Delaware Points: How They Count and What Happens at Each Level

When points land: how the DMV counts them

A conviction or a paid ticket is what puts points on your record, yet the clock starts on the date you were stopped. For the first 12 months they count in full, for the next 12 they count at half, and every action the DMV takes is based on your calculated total inside that 24 month window.

Picture a 4 point ticket you got 15 months back: right now it counts for 2, and nothing once 24 months pass. That fade is what sets Delaware apart from states where points stay at full weight until they drop off.

When points land: values for common tickets

The list of values is brief. A moving violation from Chapter 27, 41 or 42 of Title 21 that has no specific value of its own is worth 2.

• 2 points: speeding under 10 mph over
• 3 points: running a red light or a stop sign
• 4 points: speeding 10 to 14 mph over
• 5 points: speeding 15 to 19 mph over
• 5 points: speeding 20 or more over, with a suspension possible
• 6 points: passing a stopped school bus, aggressive driving, reckless driving

As the total climbs: what the DMV does

Reach 8 calculated points and the DMV sends an advisory letter. Reach 12 and you have 90 days from the notice, which the DMV can extend, to finish a behavior modification or attitudinal driving course. Skip it, or decide not to take it, and a 2 month suspension follows.

Starting at 14 points there is no choice, only a suspension, and it lengthens by 2 months for every 2 points: 14 points is 4 months, 16 is 6, 18 is 8, 20 is 10, and 22 reaches the 12 month maximum. Getting reinstated from any of them requires a behavior modification course finished within the previous two years, and a reinstatement fee.

A worked example: a 3 point red light ticket last spring, now 14 months old, counts as 1.5. Add a fresh 4 point speeding ticket and a 3 point stop sign ticket and your calculated total is 8.5, past the advisory letter line.

If you were caught going far over the limit

A single ticket for extreme speed can cost you the license no matter how clean the rest of your record is. Going 20 to 24 over earns a warning letter. From 25 over, you lose the license for a month, with another month for each extra 5 mph, although drivers in the 25 to 29 band can choose the behavior modification course in place of the suspension.

From 30 over, there is no swapping the suspension for a class. Hit 50 over, or 100 mph on any highway, and the suspension runs a full year, with behavior modification required before you can be reinstated.

What the defensive driving credit can and cannot do

Finish an approved course and the DMV will subtract 3 points when it works out a penalty for any later violation, for three years from the day you finish. Points already assessed stay exactly where they are, and so does the number your employer or insurer reads on your record.

Insurance is the other payoff: as much as 10 percent off a portion of your premium for three years, rising to as much as 15 percent if you take the refresher during the last 180 days. The course provider has two weeks to report your finish to the DMV.

Outcomes that add no points

Some results add nothing at all. For Class D holders, a first speeding ticket in three years at 1 to 14 mph over, paid by voluntary assessment, carries no points. Likewise, nothing is added if you are found not guilty or you successfully complete probation before judgment.

Red light camera tickets are civil assessments, and according to the courts insurers may not use them and they cannot go on your record.

Checking your own record

Online, a MyDMV account and a debit or credit card get you your record. At a DMV counter you can choose 3 years, 5 years or the complete history. By post, the DMV wants a notarized Personal Information Release Form plus payment, mailed to P.O. Box 698, Dover, DE 19903, marked for the attention of Driver License Administration. Prices change, so look at the DMV fee guide before ordering.