What Should You Know About New York’s Points System for Traffic Tickets?

Aug 27, 2026

If you get a traffic ticket in New York, the points system can affect both your license and your insurance rates. A traffic offenses attorney in Mineola, NY can not only help you figure out where you stand under the system but also protect you.

New York’s Traffic Ticket Point System

New York assigns points to many traffic violations, with consequences if you get too many. If you get six or more points in 18 months, you have to pay a Driver Responsibility Assessment fee of $100 every year for three years. If you go over six points during that period, the fee is another $25 for every point, per year. If you get 11 points or more in a two-year period, there’s a high likelihood your driver’s license will be revoked.

Here’s a few basics to understand:

You have to be convicted before the points get added, making it sometimes very much worth going to traffic court.
The points are calculated from the date of the violation, not the date of conviction, which is important for calculating that two-year period.
Once you pass the two-year (24-month) mark, the points don’t count towards your total anymore.
Even points that don’t count towards your total stay on your license, however, and can be used against you by your insurance company.

How Many Points Do Different Violations Give You?

Some of the more common violations and their points are:

Speeding: 3 to 11 points, depending on speed
Reckless driving: 5
Following too closely: 4
Use of mobile phone: 5
Running light/stop/yield: 3
Passing a stopped school bus: 8
Failure to exercise due care: 5
Improper passing/lane change: 3

Are There Violations That Don’t Get You Points?

Parking tickets, any tickets you get as a pedestrian or cyclist, or most tickets that you might get for things related to vehicle inspections don’t get you points on your license. Normally, tickets that come from a camera, even for speeding or running a red light, don’t count, either.

How Does the Insurance Work?

The DMV doesn’t have a say here, as the insurance companies keep their own records and apply their own surcharges. Even after DMV points drop off the suspension calculation, the higher premiums can continue for years.

How Can I Fight Back?

One way to simply lower your points is to do a DMV-approved Point and Insurance Reduction Program course, which can take up to 4 points from the total (though the points themselves stay on your record). That same course can also reduce your base auto liability and collision insurance premiums by 10% for three years.

The best way to keep your points low, however, is to contest any high-point tickets or ones that would push you close to the 11-point line.