How Does the Point System Work?
The Missouri Department of Revenue, Driver’s License Bureau has power over all drivers’ licenses in Missouri. That power is derived from Missouri Law, Missouri’s Code of State Regulations, and its courts.
Each Missouri driver’s license has a total of twelve (12) points. These points can be lost by a conviction from a traffic ticket. Different traffic tickets cost different points. A driver’s license can also be suspended or revoked for specific actions unrelated to the points system. In short, the points system defines the validity of your Missouri driver’s license.
What is the Specific Legal Authority for the Driver’s License Bureau to Suspend or Revoke a License?
The authority to assess points against your driver’s license derives from Section 302.302 of the laws of Missouri. For commercial driver’s license, the sections lie between Section 302.700 and 302.780. In addition, Book 12, Chapter 10, of Missouri’s Code of State Regulations, and the case opinions of Missouri judges.
How Many Points will my Traffic Ticket Cost my Driver’s License?
Different traffic tickets cost different point amounts. If you hire a lawyer and that lawyer amends the ticket down to a no-point violation, you will be assessed no points. However, if you “just pay” the traffic ticket, or plead guilty in court, or are convicted by the judge after a trial, your driver’s license will be assessed points.
Form 899 of the Missouri Department of Revenue lists in detail all of the point offenses. The greatest hits are as follows:
| Ticket Type | Missouri State Trooper | Sheriff Deputy | City Police Officer |
| Felony DWI | 12 points | 12 points | Cities don’t handle felony cases |
| Careless and Imprudent Driving | 2 points | 2 points | 2 points |
| Careless and Imprudent Driving Under Section 304.016 | 4 points | 4 points | 4 points |
| Driving with Blood Alcohol Content of .04 | 2 points | 2 points | 2 points |
| DUI Driving Under the Influence of Drugs | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses |
| Driving While Suspended | 12 points | 12 points | 12 points |
| Driving While Revoked | 12 points | 12 points | 12 points |
| Driving While Impaired | 0 points | 2 points | 2 points |
| Driving While Intoxicated-Alcohol | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses |
| Driving While Intoxicated-DWI Felony Assault | 12 points | 12 points | Cities don’t handle felony cases |
| Endangering an Emergency Responder (A cop) | 4 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| Endangering a Highway Worker | 4 points | 0 points | 0 points |
| Excessive Blood Alcohol Content (but not a DWI) | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses | 8 points 1st Offense; 12 points subsequent offenses |
| Speeding | 3 points | 2 points | 2 points |
| Failure to Produce Insurance | 4 points | 4 points | 4 points |
| Any Felony Involving a Car | 12 points | 12 points | 12 points |
| Leaving the Scene of an Accident | 12 points | 6 points | 6 points |
| Failure to Produce Driver’s License | 2 points 1st Offense; 4 points 2nd Offense; 6 points 3rd Offense; | 2 points | 2 points |
| Speeding (5 mph or More Over the Limit) | 3 points | 2 points | 2 points |
| Stop Sign | 2 points | 2 points | 2 points |
Will an Out-of-State Traffic Ticket Affect my Missouri Driver’s License?
People often think if a traffic police officer pulls them over and gives them a ticket in Kansas or some other state, they are safe in Missouri. This was once the case. Your driver’s license in Missouri is now at risk. The same risk is imposed on federal property or any military base. Those traffic tickets will assess points against your Missouri driver’s license. If you “just pay” the traffic ticket and do not hire a lawyer to amend it down, a conviction will be assessed. Even if you do not have a Missouri licenses, the Missouri Department of Revenue will create a new driving record for you and assess points against that Missouri driving privilege. The other states, military bases, and federal property forward the information to the Missouri Department of Revenue as well as the home state if your license is elsewhere. The Missouri Department of Revenue, Driver’s License Bureau will then assess what it deems to be a Missouri equivalent and subtract those points from your license.
How Do I Discover How Many Points Remain on my Driver’s License?
There are several ways to find out what is on your Missouri driving record. First, the Driver’s License Bureau has a telephone number of 573-526-2407. Operators there can tell you how many points you presently have on your driving record. Please remember there is a long wait. Make sure to have your driver’s license number available (or social security number) as they will require you to key it into the telephone.
Alternately, you can send an email to dlbmail@dor.mo.gov and request information on the points on your driver’s license.
The third means is to request a Missouri driver’s record. That can be gotten in person from a Driver’s License Motor Vehicle Bureau. It can also be requested by your lawyer.
How Long Will my Driver’s License get Suspended for Traffic Ticket Points?
- You will be suspended automatically if you fail to appear for court for your traffic ticket.
- You will also be suspended if you get four points or more from traffic tickets in a twelve month period.
- If your Missouri traffic tickets total eight points or more within an eighteenth month period, the Driver’s License Bureau will suspend your driver’s license.
Suspensions will go as follows:
1st Traffic Ticket Suspension equals thirty (30) days
2nd Traffic Ticket Suspension equals sixty (60) days
3 or more Traffic Ticket Suspensions equal ninety (90) days each
How Can my Driver’s License get Revoked for Traffic Ticket Points?
There is also the issue of the revocation of your Missouri driving license. A revocation is more serious than a suspension. Revocations accumulate in the following manner:
12 points or more in twelve months will revoke your license
18 points or more within two years will revoke your license
24 points or more within 36 months will revoke your license
Will I have to Take the Driving Test again if my License gets Revoked?
If your driver’s license expires during a period of suspension or revocation, you will have to re-test. This means you will have to take the entire driver’s test again like you did when you first received your driver’s permit.
How Do I Get My Driver’s License Points Back?
The Missouri Driver’s License Bureau will only give you four points back, in the beginning, when your driver’s license becomes re-instated; either due to a suspended license or a revoked license. Afterwards, each year, if you receive no new traffic ticket convictions or points on your driver’s license, your missing points will be given back.
One year without any traffic tickets equals 1/3 reduction
Two years without any traffic tickets equals ½ points
Three years without any traffic tickets equals all points on your driver’s license are re-instated
Will my Traffic Tickets still Appear on my Driving Record even though my Points have been Restored?
Yes. You may have your points restored on your driver’s license. However, if you plead guilty, do not hire a lawyer, and are convicted of traffic ticket, your traffic ticket convictions will still appear on Missouri driving record. Your convictions will also appear on your criminal record.
What Other Types of Driver’s License Suspensions are there?
Your driver’s license can be suspended for a number of offenses, some related and some unrelated to license points. For example, failing to submit to a blood alcohol breathalyzer test during a DWI check can suspend your license for one year. Multiple convictions for driving while intoxicated can also suspend your license for multiple years. Suspensions typically come in the following time periods:
- Thirty (30) days
- Sixty (60) days
- Ninety (90) days
- One hundred twenty (120) days
- One year
- Two years
- Five years
- Ten years
- Lifetime
Can I Remove a Traffic Ticket Conviction from my Driving Record?
It is possible in Missouri to remove a traffic ticket conviction from your driving record. Certain terms have to be applied. Once you meet those conditions, you have to formally request removal. The law regarding whether you are eligible to have a traffic ticket removed from your record is part of the Code of State Regulations, namely 12 CSR 10-24.050.
How Long Do I Have to Wait to Remove a Traffic Ticket from my Record?
The conviction you wish to be removed must be at least three years old. The conviction must be five years or more if the ticket was the one that led to a suspension or revocation of your Missouri driver’s license. Failing to maintain motor vehicle insurance is permanent. It cannot be removed from your driving record in Missouri.
How to Remove a Traffic Ticket from my Driving Record?
The way to request the removal of your traffic ticket conviction from your Missouri Driver’s Record is in three forms:
- Send an email request to dlbmail@dor.mo.gov.
- Call via telephone at 573-526-2407 during the daytime. Speak to an operator and request they purge your record because you qualify under the above Code of State Regulations.
- Write a written request to central office of the Department of Revenue. Its address is as follows:
Missouri Department of Revenue
301 W. High Street, Room 470
P.O. Box 200
Jefferson City, MO 65105-0200
* Please remember you cannot remove a traffic ticket even if it has been three or five years if it is presently a ticket supporting a suspension or revocation of your Missouri driver’s license. That trick won’t work.
Should I Hire a Traffic Ticket Lawyer or Do it Myself?
Most people hire a traffic ticket lawyer for a Missouri driving violation before the guilty plea or conviction occurs. That is the wisest course of action. It is less expensive. It is more effective. Mostly, the issue with hiring a lawyer does not revolve around your points. It is a financial decision as your insurance will rise more than the cost of the lawyer, the fine, and the court costs combined.
It is also possible in some situations to “call back” an old traffic conviction, if it less than one year old, and you are not represented by a lawyer, to amend the ticket down. If this is your situation, contact a traffic ticket lawyer in your area, bring in the paperwork or information, and ask whether that can be done given your circumstances.
For an old conviction after the period to call it back, a lawyer can help to determine whether or not you are eligible under the Code of State Regulations to have your driver’s license re-instated. This analysis is somewhat complex, slow, and to save money you may wish to try the Department of Revenue, Driver’s License Bureau first.
In short, hire a lawyer as soon as you get the traffic ticket. Ask the traffic ticket lawyer afterwards what is in your best interest. Typically, they will give you the information and you will know the best way to move forward.
Trial lawyer Matt Hamilton graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia in 1995 with Science degrees in Logistics, Marketing, and Business Administration.
Matthew J. Hamilton
Juris Doctor & Crypto Lawyer
