Keeping Your Georgia License: Points, Limits and the 7-Point Course

Start here: what common tickets cost you

Points go on as soon as a conviction reaches DDS. Most everyday Rules of the Road offenses, like failing to yield, tailgating, an improper lane change or rolling through a stop sign, are 3 points. Speed and dangerous driving score higher, and a handful of offenses carry only 1 or 2.

Some convictions add nothing: speeding by less than 15 mph, driving too fast for conditions, and any conviction of a driver who is not a Georgia resident. The complete list is the DDS Points Schedule.

• 2 points: 15 to 18 mph over
• 3 points: 19 to 23 mph over
• 4 points: 24 to 33 mph over
• 6 points: 34 mph or more over
• 6 points: aggressive driving
• 6 points: passing a school bus that has stopped
• 4 points: reckless driving
• 4 points: passing improperly on a hill or curve
• 3 points: not obeying a police officer
• 2 points: an open container of alcohol while driving
• 1 point for a first child restraint offense, 2 for later ones
• 1 point: texting or a handheld device offense
• 3 points: everything else that counts as a moving violation

Watch the line: when Georgia suspends

Fifteen points inside any 24 months brings a suspension. For a driver 21 or older facing a first points suspension, DDS says completing an approved defensive driving course is enough to reinstate right away, and you may qualify for a limited driving permit during the suspension itself.

Leave the requirements undone and the suspension simply continues until you complete them. Second and third points suspensions each have their own DDS FAQ page with different conditions; match the page to the suspension named in your letter.

If your driver is a teen or under 21

A Georgia resident younger than 18 is suspended at 4 points or more in any 12 months. Anyone under 21 convicted of reckless driving is suspended, and Georgia residents under 21 are also suspended for aggressive driving, an illegal pass on a curve or hill, overtaking a school bus that has stopped, or 24-plus mph over the limit.

A points reduction does not reverse these offense-based suspensions, and under 21, DDS treats a nolo contendere plea as if it were a conviction. Go over these limits with your teen before the first solo drive on a Class D. Example: one ticket for 25 mph over is 4 points, which alone is enough to suspend a 16-year-old.

Using the 7-point reduction

The legal basis is O.C.G.A. 40-5-86: complete a certified Driver Improvement course as a licensed Georgia resident and you may ask DDS for a reduction of up to 7 points, no more than once in 5 years. Expect 6 hours in a classroom and no driving. In October 2026 the required price for a points-reduction class was $95.

DDS will only act on the original certificate, not a copy. If the same certificate is meant for reinstatement too, tell the Customer Service Center to apply it to both when you hand it in. If you lose it, the clinic can replace it for up to $5, provided the course was within the past 3 years.

Before points land: the nolo option

A DDS regulation (rule 375-3-3-.01 of the Georgia administrative code) lets you avoid points once every 5 years when a court accepts a nolo contendere plea or tells DDS to avoid the points. That works before points are assessed; the 7-point reduction works on points already on your record.

Used together, they can keep a driver under the line. Someone sitting near 15 points could, with the judge's agreement, keep a new ticket's points off through a nolo plea, then take the course to trim older points.

Worked example: you have 13 points and get a 3-point ticket. A nolo plea (if accepted and your first in 5 years) keeps you at 13 instead of 16, and finishing the course afterward can bring you down to 6.

Pulling your Georgia record

DDS Online Services shows your status, points and any reinstatement steps. For a full history, order a Motor Vehicle Report (MVR). In October 2026 the 3-year MVR was $7, and 7 years or a lifetime report costs $9.

You can order online, in person, or by mail: send form DDS-18, or a letter, to the MVR Request unit at DDS's Conyers address, P.O. Box 80447, GA 30013. Certified copies are mailed, and that is the version employers and insurers usually ask for.