:
- Your speed was between the enforcement threshold and roughly 10% plus 9mph over the limit. In a 30, that is 35 to 42mph. In a 40, 46 to 53. In a 50, 57 to 64. In a 60, 68 to 75. In a 70, 79 to 86.
- You have not attended a speed awareness course in the past three years, counted from the date of the earlier offence.
- The offence is one that the scheme covers, which speeding almost always is. Some forces also offer courses for red lights, mobile phones and other offences under the same scheme, each with its own name.
Go faster than the band and you get a fixed penalty of £100 and three points, or a court summons above that. Our guide to UK speed limits sets out the thresholds and driving penalties covers the court bands.
The offer arrives with the notice of intended prosecution, or shortly after you have confirmed you were the driver. You typically have a few weeks to book, and the course must be completed within a set period, usually four months of the offence.
What it costs
Course fees are set by each provider within a range agreed by the scheme, and in 2026 they run from around £90 to £110. That is a little more than the £100 fixed penalty in some areas and a little less in others, so the price is not the point. The point is the three points you do not receive.
The fee is paid to the provider when you book, and it is non-refundable if you fail to attend. Rebooking is usually possible once, for a fee.
What happens on the day
Most courses are now online, delivered over video call to a group of about 15 to 20 people, with a trainer and a co-trainer. In-person classroom courses still run in some areas. Either way, the session lasts around four hours with a break. You must attend the whole session, keep your camera on if you take the course online and participate throughout. If you turn your camera off or wander away, the course provider can remove you from the session and record that you did not complete the course. You could then face the original fixed penalty.
The content is not a lecture about how bad you are. It explains why authorities set speed limits where they do and shows the difference that stopping distance makes at 30 versus 35. A pedestrian hit at 30 has roughly an 80% chance of surviving, compared with closer to 10% at 40. It also explains how to identify speed limits from road features when you cannot see a sign. Finally, it covers the situations that catch out many drivers: a road that drops from 40 to 30 at the town boundary, a dual carriageway that changes from 70 to 50, and an empty road in the early morning. There are group discussions and a few exercises. There is no test and you cannot fail, only not complete.
Most people report it as more useful than they expected, and the drop in reoffending among course attendees, compared with drivers who took the points, is why forces keep offering it.
Insurance: do you have to tell them?
A speed awareness course is not a conviction. You receive no points for attending a speed awareness course, so you can answer “no” when an insurer asks, “Do you have any motoring convictions in the last five years?” However, some insurers ask a separate question: “Have you attended a speed awareness course in the last three or five years?”. If they ask, you must answer honestly, and a few insurers will load the premium slightly. Most do not ask.
Rooster does not treat a speed awareness course as a conviction. What we look at is how you actually drive. A driver whose driving score shows they have stopped speeding since the course is priced accordingly. Our guide to what affects your premium puts convictions and courses in context, and why your insurance has gone up covers what else can move it.
When to think twice
Take the course in almost every case. The exceptions are narrow.
If you were not speeding, the camera was faulty, or the signs were missing, accepting a course means accepting the offence. You then lose the right to challenge it. Courses are only offered if you admit being the driver, and only before a court date is set, so if you intend to fight the ticket, get advice before booking.
If you already have a clean licence and points would make no practical difference, the arithmetic still favours the course. This is because points last for insurance purposes for five years and the course lasts for three. For a new driver in their first two years, there is no choice at all: three points is half of the six that revokes the licence, and the course avoids them. See our guide to learner and new driver rules.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a speed awareness course?
Around four hours, including a break, usually online.
Is a speed awareness course a criminal record?
No. It is an alternative to prosecution and does not appear on your licence or on a criminal record check.
Can I do a speed awareness course twice?
Not within three years of the last offence for which you attended one. After three years you can be offered another.
Do I have to declare a speed awareness course to my insurer?
Only if the insurer asks the question directly. Many do not; those that do must be answered honestly.
What if I miss my speed awareness course?
You lose the fee, and unless the provider allows a rebooking the police reinstate the original fixed penalty of £100 and three points.
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