In Kentucky, your driver’s license is suspended when you accumulate 12 or more points on your record within a two-year period. Drivers under 18 face a lower threshold: just 7 points in the same window will trigger the same process.1Commonwealth of Kentucky – DRIVE. Kentucky Point System
Points are added to your record each time you’re convicted of a moving violation or plead guilty to one. The two-year clock runs from the conviction date, not the date the ticket was issued.
How Many Points Each Violation Carries
Point values are set by state regulation and vary by severity. The common ones:
- 3 points: speeding 15 mph or less over the limit, running a stop sign or red light, failure to yield, careless driving, improper lane usage
- 4 points: reckless driving, following too closely, switching drivers in a moving vehicle, operating a vehicle not under control
- 5 points: improper passing
- 6 points: speeding 16 to 25 mph over the limit, failing to stop for a school bus, committing two or more moving violations in a single incident
They stack quickly. A driver cited for following too closely and careless driving in the same stop picks up 6 points on one ticket, putting an adult halfway to the threshold and already past it for a teen.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. 601 KAR 13:025 – Point System
One carve-out: out-of-state speeding convictions are noted on your Kentucky record but do not add points. Other out-of-state moving violations, such as reckless driving, can still generate them.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. 601 KAR 13:025 – Point System
Offenses That Trigger a Hearing Before You Reach 12 Points
Some violations are serious enough that Kentucky doesn’t wait for you to accumulate points at all. A hearing can be triggered by:
- Attempting to elude a police officer, which brings automatic suspension at the hearing
- Speeding 26 mph or more over the limit, where the hearing officer has discretion to suspend
- Racing on a public road, where suspension is also discretionary
So the 12-point rule is the general trigger, but it isn’t the only one.1Commonwealth of Kentucky – DRIVE. Kentucky Point System
What Happens When You Hit the Threshold
Once you reach 12 points (or 7 if under 18), the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet schedules an informal hearing and sends notice by mail to the address on your license. If you’ve moved and never updated your address, you may not see the notice, and missing it won’t excuse your absence.3DRIVE. License Reinstatement
Attending matters. If you show up, the hearing officer can suspend your license for 90 days to six months on a first accumulation, or place you on probation. If you don’t show up, suspension kicks in automatically at the maximum length:2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. 601 KAR 13:025 – Point System
- First accumulation of 12 points: six-month suspension
- Second accumulation: one-year suspension
- Third or subsequent accumulation: two-year suspension
These escalations apply within the rolling two-year window Kentucky uses to track points.1Commonwealth of Kentucky – DRIVE. Kentucky Point System
Probation Instead of Suspension
If you appear at the hearing, the officer can place you on probation rather than suspending your license. The conditions include enrolling in and completing a state-approved driver improvement clinic and signing an agreement to the terms.
Break the probation and the original suspension takes effect. That means any new moving violation conviction during the probationary period, or failing to finish the clinic, pulls the suspension back on. Probation also isn’t a tool you can lean on repeatedly: once you’ve been on it, you can’t get another probationary period until two years after the first one ended.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. 601 KAR 13:025 – Point System
Checking Where You Stand
If you’re worried about being close to 12 points, you can pull your own three-year driving history online through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s portal at secure.kentucky.gov. The cost is $3 per record plus a $3 electronic access fee, and you’ll need a Kentucky.gov account and a credit or debit card.4Kentucky.gov. Three-Year Driving History Record
A five-year record is available in person at a Driver Licensing Regional Office for $3, and that’s the version you’ll need if a court, another state, or the bar association requires a clearance letter.
How Points Come Off, and How to Keep Them From Landing
Points expire two years after the conviction date. The conviction itself stays on your record for five years, so insurers and employers running a background check can still see the underlying ticket after the points are gone.1Commonwealth of Kentucky – DRIVE. Kentucky Point System
Kentucky’s State Traffic School lets you keep points off your record for a minor violation if the court refers you to the program and you complete it. The referral has to come from the Kentucky District or Federal court where the violation occurred, and you can only use the option once every 12 months.5Commonwealth of Kentucky – DRIVE. KY State Traffic School
You won’t qualify if you were under suspension when cited, if the violation carries a mandatory suspension, if you don’t hold a license, or if your license is from another state.5Commonwealth of Kentucky – DRIVE. KY State Traffic School Used when you’re eligible, traffic school is the most direct way to keep a single bad stop from pushing you toward the 12-point line.