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Like most states, California uses a points system to monitor potentially unsafe driving habits. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to get the points removed from your license and prevent them from impacting your insurance rates or having your license suspended. In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about the California license points system.
How Do I Get Points on My License?
In California, all traffic offenses carry penalties of either 1 or 2 driver’s license points. The number of points you receive will depend on the type of offense.
| Type of traffic offense | Points added to your driver’s license |
| Speeding | 1 |
| Unsafe passing | 1 |
| Failure to stop for a school bus | 1 |
| Disobeying traffic signs | 1 |
| Failure to yield the right of way to pedestrians | 1 |
| Violating child safety restraint requirements | 1 |
| Illegal U-turns | 1 |
| Running a red light | 1 |
| Stop sign violations | 1 |
| HOV double lane lines violations | 1 |
| Unsafe lane change | 1 |
| Driving with a suspended or revoked license | 2 |
| Hit and run collisions resulting in damage or injury | 2 |
| Driving speeds over 100 miles per hour | 2 |
| Evading law enforcement | 2 |
| Reckless driving | 2 |
| Driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated (DUI/DWI) | 2 |
One point traffic violations
- Speeding
- Unsafe passing
- Failure to stop for a school bus
- Disobeying traffic signals or signs
- Failure to yield the right of way to pedestrians
- Violating child safety restraint requirements
- Illegal U-turns
- Running a red light
- Stop sign violations
- HOV double lane lines violations
- Unsafe lane change
Two point traffic violations
- Driving with a suspended or revoked license
- Hit and run collisions resulting in damage or injury
- Driving at speeds over 100 miles per hour
- Evading law enforcement
- Reckless driving
- Driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated (DUI/DWI).
If you accumulate a certain number of points, you may face a driver’s license suspension. Read on for more details.
How Many Points Will Suspend My License in California?
In California, your driver’s license will be suspended if you accumulate:
- 4 points within 12 months
- 6 points within 24 months
- 8 points within 36 months
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will suspend your license for 6 months for being a negligent operator.
Continue reading to find out how long points will remain on your license.
How Long Do Points Stay On My License?
The period of time a traffic ticket conviction stays on your driving record depends on the severity of the offense.
Minor traffic violations
For one-point violations such as a speeding ticket or stop sign ticket, the point you receive will remain on your record for 36 months (3 years). During this period, the DMV can use the point against you in a negligent operator action. After 3 years and 3 months, you can request the DMV to remove the point from your record.
Serious offenses
If you are charged with a serious traffic offense, such as driving under the influence, it will take longer for the points to be removed. They will remain on your driving record for at least 10 years. After that, you can make a request to the DMV to remove the violation and the points from your record.
In some cases, you can hide the accumulated points from the public record and your insurance company. Here’s how it works.
Does Traffic School Remove Tickets from Records in California?
In some cases, especially if this is your first traffic offense, the court may grant you permission to attend a traffic school to prevent points from going on your record. If you successfully complete a DMV-licensed traffic school course before the deadline you were given by the court, your points will be masked and will not appear on your public driving record. They will become a confidential conviction.
Your auto insurance company won’t be able to see the masked points and increase your rates. In addition, if you have accumulated points in the past, completing a traffic school course can help you remove a point before your license gets suspended.
Some points, in particular those you got for serious violations, can’t be removed from your driver’s license even if you attend a traffic school. These points will get erased after a set period of time, depending on how serious the traffic offense was.
Note that masking points in California isn’t possible if you hold a commercial driver’s license, in which case the conviction must appear on your driving record.
California traffic school eligibility
If you qualify for masking a ticket through traffic school attendance, the California DMV will send you a notice of eligibility. However, if you believe that you are eligible but have not received a notice, you can contact the court listed on your citation and request permission to take a traffic school course.
In general, you are eligible to attend a California traffic school if you meet the following requirements:
- You have a valid California driver’s license.
- You were driving a noncommercial vehicle at the time of the violation.
- Your ticket is for a minor moving violation not exceeding 25 miles per hour over the speed limit.
- Your ticket is for an infraction and not a misdemeanor.
- You have the court’s permission to receive credit for traffic school.
- You have not taken traffic school in the past 18 months. This period is counted from violation date to violation date and not from the date when you attended traffic school.
- You have to pay the court an administrative fee for opting to take traffic school, as well as the traffic school fee.
Who is not eligible for California traffic school?
You are not eligible to attend California traffic school if you were operating a commercial vehicle at the time of the violation or if you were cited for one of the following violations:
- Non-moving violation
- Misdemeanor
- Alcohol-related violation
- A violation that requires a court appearance.
Do I still have to pay a fine if I attend a traffic school?
Yes. If the court has granted you permission to attend traffic school, you will still need to pay your traffic ticket, court fines and fees, as well as the cost of the traffic school course.
Checking How Many Points I Have On My License
There are three ways you can check how many points you have on your California driver’s license: in person, online, or by mail.
In person
You can make a request to check your driver record in person at your local DMV office. You will be asked to pay a $5 fee.
Online
If you don’t want to visit your DMV office in person, you can check how many points you have on your license online. In order to make a DMV driver record request, you have to create an online account and pay a $2 fee. Make sure that you have your printer ready, as you’re given only one opportunity to print your record after paying the fee.
By mail
To request an official copy of your driver record by mail, you need to print and fill out a request form. Mail the completed form along with a $5 check or money order to:
DMV Information Release Unit
MS G199
PO Box 944247
Sacramento, CA 94244-2470
Will Points on My License Affect My Insurance in California?
If your insurance sees points on your driving record, they will most likely increase your premium rates. Even if this is your only traffic violation, the insurance company will consider you a high-risk driver who is likely to file a claim in the future. As a result, they will raise your rates to cover any risk they’re taking on. However, if you have your points masked on your license, the insurance company won’t be able to see them and won’t increase your rates.
