Dutch Speeding Fines 2026: EUR 28 to EUR 541 + EUR 9

The 2026 Dutch tariff starts at €28 for 4 km/h over on a motorway and rises one km/h at a time to €541 at 40 km/h over. Every ticket adds €9 in administration costs, and above 40 km/h over the case leaves the tariff list and goes to the prosecutor.

The list is per km/h, and it starts at 4

Dutch speeding fines are not banded the way most countries’ are. The Openbaar Ministerie publishes a tariff for every single km/h, from 4 upwards, and the 2026 list (Feitenboekje 2026) makes the shape of it obvious: €28 at 4 km/h over on a motorway, €84 at 10, €229 at 20, €389 at 30, €541 at 40. Inside a built-up area the same margins cost more, because the list is separate: €37, €95, €255, €446.

There is no early-payment discount to soften any of it, and €9 of administration costs is added to every notice. The reason so many visitors get one is the 4 km/h starting point — but before that, your speed is adjusted in your favour.

How Much Does Speeding Cost in Netherlands?

These are the 2026 tariffs for a car, taken from the OM’s own list. The column that applies depends on the road, not on the reason:

Add €9 administration costs to any of them. Past 40 km/h over on a motorway — and past 30 inside a built-up area — there is no tariff at all: the case goes to the prosecutor, where the amount is set individually.

A separate and steeper list applies at roadworks: 10 km/h over there costs €121 rather than €84, which is the trap on the A2 and A12 gantry stretches.

Other Traffic Fines

• Holding a phone or other mobile device while driving: €440
• No seatbelt: €190
• Running a red light: €320

How Fines Are Enforced

The Netherlands runs one of Europe’s densest camera networks, and the enforcement chain is fully automated from gantry to CJIB letter.

What is usually described as a 3 km/h “tolerance” is really a measurement correction, and it scales. The OM’s correction table deducts 3 km/h from a measured speed up to 100 km/h, 4 km/h from 101–133, 5 km/h from 134–166 and so on. The tariff is then applied to the corrected figure — which is why the fine list starts at 4 km/h over rather than 1.

Speeding sits squarely inside Directive 2015/413’s list of eight offences, so a Dutch notice reaching a foreign address is routine rather than remarkable. What that directive does not cover is emission-zone penalties — a distinction that matters elsewhere in Europe, not for this ticket.

Tourist tip: section-control (trajectcontrole) stretches on the A2, A4 and A12 time you between two points, so lifting off for a gantry achieves nothing. If you are stopped rather than photographed, note the hard line: from 50 km/h over, the officer seizes the driving licence on the spot and the file goes to the prosecutor.

Speed Limits for Context

To avoid fines, keep these speed limits in mind while driving in Netherlands:

• Urban areas: 50 km/h, and 30 km/h on a growing share of city streets
• Rural roads: 80 km/h on undivided roads, 100 km/h where the carriageways are separated
• Motorways: 100 km/h during the day, with a higher limit signed on some stretches in the evening and overnight — the gantry sign is the limit, not the memory of the last one

What Most Guides Don’t Tell You

Hidden Costs Beyond the Fine

The tariff is not the total. On top of the amounts above:

• €9 administration costs, added to every notice without exception
• Rental company handling fee for forwarding a camera fine to your card, frequently more than the €28 a minor motorway ticket costs
• Cross-border collection — speeding is one of the eight offences covered by EU Directive 2015/413, so your keeper details are obtainable and the letter follows you home

On a small ticket the extras genuinely can outweigh the fine itself.

Camera Technology

Fixed ANPR cameras, section-control stretches and mobile laser units cover motorways, urban roads and rural roads alike. The section-control installations are the ones that defeat the usual tactics — they measure your average between two gantries rather than your speed at one.

The Time-to-Pay Trap

Notices arrive by post from the CJIB or via your rental company. Pay by the date on the letter: unpaid Mulder fines escalate by 50% after the first reminder and again after the second, a far harsher curve than the original tariff.

Where the Tariff Stops

The list is not open-ended, and the thresholds are specific rather than vague:

• Over 40 km/h over on a motorway, or over 30 in a built-up area — no tariff applies, the prosecutor decides
• 50 km/h over, when you are stopped rather than photographed — the licence is taken on the spot and the file is sent to the prosecutor
• More than double the limit, with demonstrable danger — the OM’s guidance points to seizure of the vehicle itself

Other Costly Violations

Speeding is not the only expensive mistake here. The 2026 tariffs that catch tourists:

• Holding a phone while driving: €440
• No seatbelt, driver or passenger: €190
• Running a red light: €320

How to Avoid Fines in Netherlands

Prevention Is Cheaper Than Paying

The simplest way to avoid a speeding fine in Netherlands is to drive at or below the posted limit. Obvious advice, but here are the specific traps that catch tourists:

• Urban transition zones: The limit drops to 50 km/h as you enter a town. Signs can be easy to miss on unfamiliar roads.
• Roadwork zones: Temporary limits are heavily enforced. Camera fines in construction zones often carry a higher penalty.
• Variable speed signs: Electronic gantry signs override the permanent posted limit. If the gantry shows a lower number, that is your current limit.
• Daytime motorway limit: the standard 100 km/h applies during the day; where a higher evening limit exists it is signed, and assuming it applies around the clock is one of the commonest visitor tickets.

Use Technology Wisely

Speed camera alert apps (like Waze or TomTom) are legal in Netherlands and give advance warning of fixed cameras. Combined with a sat-nav that displays the current speed limit, you have a reliable safety net.

If You Receive a Fine

Camera-generated fines arrive by post or through your rental company. Do not ignore them — Netherlands actively pursues cross-border collection and unpaid fines can cause problems at future border crossings.

If you believe the fine is wrong, you have the right to appeal. However, appealing typically suspends the early-payment discount and the full fine applies if you lose.

Rental Company Surcharges

Rental companies add their own administrative fee when processing a camera fine, and against a €28 minor ticket that fee is often the larger number. Check the surcharge in the rental contract before you sign — it is the one part of the cost that is negotiable in advance and immovable afterwards.

How Netherlands Compares

Key Facts at a Glance

Useful Tools

• Complete Driving Guide for Netherlands

• Speeding Fine Calculator

• World Speed Limit Map

• Speed Unit Converter