Driving: Disqualification
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 113322 on Driving Disqualification, if she will hold discussions with local police forces on drivers who can retain their entitlement to drive after accruing 12 or more penalty points.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood
Where a driving licence holder has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, a court can exercise its discretion and decide not to disqualify them. Courts may allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship.
These decisions are for the courts, not the Department for Transport or the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which update and maintain the driver record using information provided by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.
The Department has no plans to hold discussions with local police forces about court decisions on whether an individual is disqualified under the ‘totting up’ provisions.
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