How much a motoring offence solicitor costs

Typical fixed fees firms publish

Most motoring work is charged as a fixed fee per stage. Looking across published price pages, the common ranges are:

• Written representations (for example, arguing against penalty points by letter): often around 300 to 600 pounds plus VAT.
• Guilty plea with one hearing (speeding, careless driving, drink driving): commonly around 300 to 800 pounds plus VAT, with some firms charging more for court attendance outside their area.
• Exceptional hardship or special reasons arguments (to avoid a ban): often quoted separately, frequently 700 pounds plus VAT upwards, because they involve preparation and evidence.
• Not guilty plea and trial: the widest range. Some firms quote a preparation fee plus a fee per hearing; published examples for a contested case run from around 1,200 pounds plus VAT to several thousand pounds, depending on preparation, trial length and the number of hearings.

These are typical ranges from published fee pages, not quotes. A firm's own published price for your specific offence and plea is the number that matters.

What the fee should include, and what it may not

• Ask whether the fee covers one hearing or the whole case. Adjournments are common, and a second hearing can double the bill if each hearing is charged separately.
• Check who will attend court: a solicitor from the firm, or a local agent the firm instructs. The published price information must describe the experience of the people doing the work.
• Expert reports are usually extra. In drink driving cases a back calculation or medical report is a typical disbursement.
• If you are convicted, the court may order you to pay prosecution costs and must normally impose the victim surcharge on top of any fine. Those go to the court, not the solicitor, and are never part of the legal fee.
• For most UK private clients, a VAT-registered firm will charge VAT on its fees at the standard rate, currently 20%. The firm's published prices should state which fees and disbursements attract VAT and the amount; check whether a quoted figure includes it.

What the firm's website must already tell you

For defence work on summary-only motoring offences (the kind dealt with entirely in the magistrates' court), the SRA Transparency Rules require the firm's website to show the total cost or an average or range with the basis for the charges, what is included and what is not, likely disbursements and their cost, whether VAT applies and the amount, the key stages and typical timescales, and the experience and qualifications of the people doing the work and their supervisors.

In the SRA's own web sweep of firms doing motoring work, only 9% of the motoring firms checked were publishing everything the rules require, with disbursements and key stages among the most common gaps. So if a firm's page leaves you guessing, that is common, but you are entitled to ask for the missing details in writing before you commit.

How to compare quotes quickly

Time is usually short in motoring cases, so ask each firm the same three questions: the total fee including VAT for your offence and plea, whether it covers all hearings or one, and what disbursements they expect for your case. A firm that publishes clear fixed fees on its website has already answered most of this; treat that as a good sign. The solicitor prices guide has a template email you can adapt.

See whether a firm publishes what the rules expect

You can run a free SRA website check on any firm you are considering: our scanner reads the public pages and reports whether it found price information, the clickable SRA badge and complaints information. The transparency statistics show how firm websites across England and Wales compare.

This guide is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. Fee figures are typical market ranges from published fee pages, not quotes. Website findings are automated, come from public pages only, and are not a legal opinion.