Conversion sentence for unpaid fines – an unpaid fine can be converted to imprisonment
If a person does not pay a fine imposed by a court of law, it can be converted to imprisonment.
How is a fine converted to imprisonment?
If the person fined has not paid a fine or conditional fine imposed by a court, they will be summoned to a district court hearing at which the fine or conditional fine can be converted to imprisonment.
The prosecutor can decide not to demand a conversion sentence in certain situations, and the District Court can waive the conversion sentence. If a conversion sentence is not ordered, collection of the fine will continue.
A conversion sentence means converting the fine to imprisonment. The conversion rate is 4 unit fines to 1 day of imprisonment. When converting a conditional fine, every full 30 euros is converted to 1 day of imprisonment.
How can I pay a conversion sentence?
The District Court sends the fine conversion decision to the Legal Register Centre (LRC) for enforcement. The LRC will send a notice of the conversion sentence to the debtor with payment instructions enclosed.
When you are served notice of a conversion sentence, pay the entire conversion sentence amount by the due date. Use the indicated reference number to ensure that the payment is allocated correctly. Partial payments are not accepted.
If you do not pay the conversion sentence with the notice sent by the LRC, the matter will be transferred to the enforcement authorities. The matter will then be managed by the enforcement authorities, and you will no longer be able to apply for payment time from the LRC. So be prompt!
Can I get more time for payment?
You can apply for more time for paying the conversion sentence when the matter is listed in the electronic service or the LRC has sent you the notice. Payment time will only be granted for a justified reason.
Read more about applying for and granting payment time.
What if the matter has already been transferred to the enforcement authorities?
You can pay the entire converted amount to the enforcement authorities and avoid serving the conversion sentence in prison.
Further information:
Published 4.6.2024