How Nebraska Driving Points Add Up

Start here: how points are dated

Points do not arrive with the ticket; they arrive with the conviction, but the DMV backdates them to the day of the violation, not the court date. Each conviction stays on your record for five years, but for revocation only the last two years of points matter.

Tickets from other states are scored as if you had been stopped in Nebraska, so a road trip ticket costs the same points as one at home.

Speeding: it depends on the road

Nebraska grades speeding by how far over you were and what kind of road you were on. Since November 14, 2020, being 1 to 5 over is worth nothing anywhere; before then it was 1 point.

Town driving is scored harder at the low end. Eight over on a residential street costs 2 points; eight over on the interstate costs 1.

• In a business or residential district: more than 5 up to 10 over is 2 points; more than 10 up to 35 over is 3; beyond 35 is 4
• On county roads, state highways and interstates: more than 5 up to 10 over is 1 point; more than 10 up to 15 is 2; more than 15 up to 35 is 3; beyond 35 is 4

Everything else on the chart

The catch-all for moving violations is 1 point. Zero points go to parking tickets, muffler and belt and helmet violations, and leaving your license at home. The big numbers go to driving that puts other people at risk.

• 12: a third DUI or any after it; motor vehicle homicide
• 6: DUI (first or second), willful reckless driving, fleeing the scene, not giving aid
• 5: reckless driving
• 4: careless driving; not yielding to a pedestrian who is then hurt
• 3: texting on a handheld device, negligent driving, or passing a stopped school bus
• 2: failing to yield to a pedestrian with no injury
• 1: refusing an alcohol test, or driving on an expired license or with no license ever issued

If you reach 12

Hit 12 in a two year span and revocation is automatic: six months the first time, three years if it is your second point revocation within five years. With no other suspension open, you can ask for an Employment Driving Permit or a Medical Hardship Permit.

Getting back on the road means an improvement course of four hours or more taken after the revocation date, three years of an SR-22 or similar insurance filing, a $125 fee, and passing the license tests again. That course does not count as your two point credit. Worked example: a driver with a 3 point texting ticket, a 4 point careless driving conviction and a 5 point reckless driving conviction inside two years sits exactly at 12.

Before you hit 12: the two point credit

Below 12 points, you may sign up on your own for an approved improvement class lasting four hours or longer. Once the school confirms that you finished, the DMV subtracts two of the points assessed in the past two years, or one if one is all you have. You get this once every five years.

The conviction itself stays. And a course the DMV has demanded, whether to reinstate you or to head off an under 21 suspension, earns nothing. A teen under 18 with three or more points may take the class, yet the Class O upgrade still looks at the points as assessed, so the wait lasts until 18 or until the last 12 months show under three points.

If your driver is under 21

A POP or license holder under 21 who reaches six points in 12 months receives a DMV notice to complete an improvement course. DMV pages disagree on the length: the POP page calls for eight hours minimum, the suspension page for a certified four hour course. Before you pay for one, ask the DMV which applies to your notice. If the course is not done within three months, the license is suspended.

Finishing before the suspension date cancels it. Finishing afterward costs a $50 reinstatement fee as well. At 21 the course requirement falls away, though the fee does not.

Checking your record

The DMV's status tool on Nebraska.gov shows your current status, including points and any SR-22. A full copy of the record costs $15 online and appears immediately; you can also order one by mail with a notarized application.

On it you will see convictions and administrative actions, plus accidents, kept three years purely for statistics and not as a finding of fault. Look at it after every ticket to check the points match, and after a course to make sure the credit landed.