Tennessee license points
12 points in 1 year
What the rule says happens: the Department shall issue a notice of proposed suspension
When a driver has accumulated twelve (12) or more points within a one (1) year period, the Department shall issue a notice of proposed suspension stating the grounds for such suspension and that the driver shall be required to appear at an administrative hearing to contest the proposed suspension.
Points for each violation
| Violation, in Tennessee’s wording | Points |
|---|---|
Tickets and court abstracts where speed not indicated | 3 |
Speeding 1 through 5 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone | 1 |
Speeding 6 through 15 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone | 3 |
Speeding 16 through 25 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone | 4 |
Speeding 26 through 35 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone | 5 |
Speeding 36 through 45 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone | 6 |
Speeding 46 and above in excess of speed zone | 8 |
Reckless driving | 6 |
Careless or negligent driving | 4 |
Failure to obey traffic instructions | 4 |
Following improperly | 3 |
Operating vehicle while using cell phone (under 18) | 6 |
Passing stopped school, church or youth bus taking on or discharging passengers | 8 |
Miscellaneous traffic violation; any offense involving the unsafe operation of a Non-Commercial Motor Vehicle not herein specified | 3 |
Contributing to a crash involving property damage | 3 |
These are the lines we have. Tennessee’s full schedule is at the source links and may list more.
Sources for these lines, word for word
1. Tickets and court abstracts where speed not indicated 3
Speeding 1 through 5 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone 1
Speeding 6 through 15 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone 3
Speeding 16 through 25 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone 4
Speeding 26 through 35 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone 5
Speeding 36 through 45 m.p.h. in excess of speed zone 6
Speeding 46 and above in excess of speed zone 8
(f) Reckless driving T.C.A. § 55-10-205 6
(g) Careless or negligent driving T.C.A. § 55-8-136 4
(h) Failure to obey traffic instructions T.C.A. § 55-8-109 4
(k) Following improperly T.C.A. § 55-8-124 3
(dd) Operating vehicle while using cell phone (under 18) T.C.A. § 55-50-311 6
(ee) Passing stopped school, church or youth bus taking on or discharging passengers T.C.A. § 55-8-151 8
(bb) Miscellaneous traffic violation; any offense involving the unsafe operation of a Non-Commercial Motor Vehicle not herein specified 3
(a) Contributing to a crash involving property damage (including crashes occurring on private property or in government vehicle) 3
When points lead to a suspension or other action
| Points | Within | The rule’s wording | What happens | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 year | see the rule | the Department shall issue a notice of proposed suspension | see the rule |
| 6 | 1 year | see the rule | An advisory letter shall be mailed | see the rule |
| 6 | 12 months | see the rule | are sent a notice of proposed suspension | Drivers less than eighteen (18) years of age |
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
When a driver has accumulated twelve (12) or more points within a one (1) year period, the Department shall issue a notice of proposed suspension stating the grounds for such suspension and that the driver shall be required to appear at an administrative hearing to contest the proposed suspension.
An advisory letter shall be mailed to each driver who accumulates six (6) or more, but fewer than twelve (12) points within a one (1) year period.
Drivers less than eighteen (18) years of age who accumulate six (6) or more points on their driving record within any twelve (12) month period are sent a notice of proposed suspension from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security and are placed in the Driver Improvement Program.
How long points last
Convictions of moving traffic violations which occurred more than two (2) years prior to the Department’s receipt of such report or notice shall not be used within the Driver Improvement Program.
Each time a crash or violation is posted to the driver’s record, the computer shall scan back for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the posted date to determine whether the driver has accumulated twelve (12) or more points within a twelve (12) month period to warrant a proposed suspension notice.
Which date counts
We don’t have Tennessee’s wording on whether the violation date or the conviction date counts. The agency is the place to ask.
The point system itself
To administer this program, a point value will be assessed for each accident and moving violation conviction.
More from Tennessee’s rules
Driver Improvement was established to monitor and evaluate adult and juvenile driver records based on point values assigned to accidents and/or convictions for moving traffic violations.
(Paragraphs 1-8 of this Rule shall apply only to drivers who are eighteen (18) years of age or older on the event date of the crash or violation.)
Failure to attend a hearing pursuant to this chapter shall result in a six (6) month suspension unless the driver is currently undergoing, or has previously undergone within a five (5) year period, Driver Improvement Program suspension action, in which case the suspension period shall be for twelve (12) months.
Following completion of the defensive driving course and notification to the Department of such completion, the driver shall be placed on probation for a period of twelve (12) months.
Drivers who accumulate twelve (12) or more points on their driving record within any 12-month period are sent a notice of proposed suspension and given an opportunity to attend an administrative hearing. If they fail to request a hearing, their driving privileges are suspended for a period of six to 12 months.
In most cases, when a driver requests a hearing, they are given the opportunity to attend a defensive driving class in lieu of suspension or a reduction of suspension time. This must be completed within ninety (90) days of receiving the letter of suspension and can only be completed once every five (5) years to receive credit.
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
- Arkansas
14 points
A “Notice of Suspension/Hearing” will be sent to such person
Arkansas Driver Services Regulation 1993-9, 1-27-16-907 Assessment of points for specific convictions, read November 12, 2026
- Kentucky
12 points in 2 years
suspend or probate the driving privilege
601 KAR 13:025, Point system, read November 12, 2026
Check a ticket in Tennessee
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.
Sources for Tennessee
- Rules of the Tennessee Department of Safety, Chapter 1340-01-04, Tennessee Driver Improvement Program (August 2014 revision)
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Driver Improvement (Points Accumulation)
- The licensing agency: Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Driver Services
Official pages we asked for and don’t quote
| Official page | What the request got |
|---|---|
| the Department's Schedule of Points Values page | The request was refused (HTTP 403). |
| the Department's support article on how driver points are calculated | The page answered with text. A search of that text, as our reader extracted it, for the exact string “point system” found it 0 times, for “demerit” found it 0 times, for “points” found it 0 times. We quote nothing from this page. |