Received a Notice of Intended Prosecution

The law states that a Notice of Intended Prosecution must be posted to reach the registered keeper of the vehicle, as recorded by DVLA, within 14 days after the date of the offence.

If you have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution through the post, you will need to complete the form and return it to the Dorset Police Central Ticket Office. Completing this form and signing it is a legal requirement under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Before you get started on your Notice of Intended Prosecution form, there are a few important points to note;

• Complete the form using BLOCK CAPITALS - putting one character in each box
• The form consists of three pages, only page 3 has to be completed, signed and returned to the Central Ticket Office
• Page 3 must be completed, signed and returned ONLY by the person or company to whom it is addressed. 
• As the recipient of the notice, you are required under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act, 1988, to provide the requested information by completion of the response section which must be signed. Failure to do so within the time limit specified on the attached document will render you liable for prosecution.

You have a legal obligation to respond to the Notice within 28 days, either by:

• Stating you were the driver at the time of the offence
• Nominating another driver, providing the person’s full name and address details
• Nominating a new or previous keeper, providing the person’s full name and address details
• Requesting a Court Hearing (if applicable)

Once a driver has admitted to being the driver at the time of the offence they have 3 options:

1. Elect a court hearing
2. Elect to accept a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty (COFP)
3. If they meet the strict criteria they may be offered the opportunity of attending a Driver Awareness Scheme course (DAS)

If an individual is eligible for a DAS course, they will receive an offer letter from the DAS office. If you wish to decline the course, this will need to be indicated on the DAS offer letter. The case will then be referred back to the Central Ticket Office where a Fixed Penalty (which consists of a fine of £100 and 3 penalty points) or court hearing offer will be made. The matter may result in a summons to court if the fixed penalty process is not complied with.

If the fixed penalty is accepted (the payment made and the points endorsed on your driving licence), the matter is closed. You are unable to change your mind.

If there were mitigating circumstances, you should complete the documentation electing a court hearing and attach a letter of explanation which will be included as evidence in a potential court file. The Central Ticket Office is not able to consider mitigating circumstances or give legal advice.

Any enquires relating to a NIP or COFP must only be directed to the following address:

Dorset Police
Central Ticket Office
Headquarters
Winfrith
Dorchester
DT2 8DZ

NOTE: It has been confirmed by the Information Commissioners Office that questions submitted regarding an offence WILL NOT delay the prosecution process.

The prosecution process as detailed on this website for traffic offences comply with all current legislation including : Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE), Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act, European Human Rights, Data Protection Act & Freedom of Information Act.

Part 1

• If you were the driver complete Part 1
• Place a tick in the box provided stating ‘I was the driver at the time of the alleged offence’.
  
  
• You should then tick the box indicating how you wish the offence to be dealt with. Please note that dependent on eligibility your preferred option may not be available to you.
  
  
• Once you have selected your preferred option fill in your Driver Number (found on your driving licence) and current number of points on your licence.
  
  
• Fill in your date of birth.
  
  
• Sign and date the form.

You only need to correct your details if your details on the Notice of Intended Prosecution addressed to you are incorrect

Return the form to Dorset Police Central Ticket Office, Headquarters, Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 8DZ.

Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 places a legal responsibility on the registered keeper of a vehicle to supply the name and address of the driver of a vehicle at the time of an alleged offence. Failure to complete and return the form may result in the registered keeper being prosecuted for failing to provide the information. You are strongly advised to keep a record of who is driving your vehicle at all times. Failure to identify the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence will result in the matter being referred to the courts.

Part 2

• If you were not the driver complete Part 2 by nominating who the driver was at the time of the alleged offence.
  
  
• You must then sign the Notice of Intended Prosecution - DO NOT PASS THE FORM TO ANYONE, the form has to be completed by you.
  
  
• Return the Notice of Intended Prosecution to the Dorset Police Central Ticket Office, Headquarters, Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 8DZ.

Alternatively, you can nominate that person online at https://offenceview.dorsetroadsafe.org.uk you will need the Notice no, PIN and VRM in order to access the offence record

The Dorset Police Central Ticket Office will then issue a new Notice of Intended Prosecution to the driver you nominated.

PLEASE NOTE - Failure on the part of the registered keeper to provide information on the identity of the driver at the time of an offence could result in prosecution with a maximum financial penalty of £1000, an endorsement of 6 penalty points and possible driving disqualification.

A person who knowingly provides the Police with false information as to the driver of their vehicle or the whereabouts of their vehicle commits a crime of attempting to pervert the course of justice or perverting the course of justice. This is a far more serious crime than the original offence and can carry a prison sentence.

Company or hire company

If a company or Hire company has received the NIP, it is the responsibility of the Company Director / Secretary to complete this document, not the driver concerned, DO NOT PASS THE FORM TO WHO YOU THINK WAS DRIVING. If you are the company director or Secretary then you will need to complete Part 2 nominating who was driving at the time of the alleged offence and return the form to Dorset Police Central Ticket Office, who will issue a new NIP to the nominated driver.

You should supply the residential address of the individual and not a c/o address. Please check that your address records are correct before completion of the document.

If you were driving a company vehicle

The registered keeper of a vehicle has a legal obligation under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to provide the identity of the driver at the time of an alleged offence. This also applies to a company, which will be named as the registered keeper of a vehicle.

You should not complete the Notice, the Company Secretary/Director should complete Part 2 of the Notice nominating you as the driver. You will then be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution in your own name which you should complete and return. You are strongly advised to keep records of the use of company owned vehicles.

Payment

The Notice of Intended Prosecution is required to establish who the driver was at the time of the offence. Therefore, payment and driving licence documents are not required at this stage. PLEASE DO NOT SEND THESE WITH YOUR NOTICE OF INTENDED PROSECUTION RESPONSE. You will be advised in writing of the next step by the Dorset Police Central Ticket Office.

There is no facility for paying the Fixed Penalty by instalments as this is a Fixed Penalty and payment must be made in full. If you are having difficulty making payment please write to The Central Ticket Office where an extension for making the payment may be granted at their discretion, no guarantee can be made that an extension will be granted.

It is vital that you supply the correct driver number by entering the details onto the Notice of Intended Prosecution. If you do not hold a DVLA Swansea issued licence then please supply a photocopy of your licence in addition to completing the Notice Of Intended Prosecution.

If you have lost or mislaid your licence we advise you to apply immediately for a replacement. Forms can be obtained from the Post Office giving you full details of how to obtain a replacement licence.

From the 8 June 2015, only a driving licence photo card or old style paper licence is required (not a paper counterpart) for endorsement purposes. Should you submit a driving licence COUNTERPART, this will be retained and securely destroyed. You will NOT have it returned to you.

You will need to complete Part 2 of the Notice of Intended Prosecution with the name and address of the person you sold the vehicle to so a Notice of Intended Prosecution can be issued in his/her name. Remember that it is your responsibility as the previous owner to notify the DVLA of any change in ownership of the vehicle, failure to do so is an offence and can result in a fine.

Please note that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from time to time have a delay in updating records therefore this should be taken into account.

To view photographic evidence please log into the online portal

Click here

You will require your notice number, pin number and vehicle registration in order to log in.

The purpose of the photographs is to identify the vehicle and will not necessarily identify who was driving at the time of the offence. It is the registered keepers responsibility to name who was driving the vehicle.