In England outside London a camera-detected bus lane fine is £60 or £70, depending on the band the council has chosen, and it halves to £30 or £35 if you pay early. Transport for London's own bus lane notices are £160, or £80 if paid early; Northern Ireland's is £90, or £45. Scotland has no national amount: each council that enforces bus lanes sets its own rate. A penalty charge notice is a civil charge, and none of the official pages read says it puts penalty points on your licence. Below are the amounts place by place, the deadlines and the points question, from pages read on 16 October 2026.
What counts as driving in a bus lane
The Traffic Management Act 2004 defines a bus lane contravention as a contravention of a traffic order about the use of an area of road that is, or forms part of, a bus lane: an order that lets only buses, or buses and some other classes of traffic, use it.
Rule 141 of the Highway Code says: "Unless otherwise indicated, you should not drive in a bus lane during its period of operation." It adds that you may enter a bus lane to stop, to load or unload where this is not prohibited.
GOV.UK lists driving in a bus lane as a breach of traffic rules that can lead to a penalty charge notice (PCN).
England outside London: £60 or £70
For England outside Greater London, the 2022 regulations say a penalty charge for a bus lane contravention may only be imposed on the basis of a record produced by an approved device, in practice a camera. Schedule 3 lists bus lane contraventions as "higher level" and sets two bands. A council picks one band, and may use different bands in different parts of its area, each part with a single band.
| Band | Penalty charge | Paid early | After a charge certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £60 | £30 | £90 |
| 2 | £70 | £35 | £105 |
The regulations came into force on 31 May 2022. Your notice states which amount applies in that council area. For a notice posted on the strength of camera evidence, "the applicable date" for the early amount is the last day of the 21 days beginning with the day the notice is served. The council may not post it more than 28 days after the contravention date, with exceptions. GOV.UK says you usually have 28 days to pay, and that if you do not you receive a charge certificate and have 14 days to pay the original amount plus 50% more.
London: TfL's £160
TfL's bus lane notices (prefix GT) have a full charge of £160, and TfL accepts a 50% reduction, £80, if you pay within 14 days of receiving the notice. If nothing is settled, TfL first sends an enforcement notice; a later charge certificate increases the charge by a further 50% to £240, and once TfL registers the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre a £10 registration fee brings the total to £250. A London council notice shows its own amount.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Wales. The Welsh Ministers' 2013 order uses the same two bands, £60 and £70, with the same early and surcharged amounts, and lists a bus lane contravention as a higher level contravention. Its early payment window is 21 days for notices based on an approved device and 14 days in other cases. legislation.gov.uk has the order only in its original format (in force from 2 November 2013).
Scotland. mygov.scot says bus lane charge notices come from Aberdeen City, City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City councils. You have 28 days; pay within 14 days and the charge is reduced by 50%, and it rises by 50% if you do not pay within 28 days. In other council areas, a bus lane charge is a council penalty charge notice or a police fixed penalty notice. There is no national figure: the Scottish regulations of 2011 say each approved council sets its own rate, which the Scottish Ministers approve and the council publishes. None of the official pages read states an amount.
Northern Ireland. nidirect gives £90 for a camera-detected bus lane PCN, £45 if paid within 14 days of the issue date, and £135 once a charge certificate is issued after a Notice to Owner. The Police Service of Northern Ireland enforces motorway bus lanes.
Do you get points for driving in a bus lane?
A council or TfL penalty charge notice is a civil charge, not a conviction. GOV.UK says the courts can endorse your driving record with penalty points if you are convicted of a motoring offence, and its list of endorsement codes has no entry that names a bus lane.
The same conduct can also be dealt with as an offence. The 2022 regulations say no penalty charge is payable for a bus lane contravention where the conduct is the subject of criminal proceedings or a fixed penalty notice has been given, and mygov.scot says the police can give such a notice in some Scottish council areas. The 2004 Act says the traffic order behind a bus lane is made under section 1, 6, 9 or 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 lists contravening those orders with a fine at level 3 on the standard scale and no endorsement or penalty points; for a temporary order, points apply only to a speed restriction. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Deadlines you can plan around
The early window is 21 days in England and Wales for camera notices and 14 days in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and each authority counts from its own date: service, issue or receipt of the notice. TfL and Northern Ireland send a further notice before the charge certificate. Other charges arrive the same way: see toll bridge penalties and Dart Charge and other road charges.
What BlitzBuddy does
BlitzBuddy does not issue, check or pay fines. For the speed side of UK enforcement, see what a speed camera fine costs and how a speed awareness course is offered. BlitzBuddy is free, with no ads and no subscription. It is available for iPhone; the Android version is coming soon.
Sources
- The Highway Code: General rules, techniques and advice for all drivers and riders (103 to 158), GOV.UK (rule 141)
- Parking fines and penalty charge notices, GOV.UK
- Penalty points (endorsements), GOV.UK
- Penalty points (endorsements): endorsement codes and penalty points, GOV.UK
- Traffic Management Act 2004, Schedule 7, legislation.gov.uk (paragraph 6)
- Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2, legislation.gov.uk (Part I, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 offences)
- The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022, legislation.gov.uk (regulations 2, 7, 8 and 10, Schedule 3)
- The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Guidelines on Levels of Charges) (Wales) Order 2013, legislation.gov.uk (as made)
- Penalty Charge Notices: enforcement process, Transport for London
- Getting a parking or bus lane fine, mygov.scot (last updated 7 April 2026)
- Bus lane charge notices from the council, mygov.scot
- The Bus Lane Contraventions (Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2011, legislation.gov.uk (regulation 4)
- Bus lane Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), nidirect
- Enforcement of bus lanes and bus-only streets, nidirect
Sources read on 16 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Do you get points for driving in a bus lane?
No page read says a council or TfL penalty charge notice adds points: it is a civil charge. If the police deal with it as an offence, the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 lists contravening the traffic order behind a bus lane with no endorsement and no points.
How much is a bus lane fine in the UK?
It depends on where. In England outside London a council sets £60 or £70, TfL's own bus lane notices are £160, and Northern Ireland's is £90. Scotland has no national amount: each council sets its own rate.
Is a bus lane fine halved if you pay early?
Yes, in every place read. England and Wales allow 21 days from service for camera notices; TfL, Scotland and Northern Ireland allow 14 days. Early amounts: £30 or £35 in England and Wales, £80 for TfL, £45 in Northern Ireland.
Can you stop in a bus lane to drop someone off?
Highway Code rule 141 says you may enter a bus lane to stop, to load or unload where this is not prohibited. The signs for that lane say what is allowed and when.
