Understanding The Penalty Points System

We have all heard of, or perhaps experienced firsthand, the occurrence of somebody receiving penalty points on their driving licence for various motoring offences, but how exactly does the penalty points system work, do all offences carry the same penalty and how long will the points remain on your licence? This article seeks to answer these questions and takes a look at how the penalty points system really works.

Do all motoring offences carry the penalty of points on your licence? The answer to this is that while some offences do not carry the penalty of points, the majority of offences do. The number of points awarded will range between 2 and 10 for any one particular offence and the number awarded depends on the severity of the offence. Unless a Fixed Penalty Notice is awarded (see below) it will be down to the discretion of the court to decide the level of points and fine given to you. The court will consider your case on an individual basis and will look at the severity of the offence you have caused and your background. The court will be working within a given range to decide upon the number of penalty points to award.

If you receive 12 penalty points on your licence within a 3 year period you will be subject to a mandatory driving ban. However, there are exceptions which may allow you to avoid this ban – namely, you must successfully prove a case of ‘exceptional hardship’ to try and keep hold of your licence. To avoid imposing the mandatory ban the court must be satisfied that, in the event that you are disqualified from driving, you and/or your close family would suffer exceptional hardship (this must be more than, for example, the risk of losing your job because you can no longer drive).

In the case of new drivers, if a new driver receives 6 penalty points on their licence within the first 12 months of holding a full drivers licence, they will have their license revoked.

In some cases, police will impose a Fixed Penalty Notice. This is common in the offence of speeding and means that the points are immediately put onto your licence without the need and cost of attending court.

Penalty points will remain effective on your licence for a period of 3 years from the date of conviction (or from the date of the offence in the case of Fixed Penalty Notices) but will remain on your licence for 4 years.

After 4 years you may apply to the DVLA to have the points on your licence removed.

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