How Much Is a Speeding Ticket in PA: Fines, Points, and Surcharges

A standard speeding ticket in Pennsylvania runs about $225 once you add the base fine, mandatory surcharges, and court costs, according to PennDOT’s fine card.¹ That number climbs in work zones and school zones, and it doesn’t touch the two costs that usually hurt more: points on your driving record and years of higher insurance premiums.

How the Base Fine Is Calculated

The base fine depends on the posted limit and how far over it you were going. In most speed zones the base starts at $35. In zones posted at 65 mph or higher, it starts at $42.50. On top of that starting amount, add $2 for every mile per hour you exceeded the limit by more than five.²

For zones under 65 mph, that produces these base fines:

1–5 mph over: $35
10 mph over: $45
15 mph over: $55
20 mph over: $65
25 mph over: $75
30 mph over: $85

In a 65-mph or 70-mph zone, add $7.50 to each figure.

Surcharges and Court Costs

The base fine is the smallest piece. Several mandatory fees apply to every traffic conviction in Pennsylvania:

Emergency Medical Services fee: $20³
Judicial Computer Project / Access to Justice fee: $22¹
State surcharge: $45 for a first or second offense, $60 for a third, $75 for a fourth¹
Court costs: set by each county and adjusted annually

Once everything is stacked together, PennDOT’s fine card puts the total for a standard speeding violation at roughly $225 across the common speed ranges.¹ Your county’s court costs and any repeat-offense surcharge can move that figure.

Work Zone and School Zone Tickets Cost More

Active Work Zones

Speeding through an active work zone with workers present doubles the fine, which alone can push a typical ticket past $400.⁴ A conviction for going 11 mph or more over the limit in an active work zone also triggers an automatic 15-day license suspension from PennDOT.⁵

If work-zone speeding causes injury or death, fines rise sharply: up to $1,000 for bodily injury, up to $5,000 with a six-month suspension for serious bodily injury, and up to $10,000 with a one-year suspension if a worker is killed.⁴

School Zones

A designated school zone carries a 15-mph limit. Up to 11 mph over that limit, the fine follows the usual $35 base plus $2-per-mile formula. Exceed the school zone limit by more than 11 mph and the maximum fine jumps to $500 with 3 points assessed. A second or later school zone conviction adds a 60-day license suspension.⁶

Points on Your Driving Record

Every speeding conviction adds points to your PennDOT record based on how far over the limit you were:

1–5 mph over: no points
6–10 mph over: 2 points
11–15 mph over: 3 points
16–25 mph over: 4 points
26–30 mph over: 5 points
31 mph or more over: 5 points plus a mandatory departmental hearing⁶

How Points Can Suspend Your License

The first time your record reaches 6 points, PennDOT sends notice to either pass a special written exam or complete Driver Improvement School. Passing the exam removes 2 points; completing the school removes 4.⁵

Reach 11 points and your license is automatically suspended. Suspension length grows with repeat offenses:

First suspension: 5 days per point
Second suspension: 10 days per point
Third suspension: 15 days per point
Fourth and beyond: one year⁵

At 11 points, that’s 55 days the first time and 110 the second.

Excessive Speeding: 31 mph or More Over

Going 31 mph or more over the posted limit is treated as excessive speeding. It triggers a mandatory departmental hearing and enrollment in Driver Improvement School. At the hearing, an examiner reviews your driving history and can require a special on-road driving test or impose a license suspension of up to 15 days, all on top of the 5 points and the fine.⁵ It’s the fastest way to lose your license on a single ticket.

Drivers Under 18

Pennsylvania holds young drivers to a stricter standard. If you’re under 18, your license is suspended as soon as you accumulate 6 or more points or are convicted of driving 26 mph or more over the limit. A first such suspension lasts 90 days, and any later occurrence brings 120 days.⁷

What It Does to Your Insurance

The ticket is usually the cheap part. Insurers in Pennsylvania treat a speeding conviction as a risk indicator, and industry data suggests drivers pay roughly 25% to 30% more per year afterward. The increase typically lasts three to five years, so even one ticket can add well over $1,000 to your premiums before it rolls off your record.

Commercial Drivers

If you hold a CDL, federal rules add another layer. Driving 15 mph or more over the posted limit counts as a “serious traffic violation” whether or not you were in a commercial vehicle. Two serious violations within three years disqualify your CDL for 60 days; three within three years extend that to 120 days.⁸

Paying or Contesting

You can pay Pennsylvania traffic citations online through the PAePay system, which handles fines, court costs, and restitution for summary offenses in Magisterial District Courts and Courts of Common Pleas.⁹ Paying counts as a guilty plea. Do it and you’ve accepted the conviction, the points, and the insurance hit that follows.

To fight the ticket, tell the court you intend to contest it instead of paying. The court schedules a hearing where the citing officer testifies about how your speed was measured, and you can question the officer, present dashcam footage or GPS data, and challenge the speed-detection method. A not-guilty finding means no fine, no points, and a refund of anything already paid. Lose and you owe the full fine plus court costs. Hiring a traffic attorney typically runs from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 depending on the case; for tickets carrying heavy points or a potential suspension, that can be cheaper than years of higher premiums.

1
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Traffic Safety Fine Card
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 3362 – Maximum Speed Limits
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 3121 – EMS Costs
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 3326 – Duty of Driver in Construction and Maintenance Areas
5
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The Pennsylvania Point System Fact Sheet
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 1535 – Schedule of Convictions and Points
7
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s Point System
8
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
9
Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System. PAePay Traffic Tickets or Court Costs