When it comes to your driving record, points are a bad thing. Points are added to your Texas driver's license whenever you get a traffic citation. And when you get too many points over a one or two-year period, you risk having your driver’s license suspended.
The good news is that the state offers a way to get points off your Texas driver’s license!
Let’s take a look at how the Texas point system works and how to get points taken off your Texas driver’s license.
How Do Texas Driver’s License Points Work?
Points are assigned to your license when you violate a traffic law. In general, moving violations add two points to your license, and if the violation results in a crash, three points are added to your license.
The list of moving violations is long. Some of the most common violations include:
Speeding
Failing to stop at a stop sign or red light
Improper lane changes
Illegal passing
Improper turns
Driving the wrong way on a one-way
Everyone with a Texas driver’s license is subject to this point system. Even if you get a traffic ticket while you’re driving out of state, the points will show up on your Texas driver’s license.
What Happens If You Get Too Many Points on Your Driver’s License?
If you get too many points on your Driver’s license, your license gets suspended.
How many points is too many?
Your license can be suspended if you have:
Four or more moving traffic violations (which would be 8-12 points, depending on whether or not the violations resulted in a crash) within a 12-month period, or
Seven or more moving traffic violations (totaling 14-21 points) within a 24-month period.
To minimize your risk of a suspension, you can get points off your Texas driver’s license.
How to Get Points off Your Texas Driver’s License
The trick to getting points taken off your Texas driver’s license is to complete a defensive driving course. Taking this course shows the courts that you are serious about becoming a safer driver.
But to make sure your course qualifies to remove points off your license, you need to follow these five steps.
Step 1: Confirm Your Eligibility
There are basic minimum eligibility requirements for removing points from your Texas license. And there are some cases where you’re not eligible to use the defensive driving course to get points off your Texas driver’s license. You're not eligible if:
You have a commercial driver’s license.
You have taken court-ordered defensive driving in Texas in the past year.
You don’t have a valid Texas driver’s license.
You were driving 95 mph or more (or 25 mph over the posted speed limit).
Step 2: Get Permission from the Court
The courts also need to review your records to make sure you’re eligible to have points removed. So before you enroll in your Texas defensive driving course, you should get the court’s approval.
The exact process for getting permission from the court depends on the county where you received your traffic ticket. In many cases, instructions for getting court permission are printed on the ticket. But you can also visit the Texas Judicial website to find your county court’s contact information if you have questions about the permission process.
Step 3: Complete Your Defensive Driving Course
The IDriveSafely Texas defensive driving course is the lowest-priced and shortest course allowed by the state. You can complete your course online in just a few hours!
Step 4: Submit Your Certificate of Completion to the Court
With IDriveSafely, you get a free eCertificate that you can immediately submit to your local court. No paperwork, no waiting, no hassle!
Step 5: Submit Your Driving Record to the Court
The court also requires a copy of your driving record before they can remove the points from your record. Rather than going to the DMV and paying fees to get a copy of your driving record, you can enroll in IDriveSafely’s Combo, which includes a copy of your driving record along with your defensive driving course.
Don’t let a traffic ticket permanently add points to your license. It’s easy to get those points taken off your Texas driver’s license with IDriveSafely’s convenient online defensive driving course!
