The North Carolina drivers license points chart assigns between one and five points to each moving-violation conviction, and accumulating 12 points within a rolling three-year window triggers a license suspension. After a first suspension, the threshold drops to 8 points. Points attach only after a court conviction, and they’re tracked separately from the insurance points that drive up your premiums.
Point Values by Violation
North Carolina General Statute 20-16(c) sets the point value for each offense based on how dangerous it is. Here is the full schedule the DMV uses.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 20 – Authority of Division to Suspend License
5 Points
- Passing a stopped school bus
- Aggressive driving
4 Points
- Reckless driving
- Hit and run, property damage only
- Following too close
- Driving on the wrong side of the road
- Illegal passing
- Failing to yield right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk under G.S. 20-158(b)(2)b.
- Failing to yield right-of-way to a bicycle, motor scooter, or motorcycle
3 Points
- Running a stop sign
- Running a red light
- Speeding over 55 mph
- Speeding in a school zone above the posted limit
- Failing to yield right-of-way (general)
- Failing to stop for a siren
- Driving through a safety zone
- No liability insurance
- No driver license, or license expired more than one year
- Failing to report an accident when required
2 Points
- Failing to properly restrain a child in a car seat or seat belt
- All other moving violations not listed above
1 Point
- Littering from a motor vehicle
Parking tickets and vehicle weight violations don’t carry any points.
When Points Actually Land on Your Record
Points are assigned as of the date you committed the offense, not the date the court hands down the conviction. The three-year clock starts on the day of the traffic stop.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 20 – Authority of Division to Suspend License
A citation by itself adds nothing. Points only attach after a court conviction or a prayer for judgment continued that counts as one. Beat the ticket or get it dismissed, and your record stays clean.
When you’re convicted of more than one violation from the same traffic stop, the DMV generally records points only for the most serious offense. Cited for both a red light (3 points) and following too close (4 points) in the same stop, you’d typically see 4 points, not 7.
When Points Suspend Your License
North Carolina uses a rolling three-year window. The threshold gets tighter after each suspension.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 20 – Authority of Division to Suspend License
- First suspension: 12 or more points in three years, suspension of up to 60 days.
- Second suspension: After reinstatement, 8 or more points in the next three years, suspension of up to six months.
- Third and beyond: Hitting 8 points again after a second reinstatement, suspension of up to one year.
That drop from 12 to 8 is the part that catches drivers off guard. After one suspension, two 4-point violations in three years put you right back at the line.
Speeding Suspensions That Skip the Points System
Points aren’t the only path to losing your license. A separate statute imposes an automatic 30-day suspension for certain speeding convictions, regardless of whether you have any points on your record. It applies if you’re convicted of driving faster than 80 mph, or of exceeding the speed limit by more than 15 mph while going above 55 mph.2North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-16.1 – Mandatory Suspension of Driver License Upon Conviction of Excessive Speeding
A second excessive-speeding conviction within one year raises the suspension to 60 days. A conviction for both excessive speeding and reckless driving out of the same incident also draws 60 days. These suspensions happen automatically once the DMV receives the court record, with no preliminary hearing.2North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-16.1 – Mandatory Suspension of Driver License Upon Conviction of Excessive Speeding
Keeping Points Off With a Prayer for Judgment Continued
A prayer for judgment continued, or PJC, is a North Carolina procedure in which a judge accepts your guilty plea but never enters a formal judgment. Your first and second PJCs for traffic offenses within a five-year period aren’t treated as convictions for DMV purposes, so no points attach. A third PJC in that same five years does count, with the normal point penalty.
PJCs aren’t available for every offense. Judges cannot grant one for impaired driving, for speeding more than 25 mph over the limit, or for passing a stopped school bus. If the original charge was above 25 mph over but you plead down to a lower speed, a PJC may still be possible on the reduced charge.
Because you only get two in a five-year period, spending one on a minor 2-point violation leaves you with nothing in reserve if a 4-point charge shows up later.
Reducing Points With the Driver Improvement Clinic
North Carolina’s state-approved Driver Improvement Clinic removes three points from your record upon completion. You need at least 7 points on your record to qualify, and you can only take the course once every five years.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 20 – Authority of Division to Suspend License
Taking it at 7 points drops you to 4 and gives you real breathing room. Waiting until you’re at 10 or 11 is risky, because a new violation while you’re still enrolled could push you past 12 before the reduction posts.
Insurance Points Are a Different System
The point values above are DMV points. They determine whether you keep your license. North Carolina also runs a separate insurance-points system under the Safe Driver Incentive Plan, administered by the NC Department of Insurance, which determines how much more your insurer can charge you. The two systems assign different values to the same violation, and they treat multi-charge stops differently: the DMV counts only the highest-point offense from a single stop, while every conviction from that stop adds its own insurance points.3North Carolina Department of Insurance. Safe Driver Incentive Plan
If you’re trying to estimate a premium impact, don’t use the DMV chart. Check the SDIP schedule instead.
Commercial Drivers Play by Different Rules
If you hold a commercial driver license, the standard chart isn’t the whole picture. Point values are increased for violations committed in a commercial vehicle, and certain convictions can trigger CDL disqualification on top of any state points.
Federal law under 49 CFR 384.226 prohibits states from masking, deferring, or diverting CDL-related convictions. In practice, that means the prayer for judgment continued isn’t available to keep a CDL-related conviction off your record. Every traffic conviction shows up.4eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions
CDL holders also face federal disqualification periods for “serious traffic violations,” which include speeding 15 mph or more over the limit, reckless driving, following too close, and erratic lane changes. Two within three years bring at least a 60-day CDL disqualification; three within three years, at least 120 days. These run on top of any state suspension.