Penalty Points in Ireland and car insurance

Between November 2023 and October 2024 11% of Aviva’s car insurance customers reported penalty points on their licence. It’s worth remembering that having zero penalty points could positively impact your car insurance premium, whereas accumulating penalty points can raise  the cost of your car insurance.

In this guide we bring you through – what are penalty points, how to avoid them, and how being a safer driver can lead to cheaper car insurance with Aviva.

What are penalty points?

It’s hard to believe that penalty points have been with us for more than 20 years, they were introduced in 2002 to help maintain safe driving habits and reduce accidents on the road.

According to the Road Safety Authority (RSA), “Penalty points are essentially a formal reprimand by the Gardai endorsed on your driving licence record that shows you are guilty of a specific driving offence and are designed to encourage safe driving and reduce casualties on our roads.”

When would I get penalty points?

In short, penalty points are given when drivers don’t adhere to the rules of the road. As you might expect, there’s a list of traffic violations that can incur these points. These include: 

General Road Traffic Offences

Examples include holding a mobile phone while driving, dangerous overtaking, or speeding. 

Seatbelts and Restraints

For instance, failing to wear a seat belt or failing to appropriately secure younger passengers (under the age of 17).  For some top tips on this, read our blog about car seats and safety.

Vehicle Roadworthiness 

Examples include not having a valid NCT (National Car Test) certificate or having bald or faulty tyres.

Learner and Novice Drivers

Drivers in this category can be penalised for failing to display the correct ‘L’ or ‘N’ plates, or for driving without being accompanied by a qualified driver. 

Vehicle Safety Standards

Most of these penalties relate to vehicle weight and modifications. 

Traffic, Lights, Signs or Signals

You can also receive penalty points for failing to appropriately obey the rules for lights, signs and signals..

Road Markings, Lanes and Zones

Most of these offences relate to misuse or wrong use of markings, such as continuous white lines, cycle tracks, and structures such as roundabouts. For more, we have a guide to road signs and markings.

Other infractions

These include driving without insurance or breaching your duties at the scene of an accident.

You can find a full list of offences on the RSA website. 

How long do penalty points stay on my record and/or driving licence?

Penalty points stay on your licence for three years. However, any period where your licence is out of date, or you are serving a court disqualification does not count as part of that three-year period.

Accumulating penalty points can lead to you being disqualified from driving for a period. To quote Citizen’s Information: “If you have been notified by the Department of Transport that you have been disqualified from driving because you have reached 12 penalty points or more, you must surrender your driving licence to the National Driver Licence Service for the period of  six  months.”

This is not the same as a driving ban, which is court-ordered because of a specific case. A court ban and  its duration may vary based on numerous factors, such as whether or not it was a first offence, or the severity of the offence. 

How do penalty points affect car insurance?

Penalty points affect your car insurance, whether you’ve accumulated some points, or are penalty point-free. 

 With Aviva, you’ll get a:

• 19% discount on your car insurance premium if you and anyone named on the policy are penalty points free
• 6% discount if you have three penalty points  

Lowering Car Insurance Costs with Penalty Points?

With Aviva, when you and  the additional drivers named on your policy are penalty point-free, you may be able to benefit from a discount of up to 19% on your car insurance premium. 

To qualify, each driver on  the policy must be capable of incurring penalty points in the Republic of Ireland, and you must provide us with a valid driver number (found on the driving licence) for each driver on the policy. This can be confirmed by the National Vehicle Driver File (NVDF), which keeps a record of all 2.9 million registered vehicles and their owners, as well as the 3.3 million licensed drivers in the country.

12 penalty points and driving ban

Penalty points can lead to a driving ban, though you have to accumulate quite a high number of points for this to happen. 

Any driver accumulating 12 penalty points within any given three-year period will be automatically disqualified from driving for six months. Also, a lower threshold of  seven penalty points leading to disqualification applies to any driver taking out a first learner permit on or after 1 August 2014 while he or she drives under any learner permit and subsequently during the first two years while he or she is driving under a full driving licence. 

Where a driver has a foreign licence, a record will be created and the penalty points can be recorded against the licence. 

A driver is required to surrender his/her Irish or foreign driving licence to the National Driver Licence Service within 10 days of the disqualification commencing. It is an offence not to surrender a licence. It is also an offence to drive while disqualified.

How to avoid penalty points

Penalty points can be avoided if you drive safely, with consideration and follow the rules of the road. To avoid penalty points always: 

• Obey signals, signs and on-road markings
• Obey speed limits
• Overtake safely 
• Use indicators
• Ensure you and passengers are secured and wearing seatbelts, especially minors
• Make sure you have all necessary documentation visible (motor tax, NCT and insurance)
• Maintain your car in a road worthy condition

A full, comprehensive list of penalty point offences can be found on the RSA website.

How to check your penalty points

Your penalty points can be checked online, you can check your penalty point status by using the NDLS website. There, you’ll be asked to fill out a Driver Statement Form, and a statement with your penalty points will be sent to you via email or post, whichever you prefer. 

Staying safe on the roads

At Aviva, we encourage safe driving and if you are penalty points free, you can avail of discounts on your premium, plus Aviva also offers a 15% discount for new car insurance policies bought online.¹