Keeping Track of Points on a New York Driving Record

When a ticket turns into points

A ticket alone adds nothing; points arrive with the conviction. But the DMV files them under the date you were stopped. So if one ticket was in March and another in November, they sit in the same counting window even if one court took far longer to decide.

The 2026 rule change stretched the window to 24 months, and reaching 11 inside it can lead to a suspension. Older points fall out of the count, but the conviction itself can stay visible for four years, and alcohol and drug entries for considerably longer.

Worked example: a 6 point speeding ticket (21 to 30 over) in December 2024 and a 5 point phone ticket in September 2026 make 11 within 24 months. Complete PIRP in October 2026 and the phone violation falls inside the 18 months before completion, so up to 4 points come off for the suspension check: 11 becomes 7. The abstract still lists both tickets.

What common tickets cost in points

The further over the limit, the more points, and several numbers went up in the 2026 revision. A school bus pass or work zone speeding now costs 8 each, while driving incidents involving alcohol or drugs cost 11.

Any moving violation the DMV's schedule does not name is worth 2. Tickets for bikes or in-line skates add nothing.

• Speeding 1 to 10 over, or amount not stated: 3
• 11 to 20 over: 4
• 21 to 30 over: 6
• 31 to 40 over: 8
• Over 40: 11
• Phone or portable electronics while driving: 5
• Reckless driving, not exercising due care, railroad crossing: 5
• Tailgating: 4
• Not yielding, no signal, stop sign, bad lane change: 3
• Child under 16 not properly restrained: 3

When 6 points means a bill: the assessment

The court fine is one thing; this DMV charge comes on top. Reach six points in 18 months and you owe $100 every year for three years, with $25 a year more for each point past six. Drug or alcohol driving convictions, and chemical test refusals, are billed at $250 a year, so $750 overall.

Convictions in Quebec and Ontario feed into it alongside New York ones. Even drivers licensed in another state, or not licensed anywhere, owe it. PIRP's 4 points never come off the number used to calculate the bill.

What PIRP does to your total

When the DMV decides whether to suspend you, PIRP subtracts up to 4 points from your active total. Only violations from the 18 months before you finished qualify, it cannot push you below zero, and it builds no credit for future tickets.

As a point tool it is usable once per 18 months. As an insurance tool it pays for three years, which is why plenty of drivers with clean records sign up again every 36 months.

When points do not decide: automatic suspensions

Certain outcomes ignore your total. Section 510 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law revokes the license of anyone convicted three times for speeding violations committed inside 18 months, and you cannot be relicensed for at least six months. Drunk and drugged driving have separate suspension and revocation rules of their own.

Brand new drivers on probation lose the license for 60 days after one serious conviction. A junior licensee is off the road for 60 days after either one serious ticket or two lesser ones, and for 120 days after a first phone or texting conviction. No PIRP course stops any of that.

Tickets from other states and Canada

Out-of-state convictions normally carry no New York points, though they may show on your record where insurers can find them. Canadian provinces are handled differently: a reciprocal deal records their convictions here with New York point values.

That makes a ticket in Quebec or Ontario potentially expensive, because those points also count toward the assessment. After any ticket outside New York, pull your abstract and see what landed on it.