Virginia Speeding Laws: From Infraction to Misdemeanor

Speeding in Virginia is two different offenses wearing the same clothes. Above the applicable limit it is a traffic infraction priced at $6 per mile per hour. At 20 mph or more over the applicable maximum speed limit, or above 85 mph anywhere, Va. Code § 46.2-862 makes the identical conduct reckless driving — a Class 1 misdemeanor with a criminal record attached.

Speeding in Virginia: one act, two offenses

Nothing about the driving has to change for the charge to change. Virginia draws the line at a number, and the number is 20 over or 85 mph, whichever comes first.

	Ordinary speeding	Reckless driving by speed
Statute	The maximum-speed sections of Title 46.2	§ 46.2-862
Type	Traffic infraction	Class 1 misdemeanor (criminal)
Trigger	Any speed above the applicable limit	20 mph or more over the limit, or over 85 mph
Money	$6 per mile per hour plus $51 in costs	Fine up to $2,500 set by the judge, plus $61 in costs
Jail	None	Up to 12 months
Prepayable?	Yes	No — an appearance is required
DMV points	3, 4 or 6	6
Years on the DMV record	5	11
Criminal record	No	Yes

Because the trigger is arithmetic, two drivers travelling at the same speed can face different charges depending only on the posted limit, and one driver can cross from infraction to crime with a single mile per hour. That is the whole of what makes speeding in Virginia unusual.

Where the line sits, and why 85 matters

Section 46.2-862 has two clauses, and either one is enough on its own. A person is guilty of reckless driving who drives (i) at a speed of 20 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of 85 miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit.

Clause (ii) is the one that surprises people. On an interstate posted at 70 mph, 86 mph is reckless driving even though it is only 16 mph past the limit. The threshold has been 85 mph since 1 July 2020, when it replaced the old 80 mph line — anything still quoting 80 is describing repealed law. Where each posted limit puts the line is set out on the page covering Virginia’s statutory and posted limits.

What “the applicable maximum speed limit” means

Clause (i) of § 46.2-862 does not measure against a fixed number. It measures against the applicable maximum speed limit, and that phrase moves with the road, the vehicle and the hour of the day.

• On a road where the limit has been lawfully lowered or raised and posted after a traffic engineering study, the posted number is the applicable limit — so the 20 mph margin is measured from the sign, not from the statewide default.
• Where a lower limit applies to a particular class of vehicle, such as a truck or a combination towing a trailer, the applicable limit for that driver is the lower one, and the reckless threshold sits 20 mph above it.
• In a school crossing zone or a posted residence district, the applicable limit is the zone limit while it is in force, which is why a 45 mph reading in a 25 mph zone is a criminal charge rather than a ticket.

The practical consequence is that the same speedometer reading can be lawful on one road, an infraction on the next and a misdemeanor on a third. Reading the posted limit off the summons — and checking that it matches the road — is the first thing worth doing. The limits themselves are set out road by road in the next section of this guide.

Criminal speeding in Virginia: what a Class 1 misdemeanor means

A reckless driving charge is not a bigger ticket. It is Virginia’s most serious misdemeanor class, and Va. Code § 18.2-11 sets the punishment at confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both. Three things follow that no infraction carries:

• There is nothing to pay in advance. Prepayment applies to offenses on the Supreme Court of Virginia’s schedule of prepayable infractions, and reckless driving is one of the offenses the prepayment statute keeps off that list. A driver waiting for a bill simply misses a court date.
• A conviction is a criminal conviction, disclosable where a form asks about misdemeanors, and visible in the general district court’s public case records.
• The judge chooses everything inside the range — the fine, whether any jail is imposed or suspended, and whether to take the licence.

How far a particular case travels inside that range, and the narrow circumstances in which speed reaches a felony at all, are on the page about how far a speed case can travel.

What ordinary speeding costs

Below the reckless line the price is a formula. Va. Code § 46.2-878.3 requires the Supreme Court’s Traffic Infractions and Uniform Fine Schedule to set prepayable speeding fines at $6 per mile-per-hour in excess of posted speed limits, rising to $7 in school crossing zones and highway work zones and $8 in posted residence districts. Anyone driving faster than 80 mph but below 86 mph where the limit is 65 mph pays an additional $100. Court costs are added on top. The worked totals are set out separately, charge by charge.

How the Commonwealth proves your speed

Every speeding case in Virginia rests on one recorded number, and Va. Code § 46.2-882 controls where it may come from: a laser speed determination device, radar, a microcomputer physically connected to an odometer cable, a microcomputer aboard an airplane or helicopter over an interstate highway, or an authorized photo speed monitoring device. A reading from one of those is prima facie evidence of the speed in any court proceeding — persuasive on its own, but rebuttable.

The section also sets the shelf life of the equipment. A certificate showing calibration or accuracy is admissible as evidence of the facts it states, and no calibration or testing of a device is valid for longer than six months, except a photo speed monitoring device, where the limit is 12 months. The same rule makes a calibration of the driver’s own speedometer admissible, which is why a mechanic’s certificate is the most common piece of defense evidence in the Commonwealth.

How a speeding case is decided

Va. Code § 19.2-258.1 governs the mechanics for infractions. A district court hears the case without a jury; the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and a defendant who enters no written or court appearance is deemed to have waived the hearing, after which the case may be tried in his absence and he is notified of the finding, with no warrant issued for the failure to appear. On appeal to a circuit court the defendant does have the right to a jury.

Those rules apply to the infraction. A misdemeanor charge under § 46.2-862 requires the driver, or in some courts a lawyer on the driver’s behalf, to appear. What is worth arguing in either forum, and what is not, is set out under contesting the reading.

Why Virginia is considered strict about speeding

Four features of the Code, taken together, explain the reputation:

1. Speed alone can be a crime. Section 46.2-862 needs no bad driving at all, only a number: the reading is the offense.
2. There is an absolute ceiling. The 85 mph clause applies regardless of the posted limit, so a lawful-feeling speed on an empty interstate is still a misdemeanor.
3. The threshold is fixed. Twenty over is twenty over whether the limit is 25 or 70, so the margin is proportionally far thinner in a 25 mph zone.
4. A criminal charge cannot be resolved by mail. Reckless driving is excluded from prepayment, which means a court appearance in the county where the stop happened — often a long way from home.

None of that is discretion; it is written into the sections above. What is discretionary is the sentence, and that varies between courts.

What follows a speeding conviction

The DMV assesses 3 demerit points where the overage is 1 to 9 mph, 4 points for 10 to 19, and 6 points at 20 or more or for reckless driving. Points count against the licence for two years from the date of the offense; the conviction stays on the record five years, or eleven for reckless driving. The totals at which the DMV requires a clinic or suspends a licence are on the points page, and what the summons itself commits a driver to — prepaying, appearing, the court date and the ten-day appeal — is set out under what to do with the summons itself.

If you are holding a summons, the section number on it tells you which of the two offenses you are facing, and that single line decides whether this is a payment or a criminal case. Where it is the latter, a Virginia traffic attorney who practices in that court is worth the consultation before the date.