How long do points stay on my driving licence?

There can be a number of reasons why penalty points may be added to your licence, but it's important to be aware of how many you have and how long they will stay valid. Otherwise, if you clock up too many points, you may receive a driving ban.

In this guide, we tell you how the penalty points system works in the UK, how long points will stay on your licence how you can avoid getting them in the first place.

If you break a driving law in the UK, a court may issue a fine and ‘endorse’ your driving record with penalty points if you’re convicted of a motoring offence.

Penalty points can be added to your driving licence for a number of reasons, including:

• Reckless and dangerous driving 
• Drink or drug driving 
• Failing to stop after an accident
• Driving a vehicle with defective tyres or brakes
• Reckless/careless driving 
• Speeding 
• Running a red light
• Driving while using a mobile phone

The minimum number of points that can be issued per offence is 3 – and the maximum is 11.

In the most serious cases, drivers can have their licence taken away via a driving ban or driving suspension.

The UK Government's website has a full list of penalty points endorsement offences.

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Penalty points will remain on your driving licence for 3 years. They will also remain on your driving record from 4 to 11 years, depending on the severity of the conviction.

You can be disqualified from driving if you acquire 12 or more penalty points within three years.

For new drivers, there are more serious consequences for fewer points.

You will have your licence revoked (cancelled) if you get 6 or more points in the first two years. 

Your ‘endorsement’ can start from either your conviction or offence date.

IF you lose your driving licence in the first two years, you will have to apply and pay for a new provisional licence and pass both theory and practical parts of the driving test again.

Four years from conviction

Points for reckless and dangerous driving will say on a driving record with the DVLA for four years. This is also the case if the offence results in a disqualification.

Codes DD40, DD60 and DD80 will appear on the endorsement record.

Four years from date of offence

In all other cases that result in points on a driving licence, points will stay on your driving record for four years from the original date of the offence.

This will be dated on the official documentation issued to the driver.

Eleven years from date of conviction

This is reserved for more serious offences, including drink or drug driving and causing death by careless driving.

Codes for these offences include DR10, DR20, DR30, Dr31, DR61, DR80, CD40, CD50, CD60, and CD70 They will remain on the record for 11 years.

The purpose of the points is to promote safety and correct driving practices when behind the wheel. This is something that is taught to all new and learner drivers – and it is expected that people of all experience levels adhere to the rules of the road.

Breaking these rules comes with serious consequences.

There are two ways to check how many points you have on your licence:

• Use the Government’s checker tool
• Call the DVLA's contact centre on 0300 790 6802

By calling the DVLA, you can get a better understanding of any codes that are on the licence, and how long they will be on there for.

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It is impossible to remove penalty points, or endorsements, from your driving licence once they have been added.

Penalty points will remain on the driving record for four to eleven years. After this time they will expire and the points will be reset to zero.

When it comes to receiving points on a driving licence, there are some likely reasons why they are there.

Here are the most common reasons for getting endorsements on a driving licence in the UK:

• Speeding
• Dangerous driving
• Reckless driving
• Drink driving
• Drug driving
• Driving without insurance
• Using a mobile phone while driving
• Driving while disqualified
• Running a red light or ignoring signage

There are other miscellaneous reasons why a driver could get points on their licence.

Furthermore, having points on a licence will likely impact the price of your car insurance.

Stick to the speed limits and respect the rules of the road and you won’t get in any trouble.