A 15-over ticket costs $223 in fines and about $1,807 with the insurance hit
The math: $223 typical all-in fine for 10-15 over (Texas courts add fees to a small base fine), plus $2,200 premium × 24% × 3 years = $1,584 of surcharge. Total: $1,807. Adjust the fine and premium to your situation.
| Speed over limit | Typical all-in fine | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1-9 mph | $150 - $200 | 2 |
| 10-15 mph | $200 - $300 | 2 |
| 16-20 mph | $250 - $350 | 2 |
| 25+ mph | $350+ (court discretion) | 2 (3 if crash) |
County variation is real: Harris County lists plain speeding at $185 flat, while many counties land near $223 all-in for 15 over. Fines rise in school and work zones.
| Option | Typical cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Deferred adjudication | ~$100-150 + court costs | Dismissed if clean for 90-180 days; no insurance points |
| Defensive driving course | $25-50 tuition + ~$114 court fee | Dismissal; once per 12 months |
| Just pay it | Fine + ~$1,584 insurance surcharge | 2 points; insurers rate it 3-5 years |
Texas repealed its Driver Responsibility surcharge program in 2019, so there's no extra state fee stack anymore. The insurance surcharge is now the whole game.
Texas speeding tickets look cheap and aren't. The base fine for a typical 10-15 over citation runs about $200-300 once municipal court costs land on top, and the old Driver Responsibility Program fees are gone since 2019. What's left is the classic structure: a manageable court number, then the insurance consequence, which on a $2,200 premium at 24% adds up to $1,584 across three years of surcharge. That's about seven times the fine.
Texas runs a points system (2 points for a moving violation, 3 if it caused a crash), but points themselves carry no fee anymore; they exist so insurers can see the conviction. That makes deferred adjudication and defensive driving the two levers that matter. Deferred adjudication, roughly $100-150 plus costs, defers the finding of guilt for 90-180 days; complete it clean and the ticket is dismissed, keeping your record and premium intact. The defensive driving option costs about $25-50 in tuition plus roughly $114 in court fees, dismisses one ticket every 12 months, and is available for most non-commercial speeding citations.
The decision rule falls out of the arithmetic above: if the total surcharge ($1,584 at the default premium) exceeds the cost of deferral or driving school (call it $165-175), take the deferral. It almost always does. Only when you've used both options within their windows does paying make sense, and even then, shopping your insurance at renewal, since a 24% hike is an average, not a law, can claw back some of the increase. Start with the general speeding ticket calculator for any state, and see the car insurance estimator for what clean-record premiums run in your area.
About $200-300 all-in for 10-15 mph over, county dependent; Harris County lists plain speeding at $185 flat. The base fine is small, but municipal court costs and fees roughly double it. The real cost is insurance: a 24% average increase on a $2,200 policy is $1,584 over three years, for roughly $1,807 total.
Two main routes: deferred adjudication (about $100-150 plus court costs, dismissed after a clean 90-180 days) or a defensive driving course (about $25-50 tuition plus roughly $114 in court fees, one dismissal per 12 months). Both keep the conviction from your insurer, which is where the money is.
Two points for a moving violation, three if the violation caused a crash. Since the Driver Responsibility Program ended in 2019, the points carry no state fee; their impact is on your insurance rating instead.
Around 22-25% at renewal, per national analyses from ValuePenguin, LendingTree, and The Zebra, for about three years. On a $2,200 full-coverage premium that is roughly $528 a year. Shopping carriers at renewal matters: increases vary meaningfully by insurer.