Traffic infringement notices
There are many rules about what you can and cannot do when you are driving or using a vehicle on a road. If you break these rules you are committing a traffic offence. Many less serious traffic offences are dealt with by issuing an infringement notice rather than going to court.
An infringement notice gives you the option to accept the offence by paying a fixed amount of money. For some offences, there may be other consequences if you accept the offence, such as demerit points.
This webpage provides information about:
- the kinds of traffic offences that might be dealt with by an infringement notice
- how to respond to a traffic infringement notice
- what happens if you pay a traffic infringement notice
What sorts of traffic offences might be dealt with by an infringement notice?
Many traffic offences that are less serious may be dealt with by police issuing an infringement notice rather than prosecuting you in court. These are some of the traffic offences that are commonly dealt with by infringement notice:
- speeding
- using a mobile phone when driving, to do things like type messages or view photos
- driving with low levels of alcohol in your body (if you have higher levels you must go to court as it is more serious)
- not wearing a seat belt
- not having a child in a proper child restraint
- not wearing a helmet on a motorbike
- not leaving a safe distance when overtaking a cyclist
- not slowing down and moving over when going past an emergency response vehicle at a traffic accident
- not stopping at a red-light or stop sign
- not giving way to other vehicles when you are supposed to.
What are my options if I get an infringement notice?
You have 28 days to pay the infringement, ask for more time to pay, or dispute it if you don't agree with it. If you do none of these, after 28 days the infringement can be registered with the Fines Enforcement Registry and payment can be enforced against you. Unpaid infringements can result in a Licence Suspension Order which means you cannot drive while the suspension is in place.
The Legal Aid WA Infosheet: Infringement notices has full information about how you can respond to an infringement notice, including how to pay, how to ask for a review of an infringement notice, how to elect to have the offence dealt with in court and what to do if you do not pay.
What happens if I pay the infringement notice?
An infringement notice for a traffic offence includes the amount of money and any demerit points that apply as the penalty for the offence. Note that double the number of demerit points apply for certain traffic offences committed during a holiday period.
If you pay the amount of money, it means you accept the offence. The demerit points will then be applied to your licence. Also, if you are a p-plater and you have received the infringement for certain offences, such as careless driving or driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.05 or more, when you pay the infringement your licence will be cancelled and you will be disqualified from applying for a licence for 3 months.
The benefit of dealing with the offence by paying the infringement is that you do not have to go to court (where you could be given a higher penalty) and the offence will not go on your criminal record.
Resources from Legal Aid WA
-
Infosheet - Traffic - Part 1: How to deal with your traffic offence
-
Infosheet - Driving with mobile phones and visual display units
More information
Road Safety Commission
- Road rules and penalties
A section dedicated to road rules and penalties for many traffic offences that can be dealt with by infringement notices, including the rules about mobile phones, as well as where to find more information about other traffic offences.
Department of Transport
- Driver rules, penalties and infringements
Information about licence offences, as well as a number of driving offences that can be dealt with by infringement notice.
Reviewed: 8 September 2026