What is an SP30 conviction?

It's a common misconception to think that an SP30 relates to an offence where you've exceeded a 30mph speed limit. In fact SP30 is just the name of the offence code, and it's applicable to any offence involving exceeding a statutory speed limit on a public road. This includes any road which isn't a motorway, and could therefore realistically be any speed limit from 10mph-60mph.

This is a broad, catch-all category and as such is the most common speeding offence. When you factor in that speeding offences make up around 80% of all motoring offences in the UK, getting an SP30 notice is a fairly common occurrence. While it can negatively affect your future insurance quotes, it's less damaging than some other driving offences. Use our guide on car insurance with a speeding convictions to work out which providers are best for you if you've received an SP30.

No, there is also a class of speeding offence known as an SP50. An SP50 notice refers to an offence occurring on a motorway, upon which the speed limit is 70mph. These offence numbers need to be supplied to insurance providers so it's important to know which code applies to any offence you may have committed, and to ensure that you've been sent the correct type of notice.

For a speeding offence in the UK you will receive a minimum fine of £100.

You will also receive between 3 to 6 penalty points on your licence depending on the type of offence. For an SP30 offence you'll receive 3 to 6 penalty points. To learn more about penalty points, check out our guide.

Any penalty points for an SP30 offence will remain on your licence for 4 years.

You may be offered the opportunity to attend a speed awareness course if it's your first speeding offence, or you haven't attended a similar course in the past 5 years. This will then replace the penalty points. If you're thinking about taking a speed awareness course, check out our guide.

You must declare the SP30 conviction to your insurer for 5 years.

The number of points accrued for your offence will dictate your car insurance premium. Minor offences resulting in 3 penalty points might increase your premium by a small amount – around 5% on average.

More severe offences however can receive up to 6 penalty points, which is likely to increase your premium by a larger amount, sometimes up to 30%.