If you were not in possession or control of your vehicle or trailer at the time of the offence, you need to say who was driving, so the fine can be re-issued to them. This is called nominating the responsible driver.

When you complete the nomination form, you will be asked for your details as well as the details of the driver you are nominating. If your nomination is successful, the fine will be reissued to the nominated driver 

If you want to nominate a fine, do not pay the fine, even if the other driver is a family member. Wait for the fine to be re-issued to the nominated driver before making a payment.

You should nominate the driver as quickly as possible. You can only apply to nominate a driver when the fine is at Infringement Notice or Penalty Reminder Notice stage. For some fines, you need to nominate within 28 days to avoid your licence being suspended.

Once the fine becomes a Notice of Final Demand, it is too late to nominate (except in limited circumstances, such as if you have been impacted by family violence).

When to nominate a driver

If you were not driving your vehicle or trailer at the time of the offence, you should nominate the driver, to transfer responsibility for the offence.

Your nomination may not be accepted if you don’t correctly identify the person responsible.

You should apply to nominate if:

• someone else was the driver responsible for the vehicle at the time of the offence
• you sold the vehicle to someone else or disposed of the vehicle before the offence date
• you believe the vehicle or number plates displayed on the vehicle which committed the offence were stolen or cloned

If you were incorrectly nominated as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence, you should select the option on the online form, Infringement or Penalty Reminder notice to reject the nomination.

Your name may be disclosed to the person you nominate if they wish to reject the nomination. If this may pose a safety risk to you, consider submitting an internal review or Family Violence Scheme application if appropriate.

You cannot nominate another driver if:

• you were stopped by a member of Victoria Police and issued with a fine on-the-spot at the time of the offence, or
• your fine is for a drink or drug-driving offence.

Your nomination is unlikely to be successful if your fine relates to an unregistered vehicle or trailer unless you can show, for example, that the vehicle had been sold prior to the offence.

You must tell the truth when nominating, it is against the law to say someone was driving if they weren’t. If you give false information when nominating, you can be fined more than $10,000 and have your driver licence suspended. The fine is even higher for a company that gives false information.

Is your fine for an excessive speed offence?

Fines for excessive speed, drug and alcohol offences are different from other speeding fines – they are more serious. You will be issued with an excessive speeding fine if you are caught driving 25km/h or more above the speed limit, or driving at 130km/h or more.

If you were not driving, you need to nominate the driver within 28 days of the date your Infringement Notice was issued. Failure to nominate within this time will result in the offence being recorded as a conviction against you, and a driver licence suspension period will apply.

Is your fine at the Notice of Final Demand or Enforcement Warrant stage?

At this stage, it is too late to nominate another driver.

If you only just found out about the fine within the last 14 days, you can:

• apply for an Infringement Extension if your fine is for a traffic, a tolling offence or a litter or waste offence relating to a vehicle. If successful, you will be able to nominate the responsible driver. Visit Infringement Extension for information on how to apply
• apply for an Enforcement Review under the grounds of Person unaware, if your fine is for a parking offence. If successful, the enforcement agency may reissue the infringement and you will be able to nominate the responsible person.

Was the fine issued to your company?

When you receive a fine for a company vehicle you must nominate the driver responsible for the offence.

For some offences, companies will receive a fine for over $3,000. This larger amount is to encourage the company to nominate the responsible driver.

Once you have nominated the responsible driver, that driver will receive a new fine in their name, with a new due date, and the penalty payable will be at the individual rate which is significantly lower.

You can also submit a nomination if:

• another company or individual was in possession of the vehicle at the time of the offence
• the company vehicle was sold or permanently disposed of before the offence date
• you believe the vehicle or number plates were stolen or cloned
• the company was nominated for the fine by mistake.

If the nomination application is accepted, the fine will be issued to the responsible driver.

You should nominate the driver quickly. Once the fine progresses to Notice of Final Demand stage, it is too late to nominate, and the company will remain liable for the fine.

A company should ensure they have processes in place and take reasonable steps to identify the driver of a company vehicle at the time of the offence. Not knowing who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence is generally not a reasonable excuse for failing to nominate the driver.

Companies that fail to nominate 3 or more infringements within a 12 month period may receive an additional fine of more than $22,000. This applies whether the fines are paid or not.

Nominate a driver

What happens after you nominate?

You will receive a notification of the outcome by post. If the nomination is accepted, your fine will be withdrawn and reissued to the person you have nominated.

The person you nominate can reject the nomination. If this happens, the fine will be reissued to you.

If you cannot nominate online

If you cannot nominate online, you can complete the nomination form included with your fine and post it to us. You can also download one of the nomination forms below to print out and post.

If you send your nomination form by post, take into account the postal delivery time. The nomination form needs to be received by Fines Victoria by the due date on your Infringement or Penalty Reminder notice.

Post your nomination form to:

What type of fine do you have?

• Infringement Notice or Penalty Reminder Notice with a Victoria Police logo: Download the Nomination Statement, follow the steps to complete it and then post it to us.
• Infringement Notice or Penalty Reminder Notice with a Safe Transport Victoria logo: Download the STV Nomination Statement, follow the steps to complete it and then post it to us.