Speeding, running a red light or using your phone while driving – there are lots of driving offences that could mean penalty points on your driving licence.
Let's explore how getting a penalty point could affect your car insurance.
What are penalty points?
Penalty points are added to your driving licence when you’re convicted of some driving offences.
They stay on your driving record for 4 or 11 years, depending on what the offence is.
You can be disqualified from driving if you get 12 or more penalty points within three years.
What’s an endorsement?
Endorsements are the official record from the DVLA on your licence. Different motoring offences have different endorsement codes.
For example, say you get caught drink driving. A DR40 endorsement code is added to your licence, which means you'll get 10 penalty points.
Do all penalty points affect insurance?
Yes – no matter what the offence is, all penalty points can increase the cost of your insurance.
When you get a car insurance quote, it's important you're honest about any previous claims, motoring offences and penalty points.
How much it affects the cost of your cover depends on:
- what the offence is
- how old the offences are
- the number of points you have
How much do penalty points affect your car insurance by?
It depends on the type of offence and how serious it is.
And also, there are so many different things that affect the price of your insurance, including things like where you live and the type of car you drive.
Want to find out more? Here are 11 other things that could affect your insurance – from underestimating your mileage to modifying your car.
Do I need to tell my insurer about all driving convictions and penalty points?
Yes, you need to let us know about all driving convictions – this is when you’ve been convicted of a motoring offence. That includes:
Penalty points
We need to know about any penalty points you have, whether you just have one or you’re a few away from a driving ban.
Although the endorsement stays on your licence for 4 years, we'll need to know about any you've had in the last 5 years.
Driving bans and disqualifications
We need to know if you've been banned from driving in the last 5 years. This might have been because you had 12 or more penalty points, or because you were convicted of a more serious offence.
Named drivers
Remember, we also need to know if any of your named drivers have a driving conviction too.
Check out our guide on what you need to tell your insurer for more info.
How long do penalty points stay on your driving license?
It depends on how serious the offence was.
4-year endorsement
For more common offences like speeding or texting while driving, the points will count towards a potential driving ban for 3 years.
But they’ll stay on your licence for 4 years.
11-year endorsement
For even more serious offences, penalty points will count towards a potential driving ban for 10 years. But they’ll stay on your overall record for 11.
For example, if you were caught drink or drug driving, or if you caused death by careless driving.
What happens if I get too many points on my licence?
If you hit 12 points on your licence, there are a few things that could happen.
Standard driving disqualification
If you get 12 or more points on your licence within 3 years, you could be banned from driving. At first, it will likely be a 6-month ban.
After that, it’ll last:
- 12 months, if you get a second disqualification within 3 years
- 2 years, if you get a third disqualification within 3 years
Re-licensing
If you’re disqualified for 56 days or more, you’ll need to apply for a new licence before you can drive again.
You might even need to re-take your driving test.
New driver rule
Heads up, things work slightly differently if you’re a new driver.
If you get six or more penalty points within two years of passing your driving test, your licence will be cancelled.
If that happens, you’ll need to apply for a new provisional licence, and pass both your theory and practical driving test again.
How are penalty points issued?
The police are responsible for handing out penalty points to drivers. But how you get the points depends on the offence.
For example, speeding penalty points could come from a fixed camera. If you’re caught speeding by a camera, you’ll be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and a Section 172 notice which will explain the offence.
You’ll need to reply within 28 days, sending back the name and details of the person driving at the time.
Otherwise, you could be pulled over by a police officer. In that case, things could work slightly differently.
Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)
If you’re pulled over by a police officer for a minor offence, they’ll likely give you a Fixed Penalty Notice.
You can choose to accept guilt, which means paying the fine or accepting the penalty points. But if you challenge the FPN, you’ll need to go to court.
Court convictions
If you’ve been pulled over for a serious offence or you’ve challenged an FPN, you’ll need to go to court.
If the court finds you guilty, the outcome will depend on the offence. You could get:
- a fine
- penalty points
- jail time
- a driving ban
Or a combination of all.
Check out our guide on criminal convictions and how they could affect your insurance.
How can you avoid penalty points?
The best way to avoid penalty points is to make sure you follow the rules of the road and keep your car roadworthy.
And remember, it’s not just about penalty points – driving unsafely can have serious consequences.
That could be the personal difficulties of a fine or driving ban. Or most importantly, the real risk you could pose to passengers, pedestrians and other drivers.
For more info on driving lawfully, check out our driving laws and rules page. Or if you’d like to refresh your driving knowledge, head to our driving tips page.
