How do I pay a traffic fine, and do I have to pay on the spot?
No, you do not have to pay on the spot. The law says you MAY admit guilt and pay a deposit fine; if you would rather contest it, you can decline and be summoned to court instead.
In person
- Pay at the roadside, if you choose to
Only if you accept guilt. A deposit fine cannot exceed level 3 (US$30), or the offence's own maximum if that is lower. Ask for your receipt.
- Decline, and take it to court
Say you would rather be summoned. The Bulawayo High Court has held that police cannot insist on payment on the spot, nor hold your car or licence to force it.
- Any police station
If you were asked for a licence you did not have on you, bring it here within seven days, say you are producing it to comply, and name where and when you were stopped. Then there is no offence.
What you need
- Know the amount first: fines are set by level, not by an officer's discretion. Level 1 is US$5, level 2 is US$15, level 3 is US$30. Nothing settled at the roadside can lawfully exceed level 3.
- Speeding is banded: up to 5km/h over is a caution and costs nothing; 6 to 15km/h over is US$5; 16 to 25 is US$15; 26 to 50 is US$30. More than 50km/h over is a court matter, not a roadside fine.
- Fines are gazetted in US dollars and payable in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate.
- A receipt for anything you pay. Police forms called Form 265 and a Z69J receipt are the usual practice, though neither is named in the statute itself.
- There is no deadline in the law for paying or electing trial. The standard the courts set is simply a reasonable time.
Contact
- ZRP National Complaints Desk: (0242) 703631
- ZRP WhatsApp complaints: 0712 800 197
Source: Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act s356 & SI 14A of 2023checked 16 Jul 2026