A speeding ticket can raise your insurance rates by an average of 39% in Arkansas. Shopping for new rates should be your first step after paying your fine.

Written by Sarah Gray

Edited by Jessica Barrett

Updated on Apr 17, 2024

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How to deal with an Arkansas speeding ticket
What are the fines and penalties for speeding in Arkansas?
Your insurance will go up after a speeding ticket—here’s how to lower it
When are insurance companies notified about speeding tickets?
Cheapest car insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Arkansas
FAQs

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Arkansas

speeding ticket carries potential fines ranging from $100 to $500, 3 to 8 demerit points, and could even land you in jail for up to six months. Plus, your

car insurance

rates could increase by 39% or more—but you do have the option to fight your ticket in court.

How to deal with an Arkansas speeding ticket

Step 1: Check your traffic ticket to determine to which district court it’s been assigned

Each district court operates within its own fine structure and payment system, so you’ll need to contact the appropriate court to determine your potential costs.

Step 2: Decide whether to pay your ticket or fight it

If you choose to pay your ticket (plead guilty or no contest), you’ll accumulate points on your driving record, risk license suspension and revocation, and see increased auto insurance rates.

Step 3: Shop for car insurance before your next renewal

Your insurer will learn of your speeding ticket when your policy comes up for renewal, which will cause your premiums to increase by an average of 39%.

Learn more:

The best way to shop for car insurance in 2023

How to pay your ticket

Your ticket payment options will vary depending on the violation and the county in which the ticket was issued. If your speeding ticket does not list a fine, you can

contact your district court

to find out the amount.1

Most Arkansas speeding ticket fines can be paid online, by mail, or in person—but if you plan to fight the ticket, you’ll need to plead not guilty in person.

Pay speeding tickets online via the

Arkansas e-Traffic Program

Select “Pay a Citation”

Select the court name on your ticket summons from the dropdown menu

Enter your first and last name in the designated fields

Enter the citation number on your speeding ticket OR your driver’s license number and date of birth

Select “Admit guilty by payment of the offense”

Submit the full payment for fines and portal processing fees (5%) using a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Credit Card.

Arkansas’s e-Traffic Program also offers the option of making payments to a payment plan. While you can make payments to your plan on this website, you’ll need to contact your court to set up the plan.

Pay speeding tickets by mail or in person

If the district court to which your ticket is assigned doesn’t participate in the e-Traffic Program, your citation should include details describing how to pay by mail or in person. If you’re unsure how to proceed,

contact your court

to verify next steps.

Payments for Arkansas traffic ticket fines must be made by the deadline shown on your speeding ticket. Failure to pay your ticket by the deadline could result in driver’s license suspension and additional fines and penalties.

How to get your ticket dismissed

There are three ways to get a speeding ticket dismissed in Arkansas2:

Plead and be declared “not guilty” in a court appearance

Have the charges dismissed if the ticketing police officer or police department representative fails to appear at your court date

Complete a state-approved defensive driving course to have your speeding ticket dismissed—typically only an option if you have not been cited for violation of any traffic laws in the last three years and have not completed a driver safety course in the last three years

No matter which method you plan to pursue, you’ll be required to enter a “not guilty” plea and make a court appearance. To enter the plea, you must select that option on the back of your ticket and mail it to the appropriate court within five (5) business days of receipt.

If you choose to pursue a “not guilty” verdict, make sure you have what you need to prove yourself not guilty. Claiming ignorance of the speed limit will not get you off the hook. The defenses listed below tend to be most effective—especially when argued with the help of a traffic ticket lawyer:

Defective radar or officer error: Technology can malfunction and people make mistakes. If you can prove either of these resulting in your being issued an Arkansas speeding ticket, you may be able to get it dismissed.

Defective speedometer: Again, technology can malfunction. If you can prove you were unaware you were speeding because your speedometer wasn’t working, you may be able to get your ticket dismissed.

Medical emergencies: If you were speeding because of a medical emergency, the court may grant a dismissal.

Even with a traffic ticket attorney, you have a better chance of getting your ticket dismissed if it’s a first offense. If you don’t have a

clean driving record

, the court is less likely to dismiss your citation.

The bottom line: Unless you have a CDL or your speeding ticket also includes a

reckless driving

charge or other major offense, like a

DUI or DWI

, it may be less hassle (and less costly) to simply pay the fine.

Learn more:

How to get a clean driving record (and save on insurance)

What are the fines and penalties for speeding in Arkansas?

When you get a speeding ticket in Arkansas, you’ll face three main types of penalties:

Criminal charges: Speeding is considered a misdemeanor in Arkansas, which means it always carries the potential for jail time. Tickets for traveling 15 to 20 or more miles over the speed limit are considered serious traffic offenses and are classified as Class C and B misdemeanors, respectively.

Fines and fees: Arkansas assigns a minimum $100 to $500 fine for speeding with additional fees added for speeding in construction and school zones. Surcharges and court fees vary across the state.

Demerit points: Speeding tickets in Arkansas result in three to eight points on your

driving record

, depending on your speed. Points remain on your record for a minimum of three years, and accumulating 14 or more points results in

license suspension

Below is a breakdown of the

Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration

schedule of costs and penalties associated with speeding violations and excessive speeding in Arkansas3.

The Arkansas speeding ticket fines schedule

Speeding offense	Infraction classification	Base fine	Additional penalties
1st speeding ticket in a 1-year span	Misdemeanor	Up to $100	Demerit points and up to 10 days in jail
2nd speeding ticket in a 1-year span	Misdemeanor	Up to $200	Demerit points and up to 20 days in jail
3rd speeding ticket in a 1-year span	Misdemeanor	Up to $500	Demerit points and up to 6 months in jail
Speeding more than 15 miles per hour over the limit	Class C misdemeanor	Up to $500	Demerit points and up to 30 days in jail

Generally, fines are doubled for speeding in construction zones. If you’re traveling 20 miles or more over the speed limit, law enforcement may cite you for reckless driving—a Class B misdemeanor that carries fines up to $500 and 90 days in jail for a first offense.

The Arkansas speeding ticket points system

Speeding offense	# of demerit points
1 - 10 mph over posted limit	3
11 - 20 mph over posted limit	4
21 - 30 miles over posted limit	5
31+ miles over the posted limit	8

Points remain on your driving record for three years. Accumulating 14 or more points will result in license suspension.

Your insurance will go up after a speeding ticket—here’s how to lower it

Unfortunately, the costs associated with a speeding ticket don’t stop with fine and fee payment. In fact, the fines are the least of your worries as a single speeding ticket can cause your Arkansas car insurance rates to increase by 39% or more.

Once you’ve finished handling your ticket, it’s time to focus on keeping your insurance rates affordable. Here’s how.

1. Check your renewal date and compare car insurance quotes

Your insurance rate will increase when your policy renews, so check to see when that is. Best case scenario, you’ll have several more months of affordable rates before your premiums increase.

Before policy renewal, your provider will check your most recent

motor vehicle report (MVR)

and learn of your speeding ticket. As a result, you’ll see a surcharge listed on your renewal letter that indicates your new increased policy premium.

Now that you know what your new rate will be, it’s time to do some comparison shopping to see how much you might save by switching providers.

Jerry

can help you do this quickly by

comparing car insurance quotes

from dozens of insurers at once.

Keep in mind: this shouldn’t be the last time you reshop rates. As your driving record changes following a moving violation, you may become eligible for lower rates, which you won’t be aware of if you don’t reshop.

If you purchase your policy through the Jerry app, you can turn on automatic reshops to stay up-to-date with rate changes and make sure you always have the most affordable option available.

You’ll also be alerted if a new provider enters your area that may provide lower rates than you currently have.

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Learn more:

Car insurance renewal—are you ready for your new rate?

2. Take a driver improvement course

Arkansas allows drivers to take an approved course to get past violations reduced or removed from their record every three years. Since you’ll be learning how to drive more safely and effectively, most car insurance companies provide discounts for drivers who complete traffic school.

If you’re completing a driver education course in response to a court mandate issued for accumulation of 10 or more points on your driving record, you may not be eligible to have points deducted from your driving record.

3. Take advantage of discounts

Getting a speeding ticket increases your insurance rates in more ways than one since you won’t be able to take advantage of good driver discounts you may have had on your policy. However, most providers offer myriad other

car insurance discounts

that can help keep your rates affordable, including:

Telematics discounts (i.e., tracking your driving)

Good student discounts

Paid-in-full discounts

Responsible payer discounts

Low-mileage discounts

When are insurance companies notified about speeding tickets?

Your insurance company will learn about your speeding ticket when they run an MVR

when your policy is up for renewal

. If you get a ticket right before your insurance renews, you’ll see increased premiums right away, but if your policy doesn’t renew for a few months, you’ll have some time to shop before getting hit with higher rates.

Learn more:

When does car insurance go down?

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Cheapest car insurance companies after a speeding ticket in Arkansas

The best car insurance company after a speeding ticket is the one that can offer you the most affordable rate for quality coverage. To help you choose, here is a breakdown of how some of Arkansas’s top providers handle rate renewals after a speeding ticket:

Insurance company	Average rate increase after a speeding ticket
Allstate	15%
USAA	17%
American Family	22%
Nationwide	26%
State Farm	26%
Farmers	31%
Auto-Owners	36%
Travelers	37%
GEICO	38%
Progressive	43%

Remember

Every car insurance company calculates rates differently and that includes how they deal with traffic offenses. Your rate may increase by less or more than shown in this table based on the length of time you’ve been with your provider, your existing record, and whether or not you plead guilty to your ticket.

Where’d we get these numbers?
Jerry’s editorial team researched the average rate increase after a speeding ticket for these 10 insurance companies using expert sources from Forbes, NerdWallet, ValuePenguin, WalletHub, Liberty Mutual, The Zebra, and CarInsurance.com. Our data shows the average of the data shared by these sources.

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ZIP Code

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FAQs

What is the fine for speeding in Arkansas?

Fines for speeding in Arkansas vary from $100 to $500. If you’re caught speeding in a construction zone, you could face fines of up to $1,000.

Can I just pay my ticket and not go to court in Arkansas?

Probably. Unless your speeding ticket also includes a more serious violation, like reckless driving or a DUI, you’ll likely have the option to plead “not guilty” or “no contents” and simply pay the fine rather than making a court appearance.