Keeping Points Off Your California Driving Record

What Points Do to Your Record

The DMV gives most moving violations one point. Hit and run, DUI, reckless driving, a speed contest, exhibition of speed and driving on a suspended license each carry two (VC 12810). A driver with four or more points in 12 months, six in 24 or eight in 36 is presumed a negligent operator, and the DMV can suspend the license (VC 12810.5).

Points also reach your insurance. A Good Driver Discount policy requires no more than one point in the previous three years (Insurance Code 1861.025).

Commercial drivers work under different numbers. A Class A or B driver who asks for a DMV hearing is measured at six points in 12 months, eight in 24 or ten in 36, and each point earned in a Class A or B vehicle counts one and a half times (VC 12810.5(b)). Our CDL page covers commercial tickets.

How Our Attorneys Keep Points Off Your Record

We start with your citation and your record: which section you were cited under, how many points a conviction would add, and how close it would bring you to a negligent operator count or the insurance line. Then we fight the ticket in court and appear for you where the law allows it (Penal Code 977 and 19.7). We handle these cases in courts across Los Angeles County. We also take cases in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties, and anywhere else in California.

Our attorneys have over 45 years of combined experience in fighting traffic tickets. In over 90% of our cases the client has had their case dismissed, been found not guilty, or has had reduced fines and/or charges reduced to no points. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome.

Questions About Your Driving Record

What Is a Clean Driving Record?

California law gives no single definition, and two measures matter most. The first is your DMV point count, which the department builds from convictions and at-fault accidents (VC 12810). The second is the insurance test: a driver licensed for three years with no more than one point in that time, and no at-fault injury accident, qualifies for a Good Driver Discount policy (Insurance Code 1861.025).

How Long Do Points Stay on My Record?

The DMV discloses a conviction for a set period after the date of the violation (VC 1808(b)):

• three years for most violations and accidents;
• seven years for a two-point violation, such as hit and run or reckless driving;
• ten years for DUI.

How Many Points Lead to a Suspension?

Four or more points in 12 months, six or more in 24, or eight or more in 36 make a driver a presumed negligent operator, and the DMV can suspend the license on that basis (VC 12810.5(a)). Class A and B drivers have the higher thresholds set out above. Only one conviction from a single stop or citation counts toward the total (VC 12810(j)).

Does Traffic School Hide a Point?

Yes, once in any 18 months, within limits. When the court lets a driver with a noncommercial class C or M license complete traffic school, the first such conviction in 18 months stays confidential and adds no point (VC 42005(a), VC 1808.7(a)). The law sets limits:

• The conviction is not confidential for a commercial license holder, for a violation in a commercial vehicle, or for a violation worth more than one point (VC 1808.7(b)).
• A class A or B driver ticketed in a car that needs only a class C license can attend, and the conviction stays visible but does not count toward the negligent operator total (VC 42005(b)).
• Traffic school is not available for hit and run, DUI, reckless driving or driving on a suspended license (VC 42005(c)).

Read more in our post on traffic school in California.

Related

• Speeding tickets
• Driving on a suspended license
• CDL tickets
• Traffic school in California
• All the tickets we fight

Protect Your Driving Record

Every point counts toward your license and your Good Driver status for years. Call (310) 455-6810 or contact us today for your free consultation.

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