When a qualified driver is found to have committed a motoring offence in Britain, they’ll likely end up with penalty points on their driving licence.
In this guide, we explain how penalty points work, how long they stay on a licence and how they can be removed.
'Endorsments' and penalty points
If a driver is found guilty of a driving offence, the courts can issue a fine and ‘endorse’ that person’s driving record with penalty points.
Each particular driving offence has its own endorsement code, which is used to determine how many penalty points are attached.
A driving licence is revoked when it receives 12 penalty points in a three-year period, or 6 penalty points if the driver has less than two years driving experience.
If penalty points are gained on a provisional driving licence, then those points can be carried over should the same driver get a full licence.
How long do penalty points stay on a licence?
Any penalty points on a driving licence must remain for a fixed period of time, but how long that is depends on the offence committed.
Points can stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of the offence, although they are only active for three years.
For more serious driving offences, penalty points will stay on a licence for 11 years and are active for 10 of those years.
Both insurers and employers can find out if a driver has any penalty points on their licence at any time if they are there for a four-year period, or during the first five years of an 11-year offence.
Can penalty points be removed early?
There is no way to get penalty points removed from a driving licence before the fixed timed period assigned to them.
Drivers with penalty points on their licence will simply have to wait for the day to come when the points’ expiry date comes and they are automatically removed.
How many penalty points can you get for an offence?
Penalty points are assigned on a scale from one to 11 and the same offence can lead to a different amount of points given, depending on how serious it’s deemed to have been by police and the courts.
The table below shows the majority of different driving offences a driver can receive penalty points for and the amount usually given out for each example:
Driving offence |
Penalty points given |
|
Driving a defective or unsuitable vehicle |
3 points |
|
Using a handheld mobile phone while driving |
3 points |
|
Breach of a traffic sign |
3 points |
|
Leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position |
3 points |
|
Driving a vehicle without a licence |
3-6 points |
|
Speeding |
3-6 points |
|
Driving while disqualified |
6 points |
|
Driving without insurance |
6-8 points |
|
Careless driving or driving without consideration |
3-9 points |
|
Failing to stop after an accident or failing to report an accident you were involved in |
5-10 points |
|
Drink/drug driving |
3-11 points |
|
Aggravated vehicle taking (car theft) |
3-11 points |
|
Causing serious injury or death while driving |
3-11 points |
