The specific law regarding how many penalty points you can have on a provisional driving licence is as follows:
There is no limit to the amount of points you can have on a provisional driving licence, but when you reach 12 points or more, the matter has to go to court and the judge will decide whether to disqualify you from driving or not. This will almost certainly result in a ban and the court will decide how long the disqualification will last, based on how serious the judge considers the offence is. This is called the ‘totting up’ process which starts from 12 or more points.
As a learner driver who accumulates 12 or more penalty points on a provisional driving licence, a ban will last for 6 months if all of these points are accumulated within 3 years. The judge does have the final say and can impose a lesser or harsher sentence if they feel it’s necessary. Therefore under usual conditions of law, a learner driver can accumulate no more than 11 points on a provisional licence.
Penalty Points After Passing The Test
Any active penalty points that you have accumulated on your provisional driving licence will be transferred to your full driving licence once you have passed the test. Most points are active for 3 years but remain on your licence for 4 years. More serious driving offences will see penalty points active for 10 years, whilst remaining on your licence for 11 years.
Maximum Penalty Points For a New Driver
As a new driver, you’ll have a probation period of 2 years and if you accumulate 6 or more penalty points within this 2 years you will lose your licence. This means you’ll have to start right from the beginning again; apply for a provisional licence, pass the theory test and the practical driving test.
Will I Get a Clean Licence if I Retake the Test?
If you have had your licence revoked and have successfully passed the driving test again, any active penalty points on your old licence will be transferred to your new licence.
How Long is My Driving Licence Revoked For?
Having your driving licence revoked due to acquiring 6 or more penalty points within a 2 year period is not a driving ban. Therefore how long it takes depends on the amount of time it takes to receive a new provisional licence and to pass the theory and practical test again.
What If I Have More Than 6 Penalty Points on My Provisional?
All active penalty points will be transferred to your full licence. Even if this is more than 6 points, you can still pass the driving test, keep your full licence and continue to drive. But if you acquire any more points within 2 years of passing the test, you’ll lose your driving licence and have to start again.
Licence Categories and Probation Periods
The probation period of 2 years if effective only once from the first full licence you have acquired. For example if you have passed a full motorcycle test over 2 years ago and have only just passed the car driving test, you will not have another probation period as a result of passing the car test.
Hi I wad riding my dirtbike whet I should not have been my own fault pushed it everywhere this one time I decided to ride it got 6 penalty points on my provisional so am I banned from taking my cbt test for bikes or can I still take it
Hi George,
You would need a valid provisional licence for CBT, so you wont be able to take it until your licence is valid again.
In reply to Driving Test Tips.
Hi I’ve got a provisional license I was speeding 70 and a 50 zone and I got flashed when I lose my provisional
You’ll get up to 12 points on your provisional and up to 6 on your full licence for the first two years. Penalty points will of course be transferred. It really depends on whether you receive a fine and penalty points or a ban on driving (licence revoked.)
Hello, I was driving a bike on my provisional and I was 30mph and its snowy weather and the lights turns red but I didn’t push the brakes because If I press the brakes it would cause the slip and maybe accident so I crossed the red lights and suddenly flash comes twice . Do I get banned or get penalty points and fine ?
Hello Syed,
It’s likely that you’ll receive a notice of intended prosecution (NIP), where you’ll be asked to confirm the driver of the vehicle. They will then send you a fixed penalty which will likely be 3 penalty points and £100 fine. Make sure you send the NIP back within 28 days (don’t avoid doing it) else the points and fine will increase. You wont get banned unless you’ve exceeded 12 points. Remember though, these points get transferred to your full licence, which has a maximum of 6 points (within the first 2 years) before being revoked.
Hi I received 12 points and a 6 month ban that was finished last year June do I have do reapply for a provisional license again or can I use my old one
Hi Josh. You’ll need to apply for a provisional again.
hello i have 7 penalty points on my provisional licence and i passed my practical test how does it works dis i revoked and need to apply for provisional licence please
Hello Lokesh
If you haven’t received notification that your licence is to be revoked, then you can continue to drive on your full licence. You must ensure you do not gain any further points within 2 years, else your licence will be revoked.
Hi there I passed my driving and within 3 months for some miss understanding I had insured my corsa with fully comp and I thought that I am covered on any car but when I drove my mates car I got pulled and got done for no insurance on that car so I got 6 points with licence revoked so now I have got a new provisional license but drove on the motorway and got caught speeding by a flash speed camera in the overtaking lane was doing 100mph at 2am in the morning on the M6 I have 6 points on my license at this very moment anyone have any idea on what will happen ?
Hello , my insurance ran out and I was stopped. I received a letter to say I have a fine of £300 and 6 penalty points on my provisional. Do I need to apply for a new one and retake a cbt or do I wait to receive my provisional back . Thanks
Hello، I got 8 point on my provisional while I was riding my bike
The insurance company avoid to renew my insurance.
Do you know any other company which provide insurance for convicted rider.
Thanks
Hi Yaser,
You should be able to find insurance, but obviously you’ll now need to pay more. If you Google a search for ‘motorbike insurance with convictions’, that brings up a few options. You’ll need to get a few quotes from different providers to find the cheapest.
Hi dear .
I got provisional driver licence from uk . I had done cbt as well. I got 6 points on provisional driver licence now. I had my cbt one year ago . What I shall do ?
The apply new provision driver licence and done cbt again??
Can I carry on the same driving licence ?
Hi Anelia,
Applying for a new provisional driving licence or retaking CBT will make no difference to the penalty points, they will still remain. All you can do is wait for them to expire. If you’re not sure when they expire, you can check your driving licence information.
I had court just yesterday. I will await them. After that what can I do ? Because my job with my scooter as deliveroo . I will apply online when expire. I checked all ready still 0 points. I am just wondering until expire can I use my scooter or not and after expired my license then I will apply d1 online mean time can I still use or just awaiting a new one?
Hi Anelia,
Providing your licence hasn’t been taken away by the court (revoked), then you can just continue as normal. You will need to inform vehicle insurance providers of any additional points that you’ve accrued on your licence.
Hello I have 6 points on my provisional I have just been sent a notice of prosecution for doing 58 in a 50 am I likely to be banned
Hi Tyler,
I don’t know the specifics of your situation, but based on what you said, my opinion would be that it would be dealt via a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). 58 in a 50 is likely to be 3 penalty points and £100 fine. You can receive up to 11 points on your provisional licence; 12 or more is likely to result in your licence being revoked. With 9 points in total, you’ll not be banned.
When you pass your driving test, you’ll be subject to a 2 year probationary period in which 6 penalty points or more within this period, your licence will be revoked and you’ll be required to retake the driving test. The 9 penalty points on your provisional will be transferred to your new full licence, but you’ll not be automatically banned. You can still continue to drive, but anymore points will result in automatic disqualification.
You may be offered a speed awareness course if you haven’t already done one in the past 3 years (even on a provisional licence). These are offered at the sole discretion of police. If this is the case and you accept the course, you’ll not receive points or a fine, but you’ll need to pay for the course (usually a similar amount as the fine).
I stupidly got caught driving on a provisional with no supervisor and my insurance is invalid. Waiting on a summons what will be the outcome as I also drive a moped to get to work?
Hi Gemma,
I really wouldn’t like to say. Obviously there will be a fine and penalty points. The two offences in question are:
1. Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. Penalty points: 3 to 6 and a fine up to £1,000.
2. Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks. Penalty points: 6 to 8 and a fine up to £300.
I wouldn’t think you’ll get the maximum fine or points. You may have to attend court or you may receive an offer of a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN).Generally, if offered a FPN, you’d be better off accepting it rather than opting for court.
12 or more points on your provisional does mean it’ll get revoked. Once you’ve passed your test, you’ll have a two year probationary period where if you accumulate 6 or more points, you’ll lose your licence. The penalty points you receive on your provisional will be transferred to your full licence if you pass the test before they expire. But even if it’s 6 or more points, you’ll not lose your licence. Any more points though, and you will. The waiting times for courts are extremely long at the moment, so they may go with the FPN. Additionally, there’s a possibility that they may not charge you for both offences.
Hi Charlie,
You wait to receive your licence back.
Hi,
I got 12 points on my provisional licence and it’s my first time i am giving practical driving test but my instructor is saying you cannot give a practical test because you’ve 12 points on provisional if you do they will ban you what i should do now ?
Hi Umer,
Surprised your provisional licence hasn’t been revoked with 12 points on it.
Your driving instructor is referring to the probationary period of two years once you pass the test and receive a full driving licence. Within this period, if you receive 6 or more penalty points, your licence is revoked and you have to start again by applying for a provisional and taking the relevant tests.
Points are indeed passed on from your provisional to your full licence (if still valid), meaning your full licence will have 12 points within the probationary period. However, you didn’t receive the penalty points within the probationary period, meaning that you can pass the driving test and you’ll still keep your licence, even with 12 points on it.
However, within this probationary period, if a driver receives any further points that takes their total to 6 or more, their licence will be revoked and you’ll have to start again.
I was caught driving with provisional license and was summoned in court with 8 points and fined of £456 last year November but I have paid. My question is what will happen next if I pass my practical or should I wait for the points to expire before taking a practical?
Hi Alice,
You’re referring to the probationary 2 year period on a new licence where if you receive 6 or more penalty points, you’ll lose your licence and have to start again. You can still take and pass your driving test and keep your new full licence. This is because the penalty occurred prior to you receiving your new licence. The penalty points will be transferred to your new licence, so if you get anymore points than the current 8, it will be immediately revoked.