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Many motoring offences will result in your getting penalty points on your licence, including:
Some offences don’t bring points, such as driving a car with no MOT or driving without using your seatbelt.
How many penalty points you get depends on the offence and in some cases, how serious the offence is. See our Offence Guides for further details.
To calculate how many penalty points exist on your licence, don’t simply add them all together. The court considers only the relevant or “live” points in relation to a particular offence. To count the “live” penalty points, start by identifying the date of the offence which you are charged with. Go back three years from this date, counting up all the points within this three year period. That is your “live” total. If you are on 6 penalty points or above, beware.
If you’d like to check directly with DVLA how many points you have. See the Penalty Points Checker.
If you face a totting up ban, you may have a case for Exceptional Hardship. Call us to discuss your case.
A single speeding offence could see you “totted up” and banned.
Once you have totted up twelve points on your licence, you will get a “totting up disqualification” (a driving ban) for 6 months.
If you are a “New Driver”, is you have passed your driving test within the last two years, then your licence will be “revoked” by DVLA once you have 6 penalty points or more. You will be required to sit your driving test again and reapply for your licence.
Points on your licence must be reported to your insurer, and they might affect the cost of insurance.
Penalty points are placed on your driving licence, but also recorded by DVLA on an electronic database. There are different offence codes for each offence. It is important that your paper driving licence reflects the electronic record. If it doesn’t, DVLA will write to you (usually) and may revoke your licence if they do not receive it. If you are concerned that your driving licence doesn’t reflect accurately what DVLA might have recorded, we can assist with this.
“Message: I’d like to say a huge thank you for taking care of my case in which I was facing 4 speeding charges. I cannot thank you enough for the support and fast responses and ultimately keeping my license with only 6 points. To anyone in need of a driving solicitor, do not hesitate to contact this firm.” – William J Cooper, Forfar JP Court
Thank you so much for the quick, clear and decisive advice regarding my alleged speeding fine. Obviously you know the law in depth in this area. My mind is now at rest following our conversation and the future is a little less stressful as a result.
Scottish Driving Law | Solicitors and Driving Lawyers