Fixed penalty notice vs penalty notice for disorder

Fixed penalty notice (FPN) versus Penalty notice for disorder (PND)

FPNs and PNDs are both out-of-court disposals that allow offences to be dealt with by the payment of a penalty rather than prosecution. They are issued by different authorities, cover different offence types, and have different consequences for non-payment.

Side by side

	Fixed penalty notice (FPN)	Penalty notice for disorder (PND)
Issuing authority	Police officers, PCSOs, and in some cases local authority officers or other authorised persons (e.g. for environmental offences, road traffic offences)	Police officers and PCSOs. PNDs are exclusively a police disposal for disorder and low-level criminal offences
Offence types	Road traffic offences (speeding, traffic light, seatbelt), littering, dog fouling, parking, truancy, cycling on the pavement, and other regulatory offences	Two tiers: lower tier (£60): disorderly behaviour, destroying or damaging property under £500. Upper tier (£90): retail theft under £100, drunk and disorderly, behaviour likely to cause harassment alarm or distress
Amounts	Variable depending on the offence and legislation. Road traffic FPNs are commonly £100 (e.g. speeding, mobile phone). Environmental FPNs range from £50 to £300	Fixed at two tiers: £60 (lower) or £90 (upper). Set by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and associated regulations
Payment period	Typically 28 days for road traffic FPNs, 14 days for environmental offences. Early payment discounts may apply depending on the issuing authority	21 days from the date of issue. No early payment discount
Non-payment consequence	Road traffic: a fine of 1.5 times the FPN amount is registered at court. Environmental: the issuing authority may prosecute the original offence	A fine of 1.5 times the PND amount is registered at the magistrates' court. Alternatively, the recipient may request a court hearing within 21 days
Criminal record	Road traffic FPNs do not create a criminal record but may add points to a driving licence. Environmental FPNs do not create a criminal record if paid	Payment of a PND does not constitute a criminal conviction and does not create a criminal record. However, it may appear on an enhanced DBS check as police intelligence
Challenge procedure	Road traffic: the recipient may request a court hearing instead of paying. Environmental: the recipient may contest through the issuing authority or at court	The recipient may request a court hearing within 21 days. If the case proceeds to court, the prosecution must prove the offence to the criminal standard
Who decides	The issuing officer, subject to force or authority policy. Road traffic FPNs may be camera-generated and issued by post	The officer at the scene or, in some cases, a custody officer after a suspect has been arrested and detained. PNDs are intended as a street-level disposal

Which applies

Both FPNs and PNDs allow offences to be resolved without a court appearance, but they serve different purposes. FPNs cover regulatory and road traffic matters; PNDs cover low-level criminal disorder. Neither creates a criminal record if paid, but a PND may be disclosed on an enhanced DBS check. Recipients who dispute the offence should request a court hearing rather than paying.

Last updated 24 September 2026