Wisconsin license points
12 points in 12 months
What the rule says happens: The department shall suspend the operating privilege
The department shall suspend the operating privilege of any person whose driver record shows the accumulation of 12 points for violations committed within any 12-month period.
Points for each violation
| Violation, in Wisconsin’s wording | Points |
|---|---|
Speeding (1-10 mph over limit) | 3 |
Driving too fast for conditions | 4 |
Imprudent Speed | 4 |
Reckless Driving | 6 |
Failure to obey any official traffic control device | 3 |
Failure by operator to stop for school bus when red lights are flashing | 4 |
Texting While Driving | 4 |
Inattentive Driving | 4 |
Failure to perform duty after accident under s. 346.67 or 346.68, Stats. | 6 |
Fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, or knowingly resisting an officer by failing to stop a vehicle | 6 |
Racing | 6 |
Failure to Yield Right of Way | 4 |
Illegal Turn | 3 |
All other moving traffic convictions except as provided in sub. (5) | 2 |
These are the lines we have. Wisconsin’s full schedule is at the source links and may list more.
Sources for these lines, word for word
066 S Speeding (1-10 mph over limit) 3
The department shall assess 4 demerit points for any of the following violations: Trans 101.02(2)(a) (a) Deviating from lane of traffic. Trans 101.02(2)(b) (b) Driving on wrong side of highway. Trans 101.02(2)(c) (c) Driving too fast for conditions. Trans 101.02(2)(d) (d) Failure to have vehicle under control. Trans 101.02(2)(e) (e) Failure by operator to stop for school bus when red lights are flashing.
039 IS Imprudent Speed 4
063 RD Reckless Driving 6
The department shall assess 3 demerit points for any of the following violations: Trans 101.02(3)(a) (a) Violation of a restriction on a graduated driver license related to the time or route of travel or passengers permitted. Trans 101.02(3)(c) (c) Failure to dim lamps or lights. Trans 101.02(3)(d) (d) Failure to give appropriate signal. Trans 101.02(3)(e) (e) Failure to obey any official traffic control device.
340 TWD Texting While Driving 4
032 ID Inattentive Driving 4
The department shall assess 6 demerit points for any of the following violations: Trans 101.02(1)(a) (a) Failure to perform duty after accident under s. 346.67 or 346.68, Stats. Trans 101.02(1)(b) (b) Fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, or knowingly resisting an officer by failing to stop a vehicle.
062 R Racing 6
033 FYR Failure to Yield Right of Way 4
077 IT Illegal Turn 3
The department shall assess 2 demerit points for any of the following violations: Trans 101.02(4)(a) (a) Defective speedometer. Trans 101.02(4)(b) (b) Obstructed view or control, including illegally tinted windows. Trans 101.02(4)(c) (c) Obstructing traffic, or driving excessively slow. Trans 101.02(4)(e) (e) All other moving traffic convictions except as provided in sub. (5).
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 operating privilege | see the rule |
| 6 | 12 months | see the rule | The department may notify any operator of the points charged | see the rule |
| 17 | no period given | see the rule | a 4-month suspension | If you have a regular driver license or commercial driver license (CDL) |
| 23 | no period given | see the rule | a 6-month suspension | If you have a regular driver license or commercial driver license (CDL) |
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
The department shall suspend the operating privilege of any person whose driver record shows the accumulation of 12 points for violations committed within any 12-month period.
The department may notify any operator of the points charged against the person’s driver record when the record shows the person has accumulated 6 or more points in a 12-month period.
If you have a regular driver license or commercial driver license (CDL): 12-16 points results in a 2-month suspension 17-22 points results in a 4-month suspension 23-30 points results in a 6-month suspension More than 30 points results in a 1-year suspension
How long points last
Most convictions on a driving record are eligible to be removed five years after the conviction date. Alcohol related convictions stay on the record indefinitely.
As long as a conviction remains on a driving record, the points associated with that conviction remain available to determine if a person has accumulated 12 or more points in any 12-month period.
Which date counts
What it means for a particular case is for the agency to say.
The violation date (not the conviction date) determines whether you have accumulated 12 or more points in any 12-month period.
Taking points off: courses and clean driving
You may reduce your point total by three points for attending an approved traffic safety course.
There are no approved online courses for point reduction. If you are already suspended for accumulating too many points, and if your point total is 12, 13 or 14 points, your suspension may be released after taking the course. Only one reduction is allowed in a three-year period.
the points assessed to a person’s driver record shall be reduced by 3 points or by the number of points accumulated up to 3, upon application for a demerit point reduction and satisfactory completion of any of the following:
Each person may seek only one point reduction under this section in a 3-year period.
Tickets from other states
No points are assessed for convictions from other states, however, the conviction is entered on the Wisconsin driver record. Wisconsin takes action on any out-of-state convictions for which Wisconsin statutes require a mandatory suspension or revocation of the operating privilege.
The point system itself
When you are convicted of certain traffic violations, you receive demerit points that are applied to your driving record. Individuals with a clear driving record have 0 points. When you accumulate 12 or more demerit points within a 12-month period, your driving privilege is suspended.
More from Wisconsin’s rules
Pursuant to s. 343.32 (2), Stats., the department has established this demerit point system to identify habitually reckless or negligent operators or those who have repeatedly violated traffic laws.
Note: This includes arterial signs, one-way signs or traffic signs or signals.
Trans 101.02(1)(j) (j) Speeding 20 miles per hour or more in excess of lawful or posted speed.
Trans 101.02(2)(i) (i) Speeding more than 10 miles per hour but less than 20 miles per hour in excess of lawful or posted speed.
Trans 101.02(3)(f) (f) Following vehicle too closely.
Note: The date offenses were committed is used by the Department to determine point cases.
If you hold a probationary driver license, instruction permit, or have no license, you are assessed double demerit points on the second and subsequent convictions.
If you have a probationary driver license, instruction permit, or have never been issued a license: 12-30 points results in a 6-month suspension More than 30 points results in a 1-year suspension
eNotify subscribers who have accumulated between 6-11 demerit points within a 12-month period will receive a warning notification via email or text from the DMV.
How nearby states compare
Side by side, not like for like. Read each state’s own rule before comparing two of them.
- Illinois
15 points
2-month suspension
92 Illinois Administrative Code 1040.30, Suspension or Revocation for Three or More Traffic Offenses Committed Within 12 Months, read November 12, 2026
- Michigan
9 points
the secretary of state may call the individual in for an interview
Michigan Compiled Laws 257.320a, recording of convictions and number of points, read November 12, 2026
Check a ticket in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin
- Wisconsin DMV, Wisconsin's point system
- Wisconsin Administrative Code Trans 101.02, Point schedule
- Wisconsin Administrative Code Trans 101.02 (4), Two demerit point violations
- Wisconsin Administrative Code Trans 101.03, 101.04 and 101.07, warnings, suspension and point reduction
- Wisconsin DMV, Driver Licensing Abbreviation Codes with Charge and Points (BDS108, 02/2021)
- The licensing agency: Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles
Official pages we asked for and don’t quote
| Official page | What the request got |
|---|---|
| Chapter Trans 101 as one page | The page answered with text. A search of that text, as our reader extracted it, for the exact string “point system” found it 3 times, for “demerit” found it 18 times, for “points” found it 10 times. We quote nothing from this page. |
| Driver Licensing Conviction Charge Codes and Points with Statute Numbers (BDS109, 10/2025) | 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 8 times, for “points” found it 22 times. We quote nothing from this page. |