Theo Bennett
Last verified 3 August 2026 against the official pages linked below.
Reach 6 or more penalty points within 2 years of passing your first driving test and DVLA cancels your full licence automatically, and a single hand-held phone offence carries exactly 6 points. That is the new driver 6-point rule, created by the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, and it is the sharpest cliff-edge in UK motoring law. There is no hearing about the revocation, no discretion, and no appeal against the revocation itself. An experienced driver can collect up to 11 points before a court considers a totting-up ban; a new driver can lose their licence for one glance at a phone.
What the 6-point rule actually says
GOV.UK puts it in one sentence: your licence will be cancelled (revoked) if you get 6 or more points within 2 years of passing your test. The 2-year probationary period starts the day you pass your first practical driving test in Great Britain or Northern Ireland. Trigger it and your full licence is gone. To get it back you must apply and pay for a new provisional licence and pass both the theory and practical tests again.
Three details catch people out:
- Exactly 6 counts. The wording is "6 or more". Two ordinary 3-point offences are enough.
- Provisional points count. Valid points you picked up before passing carry over to your full licence and count towards the total of 6.
- The offence date matters, not the endorsement date. DVLA's INS57P guidance confirms that points endorsed after the 2 years are over still count if you committed the offence during them. A slow court process does not save you.
Which offences can end your licence in one go?
Any single offence carrying 6 points revokes a new driver's licence on its own. The codes and point ranges below come from DVLA's official endorsement codes list.
| Offence (code) | Penalty points | Revokes a new driver on its own? |
| Using a hand-held phone while driving (CU80) | 3 to 6, the fixed penalty is 6 | Yes, the standard fixed penalty alone reaches 6 |
| Driving without insurance (IN10) | 6 to 8 | Yes (the minimum is 6 |
| Failing to say who was driving (MS90) | 6 | Yes |
| Careless driving (CD10) | 3 to 9 | Yes, if the court imposes 6 or more |
| Speeding (SP30 / SP50 on a motorway) | 3 to 6 | Only at the top of the range), but two typical 3-point fixed penalties reach 6 |
| Failing to comply with traffic lights (TS10) | 3 | No, but any second 3-point offence takes you to 6 |
| Defective tyres (CU30) | 3 | No, same warning as above |
The phone offence deserves its own warning. Holding and using a phone, sat nav or tablet while driving brings 6 penalty points and a £200 fine as the standard fixed penalty, and GOV.UK spells out the consequence for new drivers on the same page: you will lose your licence if you passed your driving test in the last 2 years. The ban on hand-held use applies even when you are stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic. Driving uninsured is just as final: IN10 starts at 6 points, and insurance on a first car is easy to get wrong.
How does DVLA actually revoke your licence?
Automatically, and on paper. The court or fixed penalty office endorses the points on your driving record, DVLA is notified, and the revocation follows. Licences are "revoked automatically by the Secretary of State", as the Sentencing Council's guidance for courts puts it. Nobody weighs up your circumstances, your job, or how much you need the car. The offence gets a hearing or a fixed penalty; the revocation gets neither.
DVLA's INS57P leaflet is blunt about your options: you cannot appeal against the revocation under the Act, only against the conviction that produced the points. If you do appeal the conviction, DVLA will not revoke your licence while the appeal is continuing. And note the trap: if you accept a fixed penalty notice, you cannot appeal at all. Signing a fixed penalty for a 6-point offence makes revocation certain, if the points would take you to 6, take legal advice before you sign, not after.
Points from your provisional licence count. A worked example
The carry-over rule is where the maths surprises people. Follow one learner through:
- Month 4 of learning: runs a red light on a supervised practice drive. TS10, 3 points on the provisional licence.
- Month 10: passes the practical test. The 3 points carry over to the full licence, and the 2-year clock starts.
- Nine months after passing: caught at 38mph in a 30 zone, SP30, £100 fine and 3 points by fixed penalty.
- Total: 6 points within 2 years of passing. Licence revoked.
Neither offence alone would trouble an experienced driver. Together, for a new driver, they end the licence. That is why points on a provisional licence are far more serious than they look. You start your probationary period already halfway to the cliff-edge.
Can a court spare you by disqualifying you instead?
Occasionally, but official guidance tells courts not to. Because revocation is triggered by penalty points, a court that imposes a short discretionary disqualification instead of points leaves nothing to count towards the 6, and no revocation follows. The Sentencing Council's guidance acknowledges that offenders facing revocation may ask for exactly this, and states that granting it would generally be inappropriate because it would circumvent the clear intention of Parliament. Courts retain the power to do it; the guidance tells them not to use it. If you are at risk, that argument is a job for a solicitor, never a plan to rely on.
What getting your licence back costs
Once revoked, you start again as a learner, at today's verified prices:
- New provisional licence: £34 online (£43 by post). It should arrive within a week if you apply online. Full walkthrough in our guide to applying for a provisional licence.
- Theory test (£23. You need 43 out of 50 on the multiple-choice questions and 44 out of 75 on hazard perception, in one sitting) refresh the detail in our theory test pass mark guide.
- Practical test: £62 on weekdays, £75 for evenings, weekends and bank holidays. See what happens in the test, and note the current booking rules: two appointment changes per booking, and 10 full working days' notice to keep your fee.
Minimum outlay: £34 + £23 + £62 = £119 in fees alone, before refresher lessons, insurance changes, or the queue for a test slot (check current driving test waiting times before you plan anything). Until the tests are passed, you drive only as a supervised learner, with L plates and a qualified supervisor.
And retaking is not a formality. In the DVSA results tables we publish and track, the GB theory test pass rate was just 44.8% in 2025/26, and the practical pass rate was 50.0%. The highest in the recorded series, and still a coin flip. Revoked drivers sit exactly the same tests as everyone else.
What the rule does not do
It places no restrictions on how you drive during the 2 years. There are no passenger limits, no night curfews, and no engine-size caps, unlike the graduated licensing systems used in many US states and in Australia, Great Britain has no graduated licensing at all, so the 6-point rule is the entire special regime for new drivers. It is not a driving ban either: once your new provisional arrives, you can drive again immediately as a learner.
What it also does not do is wipe the slate. DVLA's INS57P guidance is explicit that requalifying does not remove the penalty points from your driving record, the points that revoked you travel with you onto your new licence. Endorsements stay on your record for 4 or 11 years depending on the offence, and if your total reaches 12 within 3 years you face disqualification under the ordinary totting-up rules. With those same points still counting.
If you are rebuilding after a revocation, or protecting a licence you have just earned, the fastest route back is realistic practice. Drivings' free mock theory exams replicate the real 50-question, 57-minute format and the 43-out-of-50 pass mark, backed by a full practice question bank and hazard perception clips for the second half of the test. Passing again starts with knowing you would pass today.
Common questions about the new driver 6-point rule
Is it exactly 6 points, or more than 6?
Exactly 6 is enough. The rule is "6 or more points", so two ordinary 3-point offences trigger revocation. There is no buffer at 6 and no discretion once the total is reached.
Do penalty points from my provisional licence count?
Yes. Any valid points on your provisional licence carry over when you pass and count towards the total of 6 during your probationary period. Passing the test does not reset them. You can start your 2 years already carrying 3 points.
Does the 2-year period restart if I retake and pass again?
No. Under section 7 of the Act, the probationary period ends when you requalify after a revocation, you do not serve a fresh 2 years. There is also no new 2-year period when you pass a test for another vehicle category, such as a lorry. The ordinary 12-point totting-up limit still applies to everyone.
Will I go back to zero points after requalifying?
No. The points that revoked your licence stay on your driving record for 4 or 11 years depending on the offence, and they still count towards the 12-point totting-up threshold. DVLA's guidance is explicit that passing the tests again does not remove them.
Can I appeal against the revocation?
Not against the revocation itself, only against the conviction that produced the points. While a conviction appeal is continuing, DVLA will not revoke your licence; if the appeal succeeds, the points go and the revocation falls away with them. Accepting a fixed penalty notice ends any right of appeal.
Can I still drive after my licence is revoked?
Yes, as a learner, as soon as your new provisional licence arrives (usually within a week when you apply online). That means L plates, a supervisor over 21 who has held a full licence for 3 years, and no motorways except with an approved instructor in a dual-control car. The full detail is in our guide to supervising a learner driver.
Does Pass Plus remove penalty points or protect me from the rule?
No. Pass Plus is a training course of at least 6 hours that may help you get a car insurance discount; it has no effect on penalty points and gives no protection from the New Drivers Act. Nothing removes valid points from your record early.
Does a speed awareness course count towards the 6 points?
No. If the police offer you a speed awareness course and you complete it, you avoid the fine and the points entirely. Nothing is endorsed, so nothing counts towards the total. Whether you are offered a course is the police's decision, not something you can request.
