How demerit points work

Demerit points are penalty points that you receive if you commit certain offences. All drivers and riders start with zero demerit points. If you drive safely and do not break any laws, you continue to have zero demerit points. 

If you commit an offence while driving or riding, you may have demerit points added to your record. Offences that attract demerit points also come with a fine. 

If you reach your demerit point limit, your licence can be suspended.

Demerit points can be accrued while driving anywhere in Australia. If you commit an offence outside NSW, the number of demerit points that the offence attracts in NSW may still be applied to your licence.

Demerit point limit

Your demerit point limit is the number of demerit points you can accumulate before your licence is suspended, or your application to renew your licence is refused. If this happens, Transport will send you a Notice of Suspension, or when you make application for a driver licence, issue you a Notice of Refusal. The notice will include the date your suspension or refusal period begins. 

Your demerit point limit depends on the type of licence you have:

• unrestricted licence – 13 points
• professional drivers – 14 points
• provisional P2 licence – 7 points
• provisional P1 licence – 4 points
• learner licence – 4 points
• unrestricted licence during a good behaviour period – 2 points.

Demerit point offences remain on your driving record; they are never removed. 
Demerit points for driving offences are added to your record when:  

• a fine payment is made, or
• an unpaid fine is enforced by Revenue NSW, or
• if the court issues a conviction for the offence. 

An offence can take time to be recorded on a driving record which means demerit points are not applied immediately after the offence is committed. For example, if a fine goes to court, it can be months before it is finalised and recorded with Transport. 

Demerit point offences used in a licence suspension or refusal must be committed within a 3-year period. The law does not specify a time-limit on which 3-year period that the offences must have occurred in.  

Offences will age with time, and it would be unfair for old offences to contribute to a suspension. Transport doesn’t consider offences older than 40 months towards a suspension. This ensures drivers are only suspended for recent offences. 

Use the demerit point check to see if you have any demerit points on your licence. 

A demerit points relief for safe driver’s trial ran from 17 January 2023 until 16 January 2024.

All unrestricted NSW licence holders – including professional drivers – were included in the trial to reward responsible driving behaviour.

If an eligible driver maintained an offence-free record during the trial period, one demerit point will be removed from their driving record.  

Now that the trial is complete, Transport for NSW is identifying those who will have a demerit point deducted.

The demerit point deduction processing period started in mid-April 2024 and will take approximately six months to complete.   

Learner and provisional licence holders are not included in the trial.  

The trial has been extended for a second year as the NSW Government incentivises motorists to adopt safe driving behaviours on NSW roads.

See more information on the demerit points relief for safe drivers.

Some driving offences attract twice the number of demerit points during holiday periods. These offences include:

• speeding offences
• seatbelt offences
• motorcycle helmet offences
• mobile phone offences. 

See upcoming double demerit periods on the Centre for Road Safety website. 

Some driving and parking offences can attract additional demerit points if you commit them in a school zone. 

School speed zones operate on all school days, including school development days, when teachers may be at the school. 

Double demerits can also apply in school zones during holiday periods. You can lose your licence if you commit an offence in an operating school zone during a holiday period. The larger number of demerit points that would apply to the school zone will be doubled.

For information about when school zones are operating, see the Centre for Road Safety website.

If you repeatedly exceed your demerit point limit, increased penalties will apply to you. 

Unrestricted licence holders

If you exceed your demerit point limit twice within 5 years, you will not be able to drive again until you:

• pass the Driver Knowledge Test
• complete a driver education course such as the Traffic Offender Intervention Program, delivered by a Transport-approved provider. You pay to do the course.

View or download the complete list of all approved providers (PDF 262.53KB).