In brief

A penalty order is a judgment by post. The court has not heard you; it has only read the file. Anyone who does not object within two weeks is convicted.

The penalty order procedure is a written procedure for less serious offences before the single judge and the lay assessor court (Section 407(1) StPO). The prosecutor applies for it where a hearing is not considered necessary and names the sentence sought. The court issues the order if it has no reservations (Section 408(3) StPO). No prior hearing by the court is provided for.

Under Section 407(2) StPO it may impose a fine, a warning with a reserved sentence, a driving ban, confiscation, withdrawal of the driving licence with a blocking period of up to two years, a temporary ban on keeping animals, and dispensing with punishment. If the accused has defence counsel, a suspended prison sentence of up to one year is also possible. This is one reason courts appoint counsel in such cases.

How to recognise a penalty order

It arrives in a yellow envelope with a certificate of service, is signed by the local court and contains a section on remedies mentioning the two-week deadline. At the top is the allegation with date, place and section; at the bottom the consequence, for example “60 daily rates of 40 euros each”. Often it is the very first news of the case, because a written questionnaire never arrived or went unanswered.

Objection, limitation or acceptance

Anyone who does nothing has a criminal record after two weeks (Section 410(3) StPO). An objection leads to a main hearing, in which, however, the court is not bound by the earlier sentence. In between lies limiting the objection, for instance to the amount of the daily rate. Which route is right we decide after access to the file. In a considerable share of our cases, a dismissal subject to conditions can be reached after the objection, with the result that there is no entry at all.

In detail: received a penalty order, what to do now.

General explanation, not advice on an individual case. As of November 2026.