Fine catalogue
Red lights
What matters is how long the light had already been red, and whether anyone was endangered or anything damaged. Bicycles and pedestrians have rows of their own.
Full table
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| Offence | Standard rate | Points | Ban | Route | Cat. no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running a red light (motor vehicle)Basic offence | 90 € | 1 | — | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade II | 132 |
| Running a red light (motor vehicle)with endangerment | 200 € | 2 | 1 mo. | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade III | 132.1 |
| Running a red light (motor vehicle)with property damage | 240 € | 2 | 1 mo. | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade III | 132.2 |
| Running a red light (motor vehicle)red for more than 1 second | 200 € | 2 | 1 mo. | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade III | 132.3 |
| Running a red light (motor vehicle)red for more than 1 second, with endangerment | 320 € | 2 | 1 mo. | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade III | 132.3.1 |
| Running a red light (motor vehicle)red for more than 1 second, with property damage | 360 € | 2 | 1 mo. | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade III | 132.3.2 |
| Running a red light (bicycle or e-scooter)Basic offence | 60 € | 1 | — | Bußgeld (administrative fine)Grade II | 132a |
| Crossing on a red light (on foot)Basic offence | 5 € | — | — | Verwarnungsgeld (caution payment)Grade I | 130 |
- In force
- BKat-Beträge idF 1. BKatVÄndV (09.11.2021) — bis Inkrafttreten eKFV-ÄndV (01.03.2027)
- Source
- BKatV Anlage, Beträge idF 1. BKatVÄndV (BGBl. I 2021 Nr. 74); Punkte-Join FeV Anlage 13
Key figures
One second is the line the tiers turn on
German practice divides red-light offences into a plain case and a qualified case, and the divider is how long the light had already been red when you crossed. The plain case is 90 €. Where the light had been red for more than 1 second the catalogue moves you to a separate row — red for more than 1 second in the table above — which carries more points and a standard driving ban.
On top of that division sit the consequence tiers: endangering someone, or causing damage, each of which has its own row in both the plain and the qualified family. That is why this category has more rows than drivers expect from a single offence.
Details
Bicycles are a separate family, structurally
A cyclist crossing on red has rows of their own, starting at 60 €, and they carry no driving ban anywhere in the family. That is not leniency and not an omission in our data: a driving ban attaches to a driving licence, and the conduct does not require one. Where a cyclist holds a licence, points still reach it — the family carries a point from its base row up, which lands in the same register as a point earned in a car.
Crossing on foot against a signal is also an offence, at 5 €, and it is the smallest amount anywhere in this catalogue.
Overview
What the table cannot tell you
Whether the light had been red for more than a second is a measurement, and how it was established is a question about the equipment and the procedure in your case. The tiers above tell you what turns on that fact; they cannot tell you whether the fact was correctly established. If that is your question, it is a question for the objection route, not for a table.
The same goes for the consequence tiers. "Endangered someone" and "caused damage" are findings about an event, and they are what moves a row from a fine into a fine plus a ban. If the notice places you in a consequence tier and you do not recognise the event described, that is the specific thing to say — not that the amount seems high.
Background
Why one second is such a heavy divider
A light that has just changed and a light that has been red for over a second are treated as different kinds of conduct rather than as degrees of the same one. The reasoning behind it is about cross-traffic: after roughly a second the conflicting direction is already moving. That is why crossing the divider adds points and brings a standard driving ban, on a base row that has neither.
For a driver used to a system that scores red-light offences as a single flat penalty, this is the structural surprise in the category — and it is also why the recorded interval, not the fact of crossing, is what an objection in this category usually turns on.
Process
The rows most visitors are not expecting
Two families in this category exist that many drivers do not know are offences at all. A cyclist crossing on red is one, with rows of its own and no ban anywhere in the family; crossing on foot against a pedestrian signal is the other, at 5 €, which is the smallest amount anywhere in this catalogue and still a real one.
The pedestrian rows matter for a reason that has nothing to do with money: an entry there is evidence of conduct in a place where a collision would be catastrophic. The catalogue prices it low; the consequence of the conduct is not low.
It is also worth being clear about what these rows are not. They are the signal-disregard rows, tied to the road-traffic ordinance provision on light signals. Failing to give priority where no signal was involved is a different offence in a different category, with its own rows and its own amounts, and level crossings have their own provision again. If your notice cites a row that is not in the family above, you are looking at one of those instead.
Next step
Points calculator
List your register entries and the calculator shows your active points on the reference date, the escalation rung and the expiry of each entry — with the two clocks kept strictly apart.
Related offences
Speeding
The bands of the speeding table for cars, split by inside and outside built-up areas. A motorway counts as outside — there is no separate motorway table.
Following distance
The gap is not judged in metres but as a fraction of the half-speedometer value. The smaller the fraction and the higher the speed, the sharper the tier.
Alcohol and drugs
Escalation follows the entries already on the register, not the reading that was measured. The zero-alcohol rule for new drivers has a row of its own.
FAQ