Objection to a traffic fine notice (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A letter objecting to a German fine notice (Bußgeldbescheid) for a traffic offence, sent to the fines office that issued it: with the file reference, the date of the notice and the date it was served, against the notice in full or only against the penalty, with a request to inspect the file, and with or without reasons. Under § 67 of the German Administrative Offences Act (OWiG), the objection must reach the authority within two weeks of service, and a plain e-mail does not count. If the case goes to court, the court may also raise the fine. In German, ready to print and sign.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Fines authority (name as on its letter)
- Fines authority's address (street and number, then postcode and town, each on its own line)
- City
- Date
- Case number
- Date of the fine notice
- Registration plate
- Date of service (the date written on the yellow envelope), if known
- Scope of the objection: in full, or only the penalty (amount of the fine, driving ban)
- Reasons, in German (not required by law; if none yet, write that reasons will follow after inspecting the file)
- Date of birth
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- By when must the objection to a German fine notice reach the fines office?
- Within two weeks of the notice being served (§ 67(1) OWiG). The period ends at midnight on the same weekday two weeks later; if that day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday where the authority sits, it ends on the next working day (§ 46 OWiG, § 43 StPO). For a notice served in the yellow envelope, the date the postal worker wrote on it counts. What matters is when the objection arrives, not when it was sent.
- Can the objection to a German fine notice be sent by e-mail?
- No. A plain e-mail is not a valid objection, even with the letter scanned in. Print the letter, sign it by hand and send it by post or fax, or hand it in; the authority can also record the objection in person. Electronic filing works only with a qualified electronic signature or through a secure transmission route (§ 110c OWiG, § 32a StPO). A fax transmission report or a receipt stamp proves arrival; the tracking of an Einwurf-Einschreiben (registered post put into the letterbox) alone does not.
- Does the objection to a German fine notice need reasons?
- No, reasons are not required. Many people object first without reasons and give them only after inspecting the file — this letter asks for access to the file at the same time (§ 49 OWiG). Nobody has to comment on the accusation, and anything written about it can be used. If only the amount of the fine or a driving ban is disputed, the objection can be limited to the penalty.
- Can a German court raise the fine after an objection?
- Yes. If the fines office maintains the notice, it sends the case through the public prosecutor to the local court (Amtsgericht). After a hearing the court is not bound by the notice and may raise the fine, and the costs of the proceedings come on top. The objection can therefore be withdrawn — most simply while the case is still with the fines office — and the notice then becomes final as issued.
- Does a German traffic offence still lapse after three months?
- Not for offences committed since 1 July 2026: the limitation period for traffic offences under § 24(1) of the German Road Traffic Act (StVG) is now six months throughout (§ 26(3) StVG). It is interrupted — by the hearing form or the fine notice, for example — and then starts again (§ 33 OWiG). For offences up to 30 June 2026 the old rule still applies, according to the accounts published so far: three months until the notice, six after it.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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