PennDOT Point System

Pennsylvania uses a tiered point system that triggers different actions at different totals: a written-test requirement at 6 points, a special examination at 6 points after a previous reduction, and a 5- to 30-day license suspension at higher accumulations. Points decay automatically at the rate of 3 points per 12 months of clean driving.

How points work

Points attach to the date of conviction, not the date of the violation. Each violation carries a fixed point value listed in 67 Pa. Code Chapter 69 (the Pennsylvania point schedule). Points stay on the record visibly until they decay; the underlying conviction stays in the database for the full 10-year retention period.

Common point values

The 6-point thresholds

Pennsylvania has two separate "6-point" thresholds, applied in sequence:

• First time at 6 points: the driver receives a written notice from PennDOT requiring a special written knowledge test within 30 days. Passing the test removes 2 points from the record.
• Second time at 6 points (after the prior reduction): the driver must attend a departmental hearing with a PennDOT examiner, who can require a special on-road examination, additional treatment, or a 15-day suspension — depending on the circumstances.
• Third time at 6 points: typically results in a 30-day license suspension on top of any other actions.

Suspension at 11 points

Accumulating 11 or more points at any one time triggers an automatic license suspension:

• First suspension at 11 points: 5 days per point above 5, so 11 points = 30 days; 12 points = 35 days; 14 points = 45 days.
• Second suspension at 11 points: 10 days per point above 5.
• Third suspension at 11 points: 15 days per point above 5, with a maximum of 1 year.

Reinstatement after a point suspension requires the standard $94 restoration fee plus passing the knowledge test — described in detail on the suspended license page.

Point decay

Pennsylvania's automatic decay is one of the most generous in the country: 3 points are removed for every 12 consecutive months of clean driving (no convictions, no license-violation entries). A driver carrying 6 points who has a clean year drops to 3 points; a driver carrying 9 points who has two clean years drops to 3 points (9 - 3 - 3 = 3). The decay is automatic and posts to the record on the anniversary of the last conviction date.

Reaching zero

Drivers who reach zero active points for the first time after carrying 6 or more points receive a written acknowledgment from PennDOT. Returning to 6 or more points after that point starts a new sequence of the 6-point thresholds — the special exam may be required again.

Junior drivers

Pennsylvania junior license holders (under 18) face an automatic 90-day suspension at 6 points or more, regardless of the standard adult thresholds. The same suspension can apply for a single chargeable crash or for any moving-violation conviction, depending on the circumstances. See the junior license page for the full junior-driver rule set.

Out-of-state convictions

Pennsylvania applies points to its own record for moving-violation convictions in any state that is a member of the Driver License Compact (which is most U.S. states). The conversion follows Pennsylvania's point schedule. A 25-mph-over speeding conviction in another state, for example, posts 4 points to the Pennsylvania record. Convictions from non-DLC states (Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, Wisconsin) do not transfer.

Commercial drivers

CDL holders are subject to additional federal disqualification rules separate from the Pennsylvania point system. A "serious traffic violation" in a personal vehicle can disqualify the CDL for 60 days on first offense and 120 days on second within three years. Two DUI convictions in a CDL holder's lifetime trigger a lifetime CDL disqualification — details on the commercial license guide.