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South Carolina license points
12 points
What the rule says happens: three months' suspension
Periods of suspension of the license or privilege of a person for various accumulation of points must be as follows, with the person having the privilege to request a review of his driving record: (1) twelve to fifteen points—three months' suspension; (2) sixteen or seventeen points—four months' suspension; (3) eighteen or nineteen points—five months' suspension; (4) twenty points and over—six months' suspension.
Points for each violation
| Violation, in South Carolina’s wording | Points |
|---|---|
No more than 10 m.p.h. above the posted limits | 2 |
More than 10 m.p.h. but less than 25 m.p.h. above the posted limits | 4 |
25 m.p.h. or above the posted limits | 6 |
Disobedience of any official traffic control device | 4 |
Reckless driving | 6 |
Following too closely | 4 |
Passing stopped school bus | 6 |
Distracted driving (second or subsequent offense) | 2 |
Hit-and-run, property damages only | 6 |
Failing to yield right-of-way | 4 |
Passing unlawfully | 4 |
Driving in improper lane | 2 |
These are the lines we have. South Carolina’s full schedule is at the source links and may list more.
Sources for these lines, word for word
Driving too fast for conditions, or speeding: (1) No more than 10 m.p.h. above the posted limits 2
(2) More than 10 m.p.h. but less than 25 m.p.h. above the posted limits 4
(3) 25 m.p.h. or above the posted limits 6
Disobedience of any official traffic control device 4
Reckless driving 6
Following too closely 4
Passing stopped school bus 6
Distracted driving (second or subsequent offense) 2
Hit-and-run, property damages only 6
Failing to yield right-of-way 4
Passing unlawfully 4
Driving in improper lane 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 | three months' suspension | see the rule |
| 16 | no period given | see the rule | four months' suspension | see the rule |
| 18 | no period given | see the rule | five months' suspension | see the rule |
| 20 | no period given | see the rule | six months' suspension | see the rule |
| 6 | no period given | see the rule | your driving privileges will be suspended for six months | If you hold a beginner's permit, conditional or special restricted driver's license |
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
Periods of suspension of the license or privilege of a person for various accumulation of points must be as follows, with the person having the privilege to request a review of his driving record: (1) twelve to fifteen points—three months' suspension; (2) sixteen or seventeen points—four months' suspension; (3) eighteen or nineteen points—five months' suspension; (4) twenty points and over—six months' suspension.
If you hold a beginner's permit, conditional or special restricted driver's license and you accumulated six or more points, your driving privileges will be suspended for six months for Excessive Points.
How long points last
those accrued as a result of violations which have occurred during the twelve months' period including and immediately preceding the last violation shall be counted at their full value, those accrued from twelve to twenty-four months preceding the last violation shall be counted at one half their established value and those resulting from violations which occurred more than twenty-four months prior to the last violation shall not be counted.
If you earn points on your record, they're reduced by half after one year from the violation date on the ticket. For example, if you received four points on your record in June, the points would be reduced to two points in June of the next year.
When the driver's license of a person is suspended under the provisions of this article, all violations considered in such suspension shall be disregarded in so far as any subsequent suspension under this article or under the provisions of Section 56-5-2920 is concerned.
Which date counts
What it means for a particular case is for the agency to say.
those accrued as a result of violations which have occurred during the twelve months' period including and immediately preceding the last violation shall be counted at their full value, those accrued from twelve to twenty-four months preceding the last violation shall be counted at one half their established value and those resulting from violations which occurred more than twenty-four months prior to the last violation shall not be counted.
Taking points off: courses and clean driving
Any driver who has accumulated points under the provisions of this article shall have the number of his points reduced by four upon proving to the satisfaction of the Department of Motor Vehicles that he has completed the National Safety Council's "Defensive Driving Course" or its equivalent, if the course is completed after the points have been assessed.
No person's points may be reduced more than one time in any three-year period, pursuant to the provisions contained in this section.
The course must be taken after the points have been assessed (violation date). A reduction in points may only be made one time in a three-year period.
you must complete the course before the suspension begins. Once the suspension begins, the point reduction will not cancel the suspension.
Tickets from other states
Such convictions in another state of a violation therein which, if committed in this State, would be a violation of the traffic laws of this State, may be recorded against a driver the same as if the conviction had been made in the courts of this State.
When a resident of this State has been convicted of a motor vehicle violation in another state for which there is no corresponding offense in this State, excluding the offenses listed in Section 56-1-650(A), the conviction must not be recorded on the person's driving record in this State.
If you are convicted of a traffic violation in this state or any other state, that information will be sent to the SCDMV and be posted to your record.
The point system itself
There is established a point system for the evaluation of the operating record of persons to whom a license to operate motor vehicles has been granted and for the determination of the continuing qualifications of these persons for the privileges granted by the license to operate motor vehicles.
More from South Carolina’s rules
For the purposes of this article, a total of twelve points assessed against a driver as determined by the values designated in Section 56-1-720 indicates disrespect and disregard.
Warning tickets shall not be assigned a point value.
Certain violations, such as driving under the influence, require mandatory license suspension and are not under the point system.
How nearby states compare
Side by side, not like for like. Read each state’s own rule before comparing two of them.
- Alabama
12 points in 2 years
60 days
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Driver License Point System, read November 12, 2026
- District of Columbia
10 points
DC license suspended, lose driving privileges for 90 days
DC DMV, Driver Point System Chart, read November 12, 2026
- Georgia
15 points in 24 months
will have their license suspended
Georgia DDS, Points and Points Reduction, read November 12, 2026
Check a ticket in South Carolina
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.