If you have violated any regulation under administrative law (= administrative offence), you may be obliged to pay a certain amount of money (= financial penalty). The financial penalty (often simply called a „fine“) is therefore a penalty charge to be paid to an authority or public agency.
NB: This information leaflet only deals with administrative fines. You can find information on fines as a consequence of a criminal offence in „Information sheet 15 – Fines“
Administrative offences frequently occur:
- in road traffic (crossing a red traffic light on foot or in a vehicle), speeding, illegal parking, using a mobile phone while driving, defective lights on a bicycle … )
- in connection with the citizens’ registration system (failure to register a residential address or change of address punctually)
- in connection with general administrative legislation (disturbance of the peace, violation of the ban on alcohol/smoking/begging in certain places, throwing rubbish/cigarette ends away on the street … )
How are fines imposed?
Depending on the administrative offence you are accused of, different offices are responsible (e.g. public order authorities, regional councils, city or district administrative authorities). The responsible authority must first inform you of the accusation and allow you to make a statement. You will receive a letter for this purpose to which you can reply in writing. In this letter, the authority may suggest that you pay a small fine that serves as a warning (Verwarnungsgeld). The proceedings against you would then be stopped immediately. If you did commit the offence, it is your advantage to accept this offer.
If you do not reply to the letter and do not pay, you will receive a penalty notice [Bußgeldbescheid]. In this case you will have to pay a fee in addition to the fine.
If you did not commit the administrative offence, you can lodge an appeal within 2 weeks. If you do not lodge an appeal, the penalty notice becomes legally binding after 2 weeks and you can only appeal against it in exceptional cases. The legal remedy (at the end of the penalty notice) tells you where to send the appeal and in what form. NB: A written appeal must be in German.
If the authority accepts your appeal, the penalty notice can be withdrawn. If not, a court will be called on to decide (= judgement). If you are sentenced by the court, you will also have to pay the court costs and expenses.
An appeal therefore only makes sense if you did not actually commit the administrative offence. If you do not lodge an appeal, the fine should be paid in one sum within 4 weeks of receiving the penalty notice.
What happens if you cannot pay the fine?
If you cannot pay the amount immediately, you can apply to the authority for payment in instalments or deferred payment (proof of income is required).
If you do not pay and do not contact the authorities, they can demand a statement of assets from you and seize your income, assets or bank account. As a means of forcing you to respond, an arrest warrant may even be applied for against you, and you can be placed in coercive detention for a maximum of 6 weeks because of a fine. However, this coercive detention is not a substitute for the fine but is only intended to persuade you to pay. The fine must still be paid!
NB: Compulsory detention must be ordered by a court. It is not permitted if you cannot pay due to insufficient income. It is therefore essential that you reply to any letters received from the court and prove your inability to pay (proof of income, proof of maintenance obligations).
Other special features of fines:
- Fines cannot be settled through insolvency proceedings
The release from residual debt at the end of insolvency proceedings only covers the costs of the fine proceedings. The fine itself must still be paid. - If the authority is convinced that you will not be able to pay the fine in the future, the fine can be struck down. This means that the authority will not take any further action until the claim becomes time-barred.
- Fines of up to 1,000 euros become time-barred after 3 years from the date on which the penalty notice entered into force. Higher fines become time-barred after 5 years. However, the statute of limitations is extended by the periods in which you pay instalments or the fine was deferred.
- Special rules apply to juveniles and adolescents (= persons between 14 and 21 years of age). A juvenile court judge may convert the fine into hours of work, for example, if this is requested. Juveniles may receive assistance during criminal proceedings if desired.
