Fined or Facing a Driving Licence Suspension? What You Can Challenge
Many people pay a fine simply because it seems easier than challenging it — without knowing that, in many cases, the citation report has formal or substantive flaws that make it void. Other, more serious situations, such as a driving licence suspension, require a fast and well-argued response.
The deadline to challenge: 15 days, no exceptions
A complaint against a citation report must be filed within 15 days of its notification. This is a strict deadline — missing it, even by one day, means losing the right to challenge the fine, no matter how strong the arguments are.
What can make a citation report void
A citation report must meet strict formal and content requirements: a clear description of the offence, the correct legal classification, and complete details of both the officer and the offender. Flaws such as an incomplete description of the offence, missing mandatory information, or a mismatch between the offence recorded and its legal classification can lead to the citation report being fully annulled, regardless of whether the offence actually occurred.
Driving licence suspension
Suspension can be ordered either administratively (for example, after accumulating a certain number of penalty points) or as a result of a serious offence (excessive speed, driving under the influence). Challenging the measure is done in court, and the chances of success largely depend on how the citation report was drafted and the circumstances of the offence.
Recovering penalty points
Penalty points accumulated from traffic offences can be partially recovered by avoiding new offences over a set period, but the exact procedure and deadlines vary depending on the type of offence. Assessing your points situation is especially useful for professional drivers, for whom a licence suspension directly affects their livelihood.
Business-related offences: tax authority and consumer protection
Fines imposed on companies by the tax authority or consumer protection agency follow the same challenge principles as traffic fines, but usually involve larger amounts and a more serious impact on the company’s activity. A timely challenge, backed by solid legal arguments, can be the difference between a fine being annulled and one being fully upheld, with interest and penalties added.
Forestry and environmental offences
This type of offence — illegal logging, transporting timber without documents, pollution — often carries severe sanctions, including confiscation of the goods involved. Checking the legality of how the offence was recorded and how evidence was handled is essential in this type of challenge.
How a lawyer can help
A quick review of a citation report, in the first days after receiving it, can identify flaws that would otherwise go unnoticed. The short challenge deadline often makes a prompt response more important than anything else.