Guide to Penalty Points/Endorsement offence codes
Penalty Points System
Penalty points can only be added to your licence where allowed by statute. The most common example nowadays is penalty points for speeding, which range from 3 to 6. The general rule is that the penalty points remain active for 3 years. The DVLA approach requires the record of points to be kept on the licence for at least 4 years. After that you can apply to the DVLA to have those points removed.
There are some exceptions to the general rule, the main one being drink driving convictions, which remain active on your licence for 10 years. It is also important to remember that the Court can legitimately look at your entire driving history when punishing you for any road traffic offence no matter how old the conviction is! That is why it is important to always fight any allegation where possible.
Penalty Points UK
Points can only be added to a UK licence or to a licence for a country where there is a reciprocal arrangement. New laws are being introduced to expand this, but at the moment most foreign driving licences cannot have points added to them.
Totting
Traditionally this was a system whereby consistently bad drivers would end up disqualified from driving. Should you accumulate 12 penalty points or more on your licence over any 3 year period then you can be disqualified from driving (usually for 6 months). People falling into this category are generally known as “totters”. The ban is not mandatory, so it is possible to argue you should not be disqualified despite having 12 or more points. It can also sometimes be better to accept a short ban for an offence than have the points and be disqualified under the totting-up procedure. This can be a risky strategy and we do not recommend you try it without proper legal advice.
The Guide
The following is a guide to the main motoring offence codes and number of motoring offence penalty points a court may impose for offences, but does not reflect the fact that some offences may incur a disqualification.