Richmond VA Speeding Ticket: What It Actually Costs

A speeding ticket in Richmond, Virginia is priced by a statewide formula, not a flat fee set by the city. If the ticket is prepayable, Va. Code § 46.2-878.3 sets the fine at $6 for every mile per hour over the posted limit, and Va. Code § 16.1-69.48:1 adds a fixed $51 in court costs on top for a traffic infraction. Fifteen miles per hour over the limit, for example, comes to $90 in fine plus $51 in costs — $141 before anything else is added.

How Much a Richmond Speeding Ticket Actually Costs

The Supreme Court of Virginia’s Uniform Fine Schedule, authorized by § 46.2-878.3, is the source for the per-mph rate, and it is not the same everywhere:

Where the violation happened	Rate
Ordinary posted speed limit	$6 per mph over
School crossing zone (§ 46.2-873) or highway work zone (§ 46.2-878.1)	$7 per mph over
Posted residence district	$8 per mph over, plus a $200 base fine

One more figure applies on top of the basic rate: driving 81 to 85 mph on a highway posted 65 mph adds an extra $100 to the fine. Whatever the total fine comes to, the $51 traffic-infraction court cost in § 16.1-69.48:1 is added to it — that figure is fixed by statute and does not vary by how fast the driver was going or which Virginia court hears the case.

These are the amounts for prepaying — resolving the ticket by mail, online or in person without a hearing. A driver who contests the ticket and loses may face a different amount, since a judge sets the fine at a hearing rather than following the prepay schedule automatically, though the court costs still apply.

A Few Worked Examples (Ordinary Posted Limit)

Over the limit	Fine ($6/mph)	Court costs	Total
5 mph	$30	$51	$81
10 mph	$60	$51	$111
15 mph	$90	$51	$141
19 mph	$114	$51	$165
20 mph	Not prepayable — reckless driving charge	—	Set by the court

The table stops at 19 mph over for a reason: at 20, the case leaves this fine schedule entirely and becomes the reckless driving charge described below.

When It Stops Being “Just” a Speeding Ticket

The fine schedule above only applies below one specific line. Va. Code § 46.2-862 makes 20 mph or more over the limit, or any speed over 85 mph, reckless driving — a criminal Class 1 misdemeanor, not an infraction, with up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine under § 18.2-11, and it cannot be prepaid at all; it requires a court appearance. Fourteen miles per hour over a 55 limit is a speeding ticket; twenty is a criminal charge, even though the difference in real-world driving is small. A driver close to that line, or considering whether to contest the reading, may find it worth having a Virginia traffic attorney review the specific citation. For what a reckless driving case in this region actually involves, see reckless driving charged in Dinwiddie County on this site, which covers the same statute in depth.

Speed Measurement and Calibration

Va. Code § 46.2-882 allows speed to be measured by laser, radar, or a calibrated microcomputer device, and the reading is “prima facie evidence” of the vehicle’s speed in court. The same section makes a calibration certificate for the device — or for a tuning fork used to test radar — admissible evidence of accuracy, but only if it is current: no calibration is valid for longer than six months for these devices (twelve months for a photo speed monitoring device). A certificate that has lapsed, or a device that was never calibrated within that window, is a common point of dispute in a contested hearing, though whether it affects a particular case is for the court to decide.

Local Ordinances

A Richmond citation does not have to cite the Code of Virginia by number. Va. Code § 46.2-1300 lets a city adopt traffic ordinances paralleling state law, including its own posted speed limits, so long as the penalty does not exceed what state law sets for a comparable offense. A ticket citing a Richmond city ordinance is prosecuted the same way, in the same court, as one citing a Virginia Code section directly. Counties have the same power, which is why a summons written outside the city can carry a county ordinance number instead — the Pittsylvania County General District Court page works through what that means for a case heard there.

Paying or Contesting a Richmond Speeding Ticket

The Virginia Judicial System’s guide to paying traffic tickets explains the current online, mail and in-person payment options, and the Online Case Information System can confirm whether a specific citation is on the docket, using the citation or case number printed on the ticket. This page does not print a payment portal address or a phone number, because those details change; the official listings above are the current version.

Looking up a case — to pay it, confirm a court date, or check whether it has already been processed — generally starts with the citation or case number printed on the ticket itself, which the Online Case Information System uses to locate the record. A driver who has lost the paper citation can still confirm the case through the general district court that received it, using the driver’s name and the approximate date of the stop; the Richmond City General District Court’s own page on Virginia’s Judicial System site lists that court’s divisions, address, hours and clerk’s telephone number.

Prepaying is worth understanding before doing it: it is treated in law as a guilty plea and results in a conviction, carrying the demerit points shown below, the same as if the case had gone to trial and lost. Contesting the ticket keeps that option open but requires appearing on the date in the summons; anyone who needs to reschedule should raise it with the clerk’s office before that date rather than after. For how a contested infraction hearing is actually decided if it doesn’t settle beforehand, see how a Virginia traffic court hearing works on this site.

DMV Points for Speeding

Speed over the limit	DMV points	Years on record
1–9 mph	3	5
10–19 mph	4	5
20 mph or more (charged as reckless driving)	6	5 (points) / 11 (criminal record)

The jump at 20 mph over is the same line described above: it is both a bigger points hit and a criminal conviction rather than an infraction.