West Virginia license points
12 points
What the rule says happens: your driver’s license is subject to suspension
When you accumulate 12 points on your record, your driver’s license is subject to suspension.
Points for each violation
| Violation, in West Virginia’s wording | Points |
|---|---|
Speeding in a School Zone | 6 |
Speeding 20 mph or More Over the Speed Limit | 6 |
Speeding 15 mph - 19 mph Over the Speed Limit | 5 |
Speeding 11 mph - 14 mph Over the Speed Limit | 3 |
Driving Too Fast for Conditions | 3 |
Reckless/Careless Driving | 6 |
Hit and Run (Leaving the Scene or Failure to Reveal ID) | 6 |
3 or More Wireless Communication Device Violations (Any Combination of Talking and/or Texting) | 3 |
Failure to Obey Trafc Light | 3 |
Failure to Obey Stop Sign | 3 |
Following Too Closely | 2 |
Passing Violation | 3 |
Failure to Yield Violation | 3 |
Improper Turning | 2 |
These are the lines we have. West Virginia’s full schedule is at the source links and may list more.
Sources for these lines, word for word
Speeding in a School Zone 6
Hit and Run (Leaving the Scene or Failure to Reveal ID) Speeding 20 mph or More Over the Speed Limit Speeding 15 mph - 19 mph Over the Speed Limit Speeding 11 mph - 14 mph Over the Speed Limit 3 or More Wireless Communication Device Violations (Any Combination of Talking and/or Texting) 6 6 5 3 3
Driving Too Fast for Conditions 3
Reckless/Careless Driving 6
Failure to Obey Trafc Light 3
Failure to Obey Stop Sign 3
Following Too Closely 2
Passing Violation 3
Failure to Yield Violation 3
Improper Turning 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 driver’s license is subject to suspension | see the rule |
| 6 | no period given | see the rule | will receive a warning letter | see the rule |
| 14 | no period given | see the rule | 45 Days | see the rule |
| 16 | no period given | see the rule | 60 Days | see the rule |
| 18 | no period given | see the rule | 90 Days | see the rule |
| 20 | no period given | see the rule | 120 Days | 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
When you accumulate 12 points on your record, your driver’s license is subject to suspension.
Motorists who accumulate at least six (6) points against their license will receive a warning letter urging them to exercise more caution and obey all traffic laws.
Points Accumulated Suspension Time 12–13 30 Days 14–15 45 Days 16–17 60 Days 18–19 90 Days 20+ 120 Days
How long points last
Official sources differ
These official passages do not print the same thing. Both are shown as printed. We do not choose between them or say how they fit together.
Points for a given infraction remain on a driver's record for two (2) years from the conviction date; the infraction itself remains on the record for five years.
Points will be maintained as part of your driving record for a minimum of two (2) years from the conviction date. However, any conviction will remain on your record for a period of 10 years.
Points remain on your driving record for two (2) years from the conviction date.
Which date counts
What it means for a particular case is for the agency to say.
Official sources differ
These official passages do not print the same thing. Both are shown as printed. We do not choose between them or say how they fit together.
Points for a given infraction remain on a driver's record for two (2) years from the conviction date; the infraction itself remains on the record for five years.
Points will be maintained as part of your driving record for a minimum of two (2) years from the conviction date. However, any conviction will remain on your record for a period of 10 years.
Taking points off: courses and clean driving
Any driver who completes an approved Defensive Driving Course (DDC) will have three (3) points removed from their overall total, regardless of the amount of points currently on their record.
If a points suspension for 14 or more points has already been established on your record, the suspension will not be rescinded or affected by the DDC; the driver must serve the suspension and pay the reinstatement fee.
The Defensive Driving Course may only be taken once every 12 months for point reduction.
Online Defensive Driving Courses are NOT acceptable for point reduction and will NOT be considered by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles.
the division may, upon completion of an approved defensive driving course, deduct three points from a licensee’s point accumulation provided the licensee has not reached 14points.
Tickets from other states
Points are assessed for all traffic violations committed anywhere in the United States using the West Virginia Points Schedule. Drivers convicted of multiple offenses arising out of a single incident will only be assessed points for the most serious offense.
Traffic violations you receive in other states will become part of your West Virginia driving record and, if warranted, points will be assessed.
The point system itself
The West Virginia DMV's Point System promotes highway safety by monitoring and correcting the driving habits of motorists. Points are assessed for traffic violations based on the severity of the offense.
More from West Virginia’s rules
License suspensions generally run consecutively. Points accumulated by drivers already under suspension will result in an additional suspension period to begin after the original ends. However, suspensions received upon reaching 20+ points run concurrently.
Where official sources differ
Official sources differ
These official passages do not print the same thing. Both are shown as printed. We do not choose between them or say how they fit together.
Points for a given infraction remain on a driver's record for two (2) years from the conviction date; the infraction itself remains on the record for five years.
Points will be maintained as part of your driving record for a minimum of two (2) years from the conviction date. However, any conviction will remain on your record for a period of 10 years.
How nearby states compare
Side by side, not like for like. Read each state’s own rule before comparing two of them.
- Indiana
6 points
you must take the knowledge exam to renew your driver’s license
Indiana Driver's Manual, Chapter Five: Points, Suspension, and Insurance Requirements, 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
- North Carolina
12 points in 3 years
license may be suspended
North Carolina DMV, License Suspension (Accumulation of points; Driver improvement clinics), read November 12, 2026
Check a ticket in West Virginia
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 West Virginia
- West Virginia DMV, Point System
- West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, Point System
- West Virginia Commercial Driver's License Manual, Point System table
- West Virginia Code §17B-3-6, Authority of division to suspend, restrict, or revoke license
- The licensing agency: West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles
Official pages we asked for and don’t quote
| Official page | What the request got |
|---|---|
| the DMV's Points System Brochure (2013) | The page answered with text. A search of that text, as our reader extracted it, for the exact string “point system” found it 2 times, for “demerit” found it 0 times, for “points” found it 0 times. We quote nothing from this page. |
| Legislative Rule 91 CSR 5, the Division of Motor Vehicles point system rule | The answer had no text our reader could use. |