Austrian penal order at your German address: what to do?

Not every letter from Austria is the same. The label determines the deadline and the right way to defend yourself. Three types are especially common for those affected in Germany.

The anonymous order. It is issued without naming anyone, usually to the registered keeper of a vehicle, and typically concerns traffic offences. The amount is low and capped. It is more a payment offer than a formal notice.

The penal order from the administrative authority. It is in your name, is formally served and is issued in administrative penal proceedings, for example after drink or drug driving. The objection is the right remedy against it.

The court penal order. It comes not from an administrative authority but from a criminal court, issued in the order procedure. It is a genuine court decision with correspondingly serious consequences.

The anonymous order under Section 49a VStG is a simplified procedure for minor administrative offences, above all in traffic. It is not formally served and names no one.

The four-week period. The decisive point is payment. If the amount is not paid within four weeks of being issued, the anonymous order lapses. The authority then opens ordinary proceedings and determines who was driving.

Pay or review. Payment ends the matter quickly and without further consequences. If the accusation is doubtful, however, or you were not driving at all, it can make sense not to pay and to await the ordinary procedure. This weighing-up should be a conscious decision.

Unlike the anonymous order, the penal order is a formal notice with a clear objection period. Here every day counts.

The penal order from the authority. Against a penal order under Section 47 VStG you can lodge an objection within two weeks of service (Section 49 VStG). The objection sets the penal order aside, and the authority then conducts ordinary proceedings. You can also limit the objection to the penalty amount or the costs.

The court penal order. Against a court penal order in the order procedure under Section 491 StPO an objection is possible within four weeks of service. It does not need to be reasoned and leads to a main hearing. If no objection is lodged, the penal order is equivalent to a final judgment.

The deadline is decisive. Whoever misses the objection period loses the chance to defend themselves. The penal order then becomes final and enforceable. From a legal perspective a timely response is therefore the most important thing.

Many people affected in Germany assume that an Austrian penalty has no consequences in Germany. That is a mistake. Within the EU, financial penalties are enforced across borders.

The legal basis. The relevant instrument is EU Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA on the mutual recognition of financial penalties. In Germany it is implemented in the Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. The authority responsible for enforcement is the Federal Office of Justice.

The minor-amount threshold. Cross-border enforcement only comes into consideration from an amount of 70 euros. Below that the sanction usually goes unenforced in Germany, which does not settle it in Austria.

Your rights in enforcement. Even where the Austrian penalty is final, in the German enforcement procedure you have the right to be heard and to raise certain objections. Respond to the mail from the Federal Office of Justice rather than leaving it aside.