How long points stay on your license, by state

How long points count on your license

Each state sets how long a point counts toward a suspension. Where a state publishes no period, the table says "Not published" and the checker shows the same. Points are one record; the conviction behind them is another, and the two can last for different times.

States that count points in a rolling window

North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin count your points inside a window that moves with the calendar. A point counts while it falls inside the window, and the suspension test looks at the total inside it. We label these "count within a window" and never "expires after", because the point is still on the record when it stops counting.

States without a point system

Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Wyoming keep no point total for drivers. Iowa, Oregon and Washington count offenses instead: Washington, for example, suspends a license at six or more traffic offenses within a year (WAC 308-104-025 Effect of accumulation of traffic offenses). In these states a points off course has nothing to take off.

Utah and Massachusetts count differently

Utah scores violations on a 100 point scale, so its figures run far higher than other states' (Utah Points System, Utah Driver License Division). Massachusetts counts insurance surcharge points rather than license points, and a suspension notice follows three surchargeable events within two years (Suspensions from multiple offenses, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles).

States that publish no period

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and South Dakota keep points but publish no period we could read. Most of them publish a suspension threshold over a window instead: Idaho, for example, suspends at 12 or more points in any 12 months (IDAPA 39.02.71, Driver's License Violation Point System and Accident Prevention Courses). Each state page shows its threshold. For how long a point stays on the record there, ask the state's licensing office.

What a course takes off your points

In the points off states a course leaves the conviction on your record and takes points off the total. The amount and how often you may do it are set by each state. Several count the credit only toward a suspension, so the points still show on the record.

In the states where a course dismisses the ticket or keeps its points off the record, no point goes on at all: California holds back the point of a confidential conviction, Florida withholds adjudication with no points, and Michigan posts the ticket without points. Read more on how to request traffic school and on the deadline.