Can I Keep My Licence With 12 Penalty Points?

Under section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, when a court convicts a person of an offence that would take their total points to 12 or more within a 3-year period, it must disqualify them for a minimum of 6 months. The minimum rises to 12 months where the driver has been disqualified for 56 days or more within the previous 3 years, and to 2 years where they have been disqualified twice or more.

The 3-year period looks back from the date of the current offence. Points that were imposed more than 3 years before the date of the current offence do not count.

The court has discretion not to disqualify — or to impose a shorter ban — where it is satisfied that exceptional hardship would result. Exceptional hardship must go beyond the ordinary inconvenience of a driving ban. Loss of employment alone is not normally sufficient, but the consequences of loss of employment for innocent third parties can be.

Examples of exceptional hardship that courts have accepted include: the effect on employees of a small business that cannot operate without the defendant’s driving; the effect on a family member who relies on the defendant for mobility due to a medical condition; the effect on care arrangements for a disabled relative; and serious financial consequences for dependants that go beyond ordinary inconvenience.

New drivers (those within 2 years of passing their test) face a different rule under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995. If a new driver accumulates 6 or more penalty points within 2 years of passing their test, the DVLA revokes the licence automatically. There is no court hearing and no exceptional hardship argument available. The driver must re-apply for a provisional licence and re-sit both the theory and practical tests.