Cutting Points in West Virginia: The Defensive Driving Course

First, what the course can and cannot do

It cannot make a ticket go away. West Virginia has no statewide program where completing a class dismisses a citation. The DMV course reduces points after a conviction, and the infraction itself remains on your record for five years.

The magistrate court rules offer a different path. Under the magistrate courts' criminal procedure rules, Rule 7(d) lets you ask, on a court form stating your reasons, for a traffic citation to be dismissed before trial. If the prosecutor has not objected after 10 days, the magistrate may dismiss; an objection sends the case to hearing or trial.

In court: pleading and deadlines

In West Virginia the citation itself is the charging document, and a plea of guilty or no contest can be entered against it directly. Usually that plea can be made by phone to a magistrate in the county of the offense, followed by mailing the signed plea form with payment.

Certain charges cannot be handled by phone. You must appear in person for DUI, reckless driving, negligent homicide, anything involving an injury, and most cases of driving while suspended or revoked.

Never let a citation sit. When a magistrate or city court tells the DMV you never answered or showed up on a vehicle charge, W. Va. Code 17B-3-3a makes the DMV suspend you. Leaving fines unpaid past 90 days can have the same result. Pleading not guilty and want a jury trial? File a written jury demand no later than 20 days after you first appear.

After the conviction: how points add up

The DMV's legislative rule, known as 91 CSR 5, assigns the values. A few common ones: 11 to 14 mph over the limit is 3 points, 15 to 19 over is 5, and 20 or more over is 6. Six points also attach to reckless driving, speeding in a school zone, and not yielding to emergency vehicles. Speeding by 10 mph or less adds nothing for drivers who are not commercial.

Each conviction's points stay active for two years from its date. That two year window is why one class can be the difference between a warning letter and a suspension.

After the points post: using the 3 point credit

A completed approved classroom course subtracts 3 points from your total regardless of the size of that total. The DMV takes them off the most recent ticket it received before your class.

Timing is where people go wrong. A class completed before the points are officially on your record will not be applied, and you will have spent your once-a-year credit for nothing.

W. Va. Code 17B-3-6(e) sets one more boundary: the 3 point deduction is allowed only if you have not reached 14 points, which lines up with the DMV's position that a suspension at 14 points cannot be reversed by a class. If you are near that number, enroll as soon as your latest points post.

• One credit in any 12 month stretch
• Classroom only; online courses are rejected
• Only courses on the DMV's approved list
• The conviction and the court fine are unchanged

If your total keeps climbing: the suspension ladder

A warning letter goes out at 6 points. Past that, suspensions lengthen with your total and generally run one after another, so points earned during a suspension add a new one once the first ends. At 20 or more points, suspensions run concurrently.

• 12 or 13 points: 30 days
• 14 or 15 points: 45 days
• 16 or 17 points: 60 days
• 18 or 19 points: 90 days
• 20 points or more: 120 days

If a suspension notice arrives

Only the bottom tier can be saved. When the notice is for 30 days at 12 or 13 points, completion proof plus the reinstatement fee, received before the start date, cancels it.

Once a suspension at 14 or more points is in place, the course cannot reverse it. You serve it and pay reinstatement. Reinstatement is handled by mail only: send the paperwork with your license number and a copy of the notice to PO Box 17030, Charleston, WV 25317, addressed to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Regional offices do not process it.

Example: a driver at 10 points who picks up a 3 point speeding conviction lands at 13. If the 30 day notice arrives and the driver has not used a course in the past year, finishing the class and mailing proof with the fee before the effective date cancels it.

Finding a course that counts

The current approved classroom courses, with contact numbers and service areas, are on the DMV's point system page. Some serve locations across the state; one covers only the Eastern Panhandle counties.

One listed provider advertises virtual classes. The DMV rejects online courses for this purpose, so check with both the provider and the DMV that your format qualifies before paying. The DMV does not set a course price, so ask each provider.

If the driver is a teen or holds a CDL

Teens on GDL have bigger worries than points. A second Level 2 violation, says the DMV, costs the license until 18, and reaching Level 3 takes twelve straight infraction-free months on Level 2. A defensive driving class neither restarts nor repairs those clean periods, so work out what a ticket does to your teen's timeline before choosing a plea.

Commercial drivers have their own rule. Under the point rule, a CDL holder's citation may not be masked or deferred. And the small speeding tickets, 10 mph or under, that cost other drivers nothing do carry points for CDL holders and for anyone at the wheel of a commercial vehicle.

If the charge is DUI

Defensive driving has nothing to do with a DUI. After a DUI revocation, the DMV will not reinstate you until you finish its Safety and Treatment Program with an approved in-state provider.

The DMV describes it as 18 hours of education on impaired driving plus a substance abuse assessment, with additional treatment when the assessment recommends it. Enrollment in Level I education costs $400 as of October 2026; clients in financial hardship can apply to an indigent program.

Will the course lower my insurance?

The DMV's point reduction pages say nothing about insurance. Certain insurers reward a completed class with a lower premium. Ask yours three things: is there a discount, which classes qualify, and how often can it be used.