You can get your California driving record online in a few minutes for $2, or by mail for $5 if you need a certified copy with the DMV seal. The record lists your traffic convictions, at-fault accidents, and any license actions the DMV has taken against you, with each item carrying a point value and a retention period set by state law.1Vehicle Code Section 1808
How to Request Your Record
Online
The fastest route is the DMV’s online portal. Have your driver license number, the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your date of birth ready. The fee is $2, paid by credit or debit card. Once payment clears, the system generates a downloadable file. Save or print it right away, because the link may expire when your session ends.
The online copy is labeled an informal or “information only” record. The underlying data is the same as a certified copy, but there’s no official seal, so it won’t satisfy a court or an employer that requires formal verification.
By Mail
A mail request costs $5 and uses Form INF 1125, available on the DMV website or at any field office. Fill in your full legal name as it appears on your license, your date of birth, driver license number, and the reason for the request. Pay by check or money order made out to the DMV, and send everything to:
DMV Information Release Unit
MS G199
PO Box 944247
Sacramento, CA 94244-2470
Processing takes ten to fifteen business days. The mail route is the only way to get a certified copy, which carries an authentication statement that makes it admissible as a legal document for court or background-check purposes.
What’s on the Record and How Long It Stays
Every California driving record covers convictions, departmental actions such as suspensions and revocations, and at-fault accidents. Since March 2019, the DMV no longer sells separate three-year or ten-year reports. Each record automatically includes everything still within its statutory retention window.1Vehicle Code Section 1808
Those windows depend on how serious the offense is:
- Three years: most one-point violations, including speeding, running a red light, and illegal turns, plus at-fault accidents.
- Seven years: two-point violations other than DUI, such as reckless driving, hit-and-run, and evading a police officer.
- Ten years: DUI and DUI-with-injury convictions, and underage DUI under Vehicle Code Section 23140.
Suspensions and revocations stay visible while active and for three years after reinstatement. Once a violation ages past its window, the DMV stops disclosing it, though the data may still exist internally.
Reading the Point Values
California assigns a point value to each moving violation under Vehicle Code Section 12810. Most are worth one point. The serious ones are worth two.
Two-point violations include:
- DUI and DUI causing injury (Vehicle Code Sections 23152 and 23153)
- Reckless driving
- Hit-and-run
- Driving on a suspended or revoked license
- Evading a police officer with injury or willful disregard
- Speed contest or exhibition of speed
- Driving over 100 mph
One-point violations cover most other moving offenses: speeding, running stop signs, unsafe lane changes, at-fault accidents, and child restraint violations. Parking tickets and equipment fix-it tickets carry zero points. Only one violation point counts per arrest or citation, even if the stop produced multiple charges.
Decoding the Common Codes
Shorthand on the record isn’t always obvious. The ones to watch:
- FTA (Failure to Appear): you missed a traffic court date. An unresolved FTA can trigger a suspension on its own.
- FTP (Failure to Pay): a court-ordered fine is unpaid. Like an FTA, it can lead to suspension regardless of your point count.
- XREF (Cross-Reference): links your record to another file, usually a prior license number. Informational only.
FTAs and FTPs are the ones that quietly snowball. A forgotten parking ticket carries no points, but ignoring the court notice that follows can eventually cost you the license.
When Points Trigger a Warning or Suspension
The DMV runs the Negligent Operator Treatment System, which escalates through several warning stages before suspension.
- Level I, warning letter: 2 points in 12 months, 4 in 24, or 6 in 36.
- Level II, notice of intent to suspend: 3 points in 12 months, 5 in 24, or 7 in 36.
- Level III, probation and suspension order: 4 points in 12 months, 6 in 24, or 8 in 36.
At Level III, the DMV puts you on one year of probation that includes a six-month suspension. The order takes effect 34 days after mailing, which is your window to request a hearing. A probation violation adds another six-month suspension and extends probation by a year. A third probation violation becomes a one-year revocation.
Keeping a One-Point Infraction Off the Public Record
Completing an approved traffic violator school can keep a one-point infraction from showing on the public version of your record. The conviction still sits in the DMV’s internal system, but it becomes confidential, which means employers and insurers running standard checks won’t see it, and the point won’t count toward NOTS.2Vehicle Code Sections 1808.7, 41501, and 42005
The main eligibility rules:
- You cannot use traffic school if you attended or elected to attend for a previous violation within the last 18 months.
- The violation must be a reportable infraction under divisions 11 or 12 of the Vehicle Code. Misdemeanors don’t qualify.
- Holders of a Class A, Class B, or commercial Class C license get no confidentiality benefit even for violations in their personal vehicle.
- Anyone cited while driving a commercial vehicle is ineligible regardless of license class.
Traffic school only touches one-point infractions. Two-point violations like DUI and reckless driving cannot be masked and remain on the record for their full statutory period.
Fixing Errors
Mistakes do appear, usually because a court sent the DMV an incorrect abstract or an accident report contained wrong information. The form you use depends on what’s wrong.
For incorrect traffic violations or convictions, use Form DL-207. You’ll need to work with the court that reported the conviction to get a corrected abstract, then submit it to the DMV.
For accident record errors, use Form DL-208. This one requires an amended or supplemental law enforcement report, or an original signed letter of explanation. Mail it to:
DMV Mandatory Actions Unit
MS J-233
PO Box 942890
Sacramento, CA 94290-0001
Allow four to six weeks for the DMV to review. If you don’t know who reported an accident or no law enforcement report was filed, call the DMV’s Financial Responsibility Unit at (916) 657-6677. Once a correction is processed, you can pick up an updated record at any field office for $5.
Who Else Can See Your Record
Driving records are generally public under Vehicle Code Section 1808, but personal identifying information such as your home address and Social Security number is confidential and does not appear on records released to third parties. The federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721) adds another layer, limiting access to recognized purposes such as insurance underwriting, employment verification, court proceedings, and government functions.
If you drive commercially or your employer transports passengers for compensation, your employer is enrolled in California’s Employer Pull Notice program and receives an updated copy of your record automatically whenever a conviction, accident, FTA, or suspension posts to your file. Starting April 1, 2026, all EPN submissions and record requests must be handled electronically.
Two situations fall outside the ordinary “pull your record and read it” question but are worth flagging. A DUI arrest starts a 10-day clock to request a DMV administrative hearing, which runs separately from the criminal case; miss it and the suspension takes effect automatically. And commercial license holders face federal disqualification rules under 49 CFR § 383.51 that apply on top of California’s point system, including for violations committed in a personal vehicle. If either applies to you, the record you pull is only the starting point.