New Jersey license points
12 points
What the rule says happens: your license will be suspended
If you get 12 or more points on your current driving record, your license will be suspended. You will receive a notice of scheduled suspension by mail.
Points for each violation
| Violation, in New Jersey’s wording | Points |
|---|---|
Exceeding maximum speed 1-14 mph over limit | 2 |
Exceeding maximum speed 15-29 mph over limit | 4 |
Exceeding maximum speed 30 mph or more over limit | 5 |
Failure to observe traffic signals | 2 |
Failure to stop for traffic light | 2 |
Failure to observe stop or yield signs | 2 |
Reckless driving | 5 |
Tailgating | 5 |
Improper passing of school bus | 5 |
Use of a handheld cellphone or electronic communication device while driving | 3 |
Careless driving | 2 |
Racing on highway | 5 |
Improper passing in no passing zone | 4 |
Moving violation committed out-of-state | 2 |
These are the lines we have. New Jersey’s full schedule is at the source links and may list more.
Sources for these lines, word for word
Exceeding maximum speed 1-14 mph over limit 2
Exceeding maximum speed 15-29 mph over limit 4
Exceeding maximum speed 30 mph or more over limit 5
Failure to observe traffic signals* (Red Light Camera- 0 pts.) 2
Failure to stop for traffic light 2
Failure to observe stop or yield signs 2
Reckless driving 5
Tailgating 5
Improper passing of school bus 5
Use of a handheld cellphone or electronic communication device while driving 3 Points are assessed against 3rd offense occurring within 10 years of a second offense and all subsequent offenses thereafter.* 3
Careless driving 2
Racing on highway 5
Improper passing in no passing zone 4
Moving violation committed out-of-state 2
When points lead to a suspension or other action
| Points | Within | The rule’s wording | What happens | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | no period given | see the rule | your license will be suspended | see the rule |
| 6 | 3 years | see the rule | you will be assessed a surcharge | see the rule |
Whether a rule means that many points or more, or more than that many, is in the rule’s own words below.
The rules, word for word
If you get 12 or more points on your current driving record, your license will be suspended. You will receive a notice of scheduled suspension by mail.
If you get six or more points within three years on your current driving record, you will be assessed a surcharge.
How long points last
Although the MVC keeps a permanent record of all the points you've earned, it is possible to earn point deductions by remaining violation and suspension-free for one year or by taking qualified driving courses approved by the MVC.
Which date counts
We don’t have New Jersey’s wording on whether the violation date or the conviction date counts. The agency is the place to ask.
Taking points off: courses and clean driving
Although the MVC keeps a permanent record of all the points you've earned, it is possible to earn point deductions by remaining violation and suspension-free for one year or by taking qualified driving courses approved by the MVC.
One year with no violations or suspensions -3 Year begins on date of violation or most recent restoration.
Defensive Driving Program -2 May be used to subtract points once every five years.
Driver Improvement Program -3 May only be used to subtract points once every two years in response to MVC proposed action.
Probationary Driver Program -3 May only be completed one time when ordered by MVC to attend.
Tickets from other states
A moving violation committed outside the state of New Jersey will be assessed two (2) points (39:5D-4).
Moving violation committed out-of-state 2
The point system itself
If you get six or more points within three years on your current driving record, you will be assessed a surcharge.
More from New Jersey’s rules
Getting points on your license may also increase your insurance rates. Contact your insurance carrier for details.
Note: Your insurance company might not factor these deductions into your insurance rate.
*No points assessed for red light camera violation 0
Leaving the scene of an accident – no personal injury 2 Personal injury 8
Driving in an unsafe manner (points only for third or subsequent offense within five years of most recent 39:4-97.2 conviction) 4
How nearby states compare
Side by side, not like for like. Read each state’s own rule before comparing two of them.
- Connecticut
10 points
his or her operator’s license is suspended for a period of thirty (30) days
Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies 14-137a-1 to 14-137a-9, Assessment of Points Against an Operator's License for Motor Vehicle Law Violations, read November 12, 2026
- Delaware
14 points
Mandatory 4 month license suspension
2 Delaware Administrative Code 2208, Concerning Driver Improvement Problem Driver Program, read November 12, 2026
- Maryland
5 points in 12 months
the Administration shall suspend the individual’s driver’s license
Maryland Transportation Article 16-404, actions for accumulated points, read November 12, 2026
Check a ticket in New Jersey
Total so far
Reference only, not legal or insurance advice. Confirm with the agency. Full statement.
What this adds up, and what it can’t say
- This is arithmetic on quoted values, and nothing else. It does not predict any outcome.
- The date a state counts from (the violation date or the conviction date) is as quoted. The calculator does not decide it: it uses the date entered for each line.
- Courts and agencies decide actual outcomes, under the full text of the law and the full driving record, which this page does not have.
- Insurance companies use their own separate systems. This calculator works out nothing about insurance.
- A printed figure is compared with a sum only where the same quoted passage prints a period. The comparison says below, equal to or above. Whether a passage means that figure or more, or more than that figure, is in the passage’s own words.
- How periods are counted here is this calculator’s own convention, not a rule from any source. Months and years are calendar months and years counted back from the date chosen. Where the earlier month is shorter, its last day is used. The day reached is the period’s first day, and a line dated on that first day is outside the period. A line dated on the date chosen is inside. For example, a period of one month ending March 31, 2026 has the first day February 28, 2026, so a line dated that day is not counted and a line dated the day after is. An agency may count differently.
- Nothing typed here leaves this page or is stored.
The checker has only the violations in the table above.