New Mexico license points
12 points in 12 months
What the rule says happens: the department shall suspend the driver's license for a period of twelve months
Upon the assessment of points to a driver which causes the total points accumulated by that driver to equal or exceed twelve points for violations occurring within a period of twelve consecutive months, the department shall suspend the driver's license for a period of twelve months.
Points for each violation
We don’t have New Mexico’s point values yet. The official pages are linked at the foot of this page.
When points lead to a suspension or other action
| Points | Within | The rule’s wording | What happens | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 12 months | see the rule | the department shall suspend the driver's license for a period of twelve months | see the rule |
| 7 | 1 year | see the rule | the department shall automatically suspend the license for the period recommended by the municipal or magistrate judge up to a period of three months | the department receives a recommendation from a municipal or magistrate judge |
| 6 | no period given | see the rule | the department may warn the driver of the possibility of suspension | 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
Upon the assessment of points to a driver which causes the total points accumulated by that driver to equal or exceed twelve points for violations occurring within a period of twelve consecutive months, the department shall suspend the driver's license for a period of twelve months.
If a driver has been assessed from seven to ten points for violations occurring within a period of one year and the department receives a recommendation from a municipal or magistrate judge that the driver's license be suspended for a period not to exceed three months, the department shall automatically suspend the license for the period recommended by the municipal or magistrate judge up to a period of three months.
Upon the accumulation by the driver of at least six points, the department may warn the driver of the possibility of suspension of the driver's license.
How long points last
The department shall keep a record of points assessed for a period of one year from the date the violation occurred.
Points assessed to a driver will be expunged by the department automatically at the end of the twelfth month following the month in which the violation for which the points were assessed occurred.
Which date counts
What it means for a particular case is for the agency to say.
The department shall keep a record of points assessed for a period of one year from the date the violation occurred.
Tickets from other states
Violations for which points shall be assessed are either violations pursuant to the traffic laws of this state or violations of the traffic laws of other jurisdictions for which points would be assessed if the violation had occurred in New Mexico.
Points shall be assessed by the department in accordance with the schedule in 18.19.5.52 NMAC following conviction for any scheduled traffic law violation or the equivalent violation in the other jurisdiction if the violation occurred in another jurisdiction.
The point system itself
This point system continues the point system in effect prior to July 1, 1992.
More from New Mexico’s rules
Many common traffic violations (speeding, failure to wear seat belts, etc.) carry "points". Points are assigned based on the traffic violation.
Points to be assessed for conviction of violations on or after October 1, 1996 of provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code are scheduled in Subsections B through G below.
If a driver has twelve or more points within a twelve-month period, their driver's license will be suspended for one year.
Other traffic violations (driving without insurance, or driving without vehicle registration) do not carry points; instead, these types of offenses will require the driver to appear in court.
This suspension is based on point accumulation and has a mandatory suspension period of one year. After the suspension period ends, the applicant must complete a Defensive Driving course and submit the course certificate as proof of completion.
How nearby states compare
Side by side, not like for like. Read each state’s own rule before comparing two of them.
- Colorado
12 points in 12 months
the department has the authority to suspend the license
Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 42 (uncertified printout), section 42-2-127, Authority to suspend license; points, read November 12, 2026
- Nebraska
12 points in 2 years
summarily revoke the operator's license
Nebraska Revised Statute 60-4,183, point system, revocation of license, read November 12, 2026
- Oklahoma
10 points in 5 years
your license will be suspended
Oklahoma Driver Manual, Oklahoma Mandatory Point System, read November 12, 2026
Sources for New Mexico
- New Mexico Administrative Code 18.19.5, Driver's License (point system, 18.19.5.50 to 18.19.5.56)
- New Mexico Driver Manual, Traffic Violations
- New Mexico MVD Driver Procedures Manual, Chapter 10, Reinstatement Requirements
- The licensing agency: New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division
Official pages we asked for and don’t quote
| Official page | What the request got |
|---|---|
| the PDF copy of New Mexico Administrative Code 18.19.5 (looked for because the HTML copy's schedule table cannot be quoted line by line) | The page answered with text. A search of that text, as our reader extracted it, for the exact string “point system” found it 16 times, for “demerit” found it 0 times, for “points” found it 26 times. We quote nothing from this page. |
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Reference only, not legal or insurance advice. Confirm with the agency. Full statement.