MS90 — Failing to Give Information About the Driver

The paperwork offence that ends up worse than the speeding itself. If you’ve missed or fumbled a Section 172 notice, act now.

MS90 isn’t a driving offence at all — it’s failing to respond to a Section 172 notice naming who was driving when an offence was caught on camera. Ignore the notice, miss the 28-day deadline, or return it incomplete, and the prosecution switches from the speeding ticket to MS90.

That trade is a disaster: 6 points, a court fine of up to £1,000, and the heaviest insurance loading of any common code — insurers treat MS90 as evasion. If you genuinely couldn’t say who was driving, there is a statutory defence, but it requires showing you exercised reasonable diligence, and it needs to be argued properly.

How people end up with an MS90

  1. Ignoring the NIP/Section 172 notice hoping it goes away — it becomes a court summons instead.
  2. Missing the 28-day response deadline (house moves and old V5C addresses are the classic cause).
  3. Returning the form without naming a driver because family members can’t agree who drove.
  4. 6 points and up to £1,000 at court — worse than the 3-point ticket that started it.
  5. Insurance impact is the worst of the common codes; some insurers decline MS90 holders outright.

I genuinely don’t know who was driving — what do I do?

Respond anyway, within the deadline, explaining what you’ve done to identify the driver. The statutory defence is that you could not with reasonable diligence establish who it was — but staying silent forfeits it. Get advice before the deadline, not after.

The NIP went to my old address — am I liable?

The keeper’s obligation runs from proper service, and the V5C address is where notices go. This scenario is defendable, but it depends on the timeline and what DVLA had on record — exactly the sort of case to have reviewed before pleading.

Can I still accept the original speeding penalty instead?

Sometimes — if the MS90 prosecution hasn’t concluded, forces can accept a late nomination and revert to the underlying ticket. It’s discretionary and time-sensitive, which is why fast, correct paperwork matters.

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