How to get points off your license
Wait for them to expire or, in many states, complete an approved driving course.
Updated 13 November 2026
Three ways points come off
- Time. Points stop counting after a set period. See how long points stay on your license.
- A driving course. Many states take points off, or stop them being added, when you complete an approved defensive driving or driver improvement course. Most limit how often you can use it.
- Correcting a mistake. If your record shows a conviction that is not yours, the agency that keeps the record can remove it.
What a course does not do
In most states a course does not erase the conviction. The ticket still shows on your driving record for its full period, and an insurer can still see it.
Check your record before you pay for a course
Your record shows how many points you have and which convictions they came from, so you can tell whether a course would change anything.
What a driving course does, state by state
| State | What a driving course does |
|---|---|
| Alaska | Completing a defensive driver course can reduce points, and a driver may take one course every 12 months. |
| Arizona | Traffic survival school satisfies the 8-point requirement and avoids suspension, but it is available only if none was completed in the previous 24 months. |
| California | A judge can offer traffic violator school for a one-point violation once every 18 months; the ticket stays hidden from insurers but remains on the driving record. |
| Delaware | An approved defensive driving course gives a 3-point credit toward future violations only; it does not remove existing points, and the course is valid for 3 years. |
| District of Columbia | A hearing examiner may approve traffic school for a DC violation; the violation still shows on the record but the points do not, and it cannot avoid mandatory suspension. |
| Florida | Completing a Basic Driver Improvement course to satisfy a ticket withholds adjudication, so no points are assessed for that violation. |
| Georgia | Completing a certified defensive driving course removes up to 7 points, once in any 5-year period. |
| Idaho | Completing an approved defensive driving course removes 3 points, but it does not remove the conviction from the record. |
| Indiana | Completing a BMV-approved driver safety program gives a 4-point credit once every 3 years, but the citation stays on the driver history. |
| Iowa | Completing a driver improvement course does not remove violations or accidents from the driving record. |
| Kansas | The Division can let a driver facing action over repeated moving violations attend a driver improvement clinic to keep driving privileges. |
| Kentucky | After a hearing, the Cabinet can place a driver on probation with a required driver improvement clinic instead of suspending the license. |
| Michigan | Passing the Basic Driver Improvement Course keeps the points from an eligible ticket off the record and hides the ticket from insurers, once per driver. |
| Missouri | A court can authorize a Driver Improvement Program, and completing it reduces the points from that ticket. |
| Montana | Completing a defensive driving class does not remove points from a Montana driving record. |
| Nebraska | A DMV-approved four-hour course gives a 2-point credit to drivers with fewer than 12 points, once every five years. |
| Nevada | A DMV-approved traffic safety course removes 3 points from a driver with 3 to 11 points, once every 12 months. |
| New Hampshire | Completing a driver improvement course takes 3 points off the point total for suspension purposes, no more than once in a 3-year period. |
| New Jersey | The Defensive Driving Program removes 2 points once every five years, and the Driver Improvement Program removes 3 points once every two years. |
| New York | An approved point and insurance reduction course takes up to 4 points off the suspension total but does not remove points or convictions from the record. |
| North Carolina | A driver improvement clinic removes 3 points for drivers at 4 points on the 8-point scale or 7 on the 12-point scale, once every five years. |
| North Dakota | An approved defensive driving course removes 3 points once every 12 months, and for some violations of 5 points or fewer it can replace entering the points. |
| Ohio | Completing an approved remedial driving course does not remove points, but it gives a 2-point credit that cushions against reaching 12 points within two years. |
| Pennsylvania | For a driver at 6 or more points, passing the special point exam removes 2 points and completing Driver Improvement School removes 4 points. |
| South Carolina | Completing an approved defensive driving course reduces points by four, but a driver's points can be reduced only once in any three-year period. |
| Utah | An approved defensive driving course removes up to 50 points, once every three years. |
| Virginia | Completing a driver improvement clinic earns five safe driving points, which offset demerit points. |
| West Virginia | Completing an approved defensive driving course removes three points, but it does not reduce an existing suspension. |
| Wisconsin | Completing an approved traffic safety course reduces your points by three, allowed once every three years. |
Checked 13 November 2026 against each state's own publications. A state is listed only where we could confirm its rule. States change these rules, and your own record shows what applies to you.
See your own record
Your record shows exactly what is on file for you. Pick the state that issued your license.
Related
- How long do points stay on your license?
In most states that use points, they count against you for one to three years. See how long points stay on your license in your state.
- Can you expunge your driving record?
In most states you cannot remove a valid entry from your driving record early. What does come off, and what expunging a criminal case changes.
- What is a clean driving record?
There is no official definition. What employers and insurers usually mean, and how to see whether yours qualifies.
- Check license points
Your driving record shows the points on your license and the tickets they came from. How to check your license points in any state.