Paying a court fine
This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales
Giving priority to paying a fine
If you've received a court fine, it's important that you give priority to paying it. If you don't, the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service can:
clamp your car or other vehicle and sell it to pay your fine
stop your wages through your employer
freeze any money in your bank account
arrange with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to take money from your benefits.
Fines from a court or the police are priority debts. If you're having difficulty paying your fine because of other financial commitments, you can contact a fine enforcement officer.
If you have a fine from your local council for parking or environmental offences, you have to pay the local council, not the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service. Read more about appealing a parking ticket issued by the local council.
How to pay your fine
Check the instructions on the notice of the fine you've received. The fine notice will usually provide contact details for paying online, by phone or by post. You'll need the reference number of your fine and you might need to have other documents to hand.
You can read more about ways to pay a fine on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website.
Online
You can pay many fines online using a debit card or another direct process like Paypal.
You can't pay a fine online if it's for a driving offence that puts points on your licence. For this, you have to send your driving licence to the court that imposed the fine to have the points put on the licence.
By phone
If you have a debit or credit card, you can usually pay your fine by phone - as long as it's not for a fine that puts points on a driving licence.
By post
You can send payment for your fine by post, normally by cheque or postal order.
At court
You can usually pay your fine by cheque or postal order at the public payment counter of your local sheriff court.
Fine enforcement officers
Each sheriff court area has a team of fine enforcement officers who can provide advice and support if you're having difficulty paying.
You can contact a fine enforcement officer on 0300 790 0014 or at finesenforcement@scotcourts.gov.uk.
There's more information about fine enforcement officers on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website.
Work out your budget
If you need to discuss with a fine enforcement officer what you can afford to pay, you can use a budgeting tool.
You might also find it helpful to get help from a debt adviser if you have other debts. Read more about how to sort out your debts.
Individual payment plans
A fine enforcement officer can discuss a range of options with you for paying your fine. You'll need the details of your income and expenditure to come to an agreement. If your financial circumstances change, you might be able to have a new plan drawn up, but only if a fine enforcement officer agrees.
The court might ask you to get help from a debt adviser. Get help from your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you don't pay a fine
If you don't pay a court fine, the procurator fiscal can issue a warrant for your arrest. This might happen if several fines have remained unpaid for some time and you haven't contacted a fine enforcement officer.