Data study
Where drivers are convicted for driving without insurance
76,983 people were convicted of driving without insurance in England and Wales in 2025, 5,006 more than the year before and the second rise in a row, after a low of 71,449 in 2023. The map shows how every police force area compares, what the courts handed out, and how little anyone knows about the cars seized.
- Covers
- 42 force areas, 2010 to 2025
- Written by
- TIUK Editorial Team
- Updated
- 22 October 2026
Find a police force area
Select a force on the map, or search for it by name. The figures are for the courts in that area.
Each shade is a fifth of the 42 force areas. The City of London is counted with the Metropolitan Police.
England and Wales
Select a force area
Choose a force on the map, search above or pick one from the tables below to see its convictions, fines and bans, and how it compares with the rest of England and Wales.
Convictions fell for a decade. 2025 brought the second rise in a row.
Courts in England and Wales convicted 110,250 people of driving without insurance in 2010. The number fell in most years after that, to a low of 71,417 in 2015, before rising to 76,983 in 2025. Prosecutions follow the same line: 82,488 people were taken to court in 2025, of whom 93.3% were convicted.
Convictions where driving without insurance was the principal offence. Cases where it sat alongside a more serious charge, such as dangerous driving, are counted under that charge, so the true number of uninsured drivers before the courts is higher.
What the courts hand out
Average fine by year
A fixed penalty for driving without insurance is £300 and six points. The court figures above are for drivers who were not offered a fixed penalty, refused one, or were caught alongside other offences, so they are the heavier end of enforcement.
Who gets convicted: the age of uninsured drivers
25.6% of those convicted in 2025 were under 25, against 30.0% in 2010. Set against the number of people holding a licence at each age, drivers aged 21 to 24 are convicted at 42.4 per 10,000 licence holders, 44 times the rate for those aged 70 and over (1.0). The largest single group is 30 to 39, with 22,320 convictions, because there are so many of them on the road.
Convictions per 10,000 licence holders, by age, 2025
Convictions by age, 2025
Share of convictions under 25, by year
Age is the defendant's age at the offence, from the Ministry of Justice tool, which published only "25 and over" before 2017; the finer bands start that year. Rates divide 2025 convictions in England and Wales by provisional and full licence holders of that age in Great Britain as at 15 August 2026 (DVLA table DRL0101), so they are indicative rather than exact: Scotland's licence holders are in the denominator but not the numerator, and a licence record is not the same as an active driver. 208 convictions with no age recorded, or against companies, are left out of the shares.
At the roadside: what the police record
Before a case reaches court, an officer who finds a driver without insurance can issue a £300 fixed penalty with six points, or report them for summons. The Home Office counts those outcomes by force. In 2024, the police in England and Wales dealt with 60,054 vehicle insurance offences that way, 65.8% of them by sending the driver to court rather than by fixed penalty. The total peaked at 75,899 in 2020 and has fallen -15.1% since 2019.
An offence is not a driver: one stop can produce several offences, and a court report is a summons, not a conviction. The Home Office also says 7 forces (Derbyshire, Durham, Gwent, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, South Wales) do not record every outcome on the national system, so their counts are shown on the cards but not turned into rates. Both the police and the court series run to the Home Office's year, 2024, a year behind the court data.
Where enforcement is heaviest
Convictions per 10,000 licensed vehicles puts a big urban force and a rural one on the same footing. Metropolitan Police had 59.4 convictions for every 10,000 vehicles in 2025; Thames Valley had 8.4. England as a whole was 21.2 and Wales 15.0.
Most convictions per 10,000 vehicles
Convictions in 2025 for every 10,000 vehicles licensed in the area. England and Wales: 20.8.
- Metropolitan Police 59.4
- West Yorkshire 40.5
- Northamptonshire 38.2
- South Yorkshire 30.7
- Cleveland 28.9
- Lancashire 26.3
- Nottinghamshire 26.3
- Kent 25.7
- Merseyside 25.4
- Northumbria 24.5
Fewest convictions per 10,000 vehicles
The same measure, from the bottom.
- Thames Valley 8.4
- Devon and Cornwall 8.8
- Surrey 9.1
- Cumbria 9.3
- Bedfordshire 9.5
- Hertfordshire 9.6
- Cheshire 9.9
- North Wales 10.0
- West Mercia 10.0
- Wiltshire 10.4
Biggest rise since 2019
Change in convictions between 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, and 2025.
- Sussex +79.8%
- Northamptonshire +51.9%
- Avon and Somerset +45.1%
- North Yorkshire +35.5%
- South Yorkshire +32.2%
- West Yorkshire +27.4%
- Essex +24.6%
- Northumbria +21.6%
- Cleveland +13.7%
- Hampshire +13.5%
Biggest fall since 2019
The forces where convictions have dropped furthest over the same period.
- Bedfordshire -71.5%
- Hertfordshire -58.4%
- Warwickshire -52.5%
- North Wales -47.6%
- Norfolk -45.5%
- Durham -43.2%
- Surrey -39.6%
- Devon and Cornwall -39.3%
- Gwent -37.4%
- South Wales -32.7%
Highest average fine
Average fine for a person convicted in 2025. England and Wales: £467.
- Cambridgeshire £514
- Gloucestershire £508
- Northamptonshire £508
- Cumbria £500
- Hampshire £499
- Warwickshire £494
- West Mercia £493
- Avon and Somerset £489
- Thames Valley £485
- Nottinghamshire £484
Most likely to be disqualified
Share of those sentenced in 2025 who were banned, either outright or by reaching 12 points. England and Wales: 21.9%.
- Warwickshire 30.7%
- North Yorkshire 29.3%
- Greater Manchester 27.2%
- Cheshire 25.4%
- Surrey 25.3%
- West Yorkshire 25.1%
- Staffordshire 24.8%
- Dorset 24.2%
- Lancashire 24.1%
- South Yorkshire 24.0%
Police: most insurance offences per 10,000 vehicles, 2024
Offences dealt with by fixed penalty or court summons, as the Home Office records them. 7 forces that do not record every outcome, and Suffolk (whose notices are issued by Norfolk), are left out.
- Metropolitan Police 39.9
- Humberside 30.8
- Norfolk 29.5
- Staffordshire 28.8
- West Yorkshire 24.6
- Merseyside 23.2
- Lancashire 22.4
- Greater Manchester 20.9
- Cheshire 20.6
- Northamptonshire 18.4
Most cars seized per 10,000 vehicles, 2021
From the AA's Freedom of Information requests to every force, the last count anyone made. 4 forces are left out: no reply, no data, or a suspect row.
- Cleveland 54.1
- West Midlands 53.1
- West Yorkshire 53.1
- Greater Manchester 52.5
- Merseyside 51.9
- Metropolitan Police 46.3
- Humberside 43.2
- Leicestershire 43.1
- South Yorkshire 41.3
- Warwickshire 39.9
Every police force area in England and Wales
Select a heading to sort. Select a force to open its card above.
| Avon and Somerset | 2,666 | 21.0 | +36.8% | +45.1% | £489 | 22.4% | 7.0 | 2,394 |
| Bedfordshire | 423 | 9.5 | -13.7% | -71.5% | £454 | 22.3% | 15.6 | 1,437 |
| Cambridgeshire | 1,121 | 15.5 | +77.7% | -21.6% | £514 | 22.8% | 15.1 | 1,610 |
| Cheshire | 800 | 9.9 | -16.1% | -27.0% | £448 | 25.4% | 20.6 | n/a |
| Cleveland | 914 | 28.9 | +6.5% | +13.7% | £438 | 20.9% | 15.2 | 1,575 |
| Cumbria | 339 | 9.3 | -20.2% | -31.7% | £500 | 21.8% | 11.8 | 632 |
| Derbyshire | 1,591 | 20.6 | +44.1% | -8.9% | £472 | 23.0% | (639) | 2,033 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 1,145 | 8.8 | -16.1% | -39.3% | £444 | 23.1% | 12.5 | 1,852 |
| Dorset | 665 | 12.2 | -2.9% | -5.9% | £468 | 24.2% | 9.4 | 792 |
| Durham | 469 | 11.0 | -28.8% | -43.2% | £400 | 22.8% | (396) | 1,117 |
| Dyfed-Powys | 523 | 12.6 | -10.4% | -12.7% | £453 | 13.8% | 6.1 | 391 |
| Essex | 2,146 | 17.5 | +4.4% | +24.6% | £472 | 20.8% | 15.6 | 3,555 |
| Gloucestershire | 600 | 12.9 | +74.9% | +10.5% | £508 | 15.4% | 8.0 | 1,020 |
| Greater Manchester | 1,851 | 11.1 | -38.5% | -15.6% | £475 | 27.2% | 20.9 | 7,265 |
| Gwent | 681 | 17.8 | +65.3% | -37.4% | £468 | 19.7% | (548) | 1,213 |
| Hampshire | 1,850 | 12.2 | +73.1% | +13.5% | £499 | 21.7% | 12.8 | 1,959 |
| Hertfordshire | 708 | 9.6 | -9.3% | -58.4% | £460 | 22.5% | 13.7 | 2,088 |
| Humberside | 1,169 | 19.8 | -13.7% | -29.6% | £474 | 22.6% | 30.8 | 2,377 |
| Kent | 3,079 | 25.7 | -1.0% | -4.8% | £474 | 23.2% | 15.8 | n/a |
| Lancashire | 2,436 | 26.3 | -6.3% | -4.2% | £479 | 24.1% | 22.4 | 2,578 |
| Leicestershire | 1,408 | 20.1 | -5.7% | -10.8% | £479 | 19.4% | 12.3 | 2,965 |
| Lincolnshire | 1,097 | 20.1 | -11.3% | -30.3% | £476 | 21.7% | 9.3 | 1,650 |
| Merseyside | 1,845 | 25.4 | +7.1% | -10.0% | £435 | 19.7% | 23.2 | 3,468 |
| Metropolitan Police | 17,895 | 59.4 | +27.5% | +1.6% | £474 | 20.5% | 39.9 | 14,161 |
| Norfolk | 825 | 12.8 | -38.3% | -45.5% | £399 | 20.6% | 29.5 | 1,563 |
| North Wales | 493 | 10.0 | -31.9% | -47.6% | £460 | 19.3% | (840) | 1,014 |
| North Yorkshire | 782 | 13.7 | -14.2% | +35.5% | £473 | 29.3% | (699) | 984 |
| Northamptonshire | 2,077 | 38.2 | +37.9% | +51.9% | £508 | 18.7% | 18.4 | (2,467) |
| Northumbria | 1,861 | 24.5 | +2.1% | +21.6% | £441 | 19.7% | 9.0 | 1,629 |
| Nottinghamshire | 1,720 | 26.3 | -3.1% | +7.0% | £484 | 21.4% | (1,223) | (2,467) |
| South Wales | 1,461 | 18.0 | -12.0% | -32.7% | £370 | 18.3% | (283) | 1,238 |
| South Yorkshire | 2,392 | 30.7 | +14.1% | +32.2% | £454 | 24.0% | 15.3 | 2,999 |
| Staffordshire | 977 | 12.9 | -33.9% | -28.8% | £443 | 24.8% | 28.8 | 2,804 |
| Suffolk | 948 | 16.8 | +44.7% | -21.3% | £469 | 19.2% | n/a | 1,152 |
| Surrey | 737 | 9.1 | -4.3% | -39.6% | £441 | 25.3% | 11.1 | 1,574 |
| Sussex | 2,062 | 19.3 | +10.2% | +79.8% | £454 | 21.3% | 7.5 | 1,979 |
| Thames Valley | 2,009 | 8.4 | +7.4% | -8.8% | £485 | 21.4% | 12.7 | 2,725 |
| Warwickshire | 464 | 10.8 | -28.7% | -52.5% | £494 | 30.7% | 12.5 | 1,636 |
| West Mercia | 969 | 10.0 | +3.6% | -15.9% | £493 | 23.8% | 9.6 | 2,084 |
| West Midlands | 3,449 | 22.9 | -12.3% | -19.4% | £450 | 21.8% | 12.9 | 9,226 |
| West Yorkshire | 5,610 | 40.5 | +22.4% | +27.4% | £461 | 25.1% | 24.6 | 6,734 |
| Wiltshire | 725 | 10.4 | +52.0% | -14.3% | £465 | 16.6% | 7.2 | 776 |
Police figures in brackets are counts for forces that do not record every outcome, so no rate is given. Seizures in brackets are rows the AA's table appears to have duplicated. Download every column as a CSV, including prosecutions, sentences, police outcomes, seizures, vehicles, population and the full 2010 to 2025 series for each force.
The other studies in this series
The seizures nobody counts
Court convictions are the visible end of enforcement. The larger number is the cars taken off the road at the kerb under section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which lets an officer seize a vehicle on the spot when the driver cannot show insurance. No government department publishes how many.
- Not collected centrally. Asked in Parliament on 20 November 2025 how many vehicles had been seized for no insurance each year since 2015, the Home Office minister answered on 27 November: "The Home Office does not centrally collect information on the number of vehicles seized by police forces in England and Wales, as a result of drivers not having the required insurance." The answer pointed instead to the fixed penalty figures used above.
- The last count was by an insurer. AA Insurance Services sent Freedom of Information requests to all 46 UK forces in 2022. Kent did not reply and Cheshire could not say. The other 44 reported 542,370 uninsured vehicles seized from 2018 to September 2022: 115,946 in 2018, 120,531 in 2019, a peak of 129,652 in 2020 and 111,559 in 2021. Forces in England and Wales accounted for 103,183 of the 2021 total.
- One every four minutes. The Motor Insurers' Bureau, which runs the insurance database the police check at the roadside, said on 10 November 2025 that "an uninsured vehicle is seized every four minutes across the UK, with almost 120,000 seized so far this year". That is the bureau's own count, not a government statistic, and no method is published.
- The insurers' map is a different map. The bureau's November league of uninsured driving, which put RM19 in Thurrock top in 2025, ranks postcode districts by the people it has pursued after a claim, per 1,000 residents. It shows where uninsured drivers crash, not where the police catch them.
Where cars were seized, by force
The AA's table is the only force-by-force count that exists, so it is on every force's card above and in the CSV. Per 10,000 licensed vehicles in 2021, Cleveland seized the most (54.1) and Dyfed-Powys the fewest (10.1); the responding forces together seized 29.5. Treat the table as the AA published it: it names no legal basis per force, two forces have identical rows, and the figures are now four years old.
Next: seizures, crushings and release fees by force
The figures that would bring this up to date sit in each force's own records: vehicles seized under section 165A each year since 2022, how many were reclaimed, how many were crushed or sold, and the release and storage fees charged. They will be added here as they arrive.
About the data
Sources
- Court outcomes: Ministry of Justice, Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, Outcomes by Offence (published 30 April 2026), offence 80901. Offence 80901, "Using motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks", England and Wales, calendar years 2010 to 2025, counted on a principal-offence basis (each defendant once, under their most serious offence).
- Police outcomes: Home Office, Police powers and procedures: roads policing, to December 2024 (published 19 March 2026), table FPN3, offence classification 809 "Vehicle insurance offences", England and Wales, calendar years 2011 to 2024. The unit is an offence dealt with by fixed penalty, court report or other outcome, excluding cancelled notices. 2024 figures are provisional until the next release.
- Seizures: AA Insurance Services, Freedom of Information requests to every UK police force, "Uninsured Vehicle Seizures by Police Force", September 2022, as published in the AA's own table. Also Motor Insurers’ Bureau, "New data reveals the UK’s top uninsured driving areas", 10 November 2025.
- Licence holders by age: DVLA, GB Driving Licence Data, table DRL0101, provisional and full licences by age as at 15 August 2026, used only for the age rates.
- Vehicles: Department for Transport, Vehicle licensing statistics table VEH0105, licensed vehicles at end of 2025, aggregated from local authority to police force area with the ONS lookup. Vehicles are counted at the registered keeper's address. Police rates use the 2024 vehicle count and seizure rates the 2019 count.
- Population: Office for National Statistics, mid-2025 population estimates for England and Wales, aggregated the same way.
- Boundaries: ONS Open Geography Portal, Police Force Areas (December 2024). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.
What the force area means
The Ministry of Justice records the police force area of the court that dealt with the case, which is usually but not always the area where the driver was stopped. Most uninsured driving cases now go through the Single Justice Procedure, and some courts handle those cases for a whole region. That can push a region's cases into one force area's figures. Treat large differences between neighbouring forces with that in mind, and read the map as where drivers are convicted rather than a precise count of where they were caught.
Other things to know
- The City of London Police area is reported inside the Metropolitan Police figures by the Ministry of Justice, so the two are combined here, with vehicles and population combined to match.
- Convictions per 10,000 vehicles uses all licensed vehicles, not only cars, because the offence covers any motor vehicle.
- A small number of cases each year have no force area recorded (0 in 2025). They are in the national totals and in no force.
- Court convictions and police outcomes are separate counts that overlap: a driver reported for court by the police appears in the Home Office figures as a court report and, if convicted, in the Ministry of Justice figures as a conviction. Fixed penalties never reach the court figures.
- The Home Office reports the Metropolitan Police separately because it moved to its own recording system in 2020 and its non-fixed-penalty outcomes may be incomplete. Norfolk and Suffolk's ticket offices merged in 2015, so Suffolk's police figures are counted under Norfolk. Several forces recorded very little before 2014, so early years of the police series are thin.
- The split between outright bans and bans for reaching 12 points moves sharply in 2024 and 2025 while the total stays steady, which looks like a recording change in the courts' new case system. This page uses the total only.
Using this research
The analysis is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Quote it, chart it or republish the data with a credit to Temp Insurance UK and a link to this page. The CSV holds every figure on the page. Questions about the method go to the contact page.
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