How Much Is a Speeding Ticket in California?
The base cost of a speeding ticket in California is $35, but additional court fines and legal fees can increase that amount to well over $200.
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The cost of a speeding ticket in California depends on how fast you were going over the limit. At minimum, you’ll be charged a base fee. Additional penalties and fees may be added to that.
How much is a speeding ticket in California?
Here are the specific ticket fees in California, broken up by how fast the driver was going over the speed limit:
MPH over speed limit | Total estimated cost of ticket |
|---|---|
1 to 15 | $234 ($35 base fee + court penalties/fees) |
16 to 25 | $363 ($70 base fee + court penalties/fees) |
26 and over | $486 ($100 base fee + court penalties/fees) |
If you get a speeding ticket in a highway construction zone or maintenance area while work is being performed, your fine will be doubled.
If you are found guilty for speeding, you might benefit from comparing car insurance quotes. Some insurers might overlook your first speeding ticket, but you won’t know if your company is one of them unless you do some research.
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California car insurance rates after a speeding ticket
While paying for a speeding ticket can hurt your bank account, the biggest hit might actually be how it affects your car insurance.
The penalty for a speeding ticket, fines and related fees in California may be up to $363 if you were going 16 miles an hour over the speed limit. But after a speeding ticket, your car insurance rates might increase by a lot more than that:
| California driver profile | Full coverage rate | Minimum coverage rate |
|---|---|---|
| Clean driving record, good credit | $1,979 | $615 |
| One speeding ticket, good credit | $2,926 | $852 |
| One at-fault crash, good credit | $3,725 | $1,132 |
| One DUI, good credit | $5,235 | $1,496 |
| Clean driving record, poor credit | $1,979 | $615 |
These are averages for 35-year-old drivers in California, according to our October 2025 analysis.
What to do after a speeding ticket in California
Drivers in California have three options after receiving their first minor speeding ticket:
Plead guilty, pay the fine and receive a point on your license. Points from speeding tickets typically stay on your record for three to seven years.
Plead guilty, pay the fine and attend traffic safety school. Completing a course will hide the point from insurance companies so it won’t affect your rates.
Request a court date where you can decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty. You can request a trial by written declaration, in which case you’ll provide a written statement and any relevant evidence, but you won’t have to go to court. You could also request an in-person trial instead.
Most courts will tell you if you can attend traffic school. To be eligible in California, you must have a valid license, have been driving a nonwork vehicle and have not attended traffic school in the past 18 months.
If you are unable to pay the full fine, you can:
Request to delay the due date.
Ask the court to lower the fine.
Schedule a payment plan.
Ask to perform community service instead.
Average car insurance rates after a speeding ticket, by age
Car insurance companies use multiple factors to determine your rates. While driving history is important, insurers also look at your location, age and coverage.
NerdWallet’s October 2025 rates analysis looked at the average rates for different driver profiles in California, including drivers with one speeding ticket.
| Driver profile | Full coverage rate | Minimum coverage rate |
|---|---|---|
| Clean driving record, good credit | $3,308 | $1,054 |
| One speeding ticket, good credit | $4,724 | $1,442 |
| One at-fault crash, good credit | $5,708 | $1,900 |
| One DUI, good credit | $8,945 | $2,534 |
| Clean driving record, poor credit | $3,308 | $1,054 |
These are averages for 20-year-old drivers in California, according to our October 2025 analysis. Our speeding category considers drivers ticketed for going 16 mph over the speed limit.
See what you could save on car insurance
Easily compare personalized rates to see how much switching car insurance could save you.
Cheapest car insurance companies after a speeding ticket in California
It's normal to want affordable car insurance, even after a speeding ticket. So NerdWallet compared rates from different insurers to find the cheapest options in California.
You can see the cheapest companies for a wide range of driver ages below. (We specifically looked at rates for drivers ticketed for going 16 mph over the speed limit.)
If you're a member of the military or a veteran — or have an immediate family member who is — chances are you'll get a relatively cheap rate with USAA. We found USAA to be among the cheapest three auto insurance options for 57 of the 70 driver profiles we examined. But because USAA isn't available to the general public, we didn't rank it with the other insurers on these tables.
If you have trouble finding an insurer or getting an affordable car insurance policy, you may want to turn to a high-risk insurance company. These insurers specialize in covering drivers whose records have tickets and other driving violations.
In addition to price, you should also consider a company’s customer satisfaction ratings, consumer complaint data and coverage options. Taking the time to compare rates could not only save you hundreds of dollars, but it could also help you find the company that’s the best fit for you.
Learn more about California car insurance |
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We analyze the data. We update our average car insurance rates every month. To do that, we analyze more than 500 million rates from across the country. These rates are provided by Quadrant Information Services.
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NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.
In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile. Our “good” and “poor” credit rates are based on credit score approximations and do not account for proprietary scoring criteria used by insurance providers.
These are average rates, and your rate will vary based on your personal details, state and insurance provider.
Sample drivers had the following coverage limits:
$100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
$300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.
$50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.
Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.
Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.
In states where required, minimum additional coverages were added. We used the same assumptions for all other driver profiles, with the following exceptions:
For drivers with a ticket, we added a single speeding violation for driving 16 mph over the speed limit.
For drivers with minimum coverage, we adjusted the numbers above to reflect only the minimum coverage required by law in the state.
We used a 2022 Toyota Camry LE in all cases and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven.
These are rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.