A speeding ticket can raise your insurance rates by an average of 27% in Massachusetts. Shopping for new rates should be your first step after paying your fine.

Written by Sarah Gray

Edited by R.E. Fulton

Reviewed by Brice Regling

Updated on Jan 31, 2024

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How to deal with a speeding ticket in Massachusetts
Calculate your Massachusetts speeding ticket penalties
Your insurance will go up after a speeding ticket—here’s how to lower it
Cheapest car insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Massachusetts
FAQs

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Massachusetts

drivers have two options for dealing with a speeding ticket: plead guilty and pay the fine or fight the charge in court. Minimum fines for speeding in Massachusetts start at $100 and increase by $10 for each mile over 10 mph over the speed limit you were traveling—plus, you can expect an average 27% increase in your

car insurance

premiums.

How to deal with a speeding ticket in Massachusetts

Step 1: Check your traffic ticket to determine if you’re required to make a court appearance. Massachusetts law classifies speeding tickets as Civil Motor Vehicle Infractions (CMVI), so unless your infraction coincides with a criminal offense, you should have the option to skip court by paying a fine.

Step 2: Decide whether to pay your ticket or fight it. Just because you can, generally, avoid court by paying a fine doesn’t mean that’s your best option. Paying the fine for a Massachusetts traffic ticket means pleading guilty—the associated points for a speeding ticket could add up to

license suspension

, and will result in increased insurance premiums.

Step 3: Shop for car insurance before your next renewal. When your insurer learns of your speeding ticket, you’ll face rate increases averaging around 27%.

Learn more:

The best way to shop for car insurance in 2023

How to pay your ticket

If you choose to pay your fine, the simplest way to do so is to wait 10 days for the ticket to enter the Massachusetts court system, then head to

https://atlas-myrmv.massdot.state.ma.us/myrmv/_/

to pay online.

Scroll down to “Make a Payment” and select “Pay a Citation.”

If you’re an out-of-state motorist, select “Single Citation/Hearing.” If you have a Massachusetts driver’s license or ID Card, select “Logon To My Account.”

Massachusetts drivers will be prompted to verify their identity before being directed to the citation payment system. All others will be routed directly to payment.

Read the provided transaction information, then click “Next.”

Enter your citation number from the top right corner of your ticket, and the date of offense from the center left of the ticket, then click “Next.”

You can also pay your fine by mail or by phone. Visit the

Massachusetts RMV website

for details.1

You must either pay your fine or appeal your speeding ticket in court within 20 days of issuance. If you don’t respond within 20 days, you waive your right to an appeal and face increased fines. If those fines are not then paid within 30 days, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) will suspend your license and driving privileges.

How to get your ticket dismissed

To appeal your traffic ticket, you’ll need to notify the Massachusetts court that you wish to do so, pay a filing fee, and await a court date. You can notify the court using

the same online system

you’d use to pay your citation fee.2

Enter all information requested to access your citation online, including your citation numbers and date of citation.

When directed to citation payment, select the option to appeal your citation.

Enter payment information for the $25 court filing fee, and submit.

Wait for notification of your scheduled court date by mail.

You can also request a hearing to appeal your speeding by mail:

Make a copy of the citation for your records.

Sign and date the back of the citation where indicated.

Check the hearing request/filing fee box on the front of the pre-addressed envelope you’ll receive with your citation.

Enclose a check or money order made payable to MassDOT for the $25 filing fee. NOTE: Be sure to write your citation number and your driver’s license number on your payment.

Mail to Citation Processing Center P.O. Box 55890 Boston, MA 02205-5890

In district court, you’ll have the opportunity to plead your case before a clerk magistrate for getting your ticket dismissed. Effective arguments for getting your speeding ticket dismissed include:

Defective equipment or officer error: If you can prove the radar detector used to clock your speed was not working correctly or that the officer made an error, you may be able to get your ticket dismissed.

Defective vehicle equipment: If you can prove that your speedometer wasn’t working properly, and that you were unaware of the fact, you may have grounds for ticket dismissal.

Medical emergencies: If you can prove you were speeding in response to a medical emergency, the court may dismiss your ticket.

Drivers with a

clean driving record

will have a better chance of getting a ticket dismissed than those with previous traffic violations.

Ignorance of Massachusetts’ speeding laws or of the posted speed limit is not an effective defense. Whether you’re a Massachusetts resident or not, don’t try to fight your speeding ticket by claiming ignorance.

Learn more:

How to get a clean driving record (and save on insurance)

Calculate your Massachusetts speeding ticket penalties

Fines for speeding are outlined in

Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 90, Section 20

. Unlike some other states, they’re pretty straightforward3:

$50 base fine

+$10 for each mile over 10 mph over the speed limit

+$50 surcharge

Fines double for speeding in construction zones

The Massachusetts RMV keeps track of all offenses on your

driving record

, and if you’re issued three speeding tickets (including out-of-state offenses) within a 12-month period, you’ll have your driving privileges suspended for 30 days. Repeat offenders could face license revocation.4

In addition to fines, Massachusetts also assigns points for speeding tickets to your

Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP)

record. Since speeding is classed as a Minor Traffic Law Violation, you’ll be assessed 2 points.5

How to remove speeding tickets from your Massachusetts driving record

Once events are listed on your Massachusetts driving record, they can’t be removed unless you can prove they were added in error. Massachusetts does not have a traffic school alternative or a method for getting your ticket reduced to a non-moving violation.

Points generally remain on your SDIP record for five years, but you can reduce that time by avoiding any additional points for the next three years. Massachusetts’ “Clean in 3” provision states that the value of the points for each incident on your record can be reduced to one (1) if:

You have three or fewer offenses in the last five years

You have at least three years of driving experience

You haven’t gotten any points in the past three years.

Earn safe driving perks

Safe driving will be your goal for the next three years after getting a speeding ticket in Massachusetts, and

Jerry’s

DriveShield tool can help.

DriveShield is a telematics tool that tracks safe driving behaviors, including speeding, harsh acceleration and braking, and phone use to help you become a better driver and achieve the clean record you need to qualify for the lowest possible auto insurance coverage.

Plus, drivers who use Jerry to track their driving earn an average safe driving discount of 12% from their auto insurance provider.

Your insurance will go up after a speeding ticket—here’s how to lower it

Fines for speeding in Massachusetts are actually pretty reasonable, but the added cost of insurance once a ticket is on your record is not. Even a single speeding ticket on your record will cause your rates to increase an average of 27%—but you’re not completely powerless in this scenario.

Here’s what you can do to help keep your Massachusetts insurance affordable, even after a speeding ticket:

Step 1. Check your renewal date.

When your provider runs your

motor vehicle report (MVR)

to prepare your renewal quote, they’ll find out about your speeding ticket. If you’ve just renewed your policy, this means you could still have months before you see increased rates—but they’re coming. Sit tight and enjoy the low rates while you can.

Step 2: Wait for your renewal notice.

You’ll receive your renewal paperwork from your current provider about a month before your current policy term is up. This renewal notice will show you your new rate, which will be the best rate your current provider has to offer.

Step 3: Compare rates from other providers.

Even if your new rate seems affordable, keep in mind that each provider uses a different

method to calculate rates

—which means another provider may be able to save you money.

To make sure you’re not leaving money on the table,

compare quotes

from at least three to five different providers to see what other options are available.

A simple way to compare rates from multiple providers based on your current record is to use the

Jerry

app.

To make sure you take advantage of access to lower rates as your record clears, Jerry also offers automatic reshops. Activating this feature will get you instant quotes each time your policy is up for renewal. Plus, you’ll get notifications when a new provider enters your area that could possibly get you a lower rate.

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No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms

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Cheapest car insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Massachusetts

Here’s how major insurance companies tend to handle rate renewals after a speeding ticket:

Insurance company	Average rate increase after a speeding ticket
Allstate	15%
USAA	17%
American Family	22%
Nationwide	26%
State Farm	26%
Farmers	31%
Auto-Owners	36%
Travelers	37%
GEICO	38%
Progressive	43%

Remember: Every car insurance company calculates rates differently and that includes how they deal with traffic offenses. Your rate may increase by less or more than shown in this table based on the length of time you’ve been with your provider, your existing record, and whether or not you plead guilty to your ticket.

Where'd we get these numbers?
Jerry’s editorial team researched the average rate increase after a speeding ticket for these 10 insurance companies using expert sources from Forbes, NerdWallet, ValuePenguin, WalletHub, Liberty Mutual, The Zebra, and CarInsurance.com. Our data shows the average of the data shared by these sources.

RECOMMENDED

Compare auto insurance policies

No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms

ZIP Code

Find insurance savings

FAQs

How much is a speeding ticket in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts charges a base fine of $50 plus $10 per mile over 10 mph over the speed limit, and a $50 surcharge for speeding tickets. If you’re ticketed for speeding in a construction zone, you can expect these fines to double.

Is it worth appealing a speeding ticket in Massachusetts?

Maybe. If you have a legitimate reason to believe you shouldn’t be cited for speeding, you should enter a not guilty plea and take your case to court. That said, fighting a case on your own is tough, so you may wind up spending just as much in lawyer’s fees as you would for the fine.

Unless your speeding ticket also includes a more serious violation, like reckless driving or a Operating Under the Influence (OUI), it might make more financial sense to skip court and pay the fine.

What is the speeding law in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts classifies speeding as a Civil Motor Vehicle Infraction (CMVI) punishable by fines and license suspension. Speeding is a moving violation, but it is not a criminal offense.

How many miles over the speed limit is reckless driving in Massachusetts?

20 mph or more over the posted or safe speed limit is considered

reckless driving

in Massachusetts, as is drag racing.

Can I just pay my ticket and not go to court in Massachusetts?

Yes. In fact, simply paying the fee through

the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT)

online payment system

is the method most commonly pursued by those who know they’re guilty of speeding.

How do I get a speeding ticket dismissed in Massachusetts?

To get a Massachusetts speeding ticket dismissed you have to enter a plea of “not guilty” for your ticket and request a hearing.

Can you go to jail for speeding in Massachusetts?

Unless you’re traveling more than 20 mph over the speed limit—which is actually reckless driving, not speeding—you won’t go to jail for speeding in Massachusetts.

Does your first speeding ticket affect your insurance in Massachusetts?

Yes. Each speeding ticket, including the first, will add two points to your Safe Driving Insurance Plan (SDIP) record, which Massachusetts insurance carriers use to calculate car insurance rates.

How many points do you need to suspend your license in Massachusetts?

The Massachusetts RMV tracks traffic events and infractions rather than points to determine when

driving privileges should be suspended or revoked

. Three speeding tickets within a 12-month period or three surchargeable events (such as at-fault accidents or traffic law offenses) within a two-year period can result in license suspension.6