Endorsements, Disqualification and Revocation

Endorsements

Endorsements on your licence can cause you real problems – allow too many to build up, and you could be disqualified from driving. Fortunately, endorsements won’t stay on your licence forever.

Endorsements - How Long On Your Licence?

When an endorsement is put on your licence, it will be denoted on there with the relevant code – for example, the code for failing to stop after an accident is AC10. The majority of endorsements will stay on your licence for 4 years from the date of conviction, but more serious offences cannot be removed until 11 years have passed from the date of conviction.

Endorsement Expiration in 11 years

Many drink driving and drug driving offences will all take 11 years to expire. These include driving while over the limit, causing death by careless driving and failing to provide a specimen. Here is the complete list of 11 year endorsements.

• CD40-CD70 – Causing death by careless driving
• DR10-DR20 – Driving or attempting to drive while over the limit
• DR30 – Driving or attempting to drive while over the limit and failing to provide a specimen
• DR80 – Driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of drugs

This is an overview – visit our section on Driving Offence Codes for more information on specific offences and the amount of penalty points they carry.

Endorsement Expiration in 4 years

All other offences expire in 4 years, and can then be removed. Note that not all drink offences remain for 11 years – being drunk in charge of a vehicle, for example, is an endorsement that can be removed after 4 years.

Removing Expired Endorsements

Once an endorsement has expired, you can apply to have it removed from your licence, meaning that the points will no longer count towards any totting up on your licence.

Removing an expired endorsement is simple if you have a photocard licence. You simply need to fill in and return DVLA driving licence application form D1, which you can obtain from the DVLA’s form ordering service, or from certain branches of the Post Office®. Send this form with your photocard licence, as well as your paper licence and the appropriate fee to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1AB.

If you still have a paper licence, you will need to upgrade to a photocard licence by also sending photocard application form D750, along with documentation confirming your identity and a passport appropriate photograph. You will also need to include these if your name has changed since your photocard licence was issued (although a new photograph is not necessary).

DVLA Medical Enquiries

The DVLA will also make medical enquiries if any of the following applies:

• You have been disqualified for driving, or being in charge of a vehicle, when the level of alcohol in the body equalled or exceeded;
• -87.5 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath;
• -200 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood;
• -267.5 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine.
• You have two disqualifications within the space of 10 years for drinking and driving, or being in charge of a vehicle whilst unfit through drink.
• You have one disqualification for refusing/failing to supply a specimen for analysis.

Totting Up

Totting up occurs when you have accumulated twelve or more points within a 3 year period – at this point, you will face an automatic disqualification from driving. For more information, visit our Totting Up section.

Disqualification from Driving

How to remove a disqualification

If you are serving a driving ban that was set for longer than 2 years, you can apply to have the ban ended early after a certain amount of time has passed, similar to how prisoners can apply for early release from prison on parole.

You cannot apply until you have served a certain amount of your disqualification period already – this mandatory period varies depending on how long you were originally disqualified for, but it is typically half the period.

If you were disqualified for 4 years or less, the minimum period is 2 years.

If you were disqualified for 10 years or more, the minimum period is 5 years.

If you were disqualified for 4 years to 10 years, the minimum period is half of the original disqualification that was handed down – for example, if you were disqualified for 8 years, you will need to wait 4 years. For more information, see Getting Your Licence Back Early.

Short Period Disqualifications (SPD)

A Short Period Disqualification is a driving disqualification that lasts for less than 56 days. Unlike longer driving bans, these disqualifications do not require you to renew your licence when the ban is up. The court will give your licence a stamp which says how long you are disqualified for – on the day after the expiry date shown, you are free to drive again.

Revocation Under The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995

Revocation applies to any new driver within two years of passing their test and obtaining their licence. If you receive six points on your licence within two years of your first successful driving test, you will have your licence taken away. At this point, you will need to go through the process of learning to drive again, including obtaining a provisional licence, driving as a learner and retaking your test.

Even if you do regain your licence, the points that you originally gained will stay on there, meaning that you could be disqualified again if the total reaches 12.

You can get further advice on your personal circumstances through our Instant Law Line. Only £7.99 for unlimited telephone legal advice — you could be talking to a lawyer in five minutes.

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