No one wants points on their driving licence; among other things, it can increase your insurance premiums, impact your employment prospects, and of course, every point is one step closer to a driving ban.
In this article, we’re going to explain how long points stay on your licence, how you can check how many points you or one of your employees have, and how much it costs to remove points from your licence.
Understanding Endorsement Points
Before we dive into the duration of points on your licence, it’s important to understand what endorsement points are.
These are part of the penalty for driving offences – such as speeding, driving under the influence, or using a mobile phone while driving.
The points serve as a tally of offences and can affect your insurance premiums and driving privileges.
You can be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of 3 years.
There are, however, some different rules for new drivers.
How Long Do Points Stay On Your Licence?
Points typically stay on your licence for a period of 4 or 11 years in the UK, depending on the offence.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Majority of offences: For the majority of offences, points will stay on your licence for 4 years from the date of the offence.
More serious offences: For more serious offences, like causing death by careless driving or drink driving, points will remain for 11 years.
It’s crucial to note that while points are active for either 4 or 11 years, they are only considered ‘valid’ for the purposes of totting up for disqualification for the first 3 for the lesser offences and 10 for the more serious ones.
How Much Does It Cost to Have Points Removed From Your Driving Licence?
You do not have to – neither can you – pay to have points removed from your driving licence.
Points related to driving offences are non-negotiable penalties that must remain on your record for the set period.
There’s no administrative fee or fine that can expedite their removal.
After the appropriate time has elapsed the points automatically get removed from your record by the DVLA.
Where Do Points Show On Your Photocard Driving Licence?
The counterpart to the photocard licence was abolished in 2015, so now all information, including any points for driving offences, is held on the DVLA’s digital driver record.
To see the current points on your licence, you can:
Use the Gov.uk site – You can check a driver’s licence by visiting the Gov.uk site, but it’s a time-consuming process and really only ideal for a one-off check.
If you’re a fleet manager, using the Gov.uk method means relying on your drivers visiting the site and filling in some of their personal data.
Your drivers will then be given a Check Code to pass on to you. This Check Code is essentially the driver giving you consent to check their driving status and licence details once.
You’ll have to repeat this process every time you want to make a check, for every driver individually.
The easiest way to check a high number of drivers’ licences and stay on top of checking licences with minimal administrative work is by using FleetCheck LicenceAssured.
To use FleetCheck LicenceAssured, all you need to do is obtain consent from your drivers either electronically or on paper, which is then valid for up to three years, and the consent record can be stored securely with the LicenceAssured software.
You are then able to check their driving licence details whenever you feel necessary.
This is particularly useful for checking on high-risk drivers periodically, or setting annual reminders so you never forget to check the eligibility of your drivers.
To see FleetCheck LicenceAssured first-hand and how it can save you time and money, watch this video – and you can book a demo here!