Photo: Ryser915, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In Massachusetts, a moving violation or an at-fault crash is a “surchargeable incident”. Each one can raise your car insurance under the Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP), and each counts toward a license suspension at the RMV. Three in 2 years means a mandatory retraining course. Seven in 3 years means an automatic 60-day suspension. This guide explains both systems, which are easy to mix up, using RMV and Merit Rating Board pages.
Two systems, one driving record
| Insurance (SDIP) | License (RMV) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Sets credits and surcharges on your premium | Suspends your license or orders retraining |
| What counts | Surchargeable traffic offenses and at-fault crashes | The same events, counted over set periods |
| Who runs it | Merit Rating Board; applied by insurers that use SDIP | Registry of Motor Vehicles |
What is a surchargeable incident in Massachusetts?
Traffic law offenses
A citation counts if the offense is on the SDIP list (Appendix A) and you pay the fine, fail to pay it, are found responsible or guilty, or are sent to an alcohol or drug program by the court. Paying a ticket means accepting responsibility.
- Minor traffic violation: civil violations such as speeding or running a light, and minor criminal ones such as driving unlicensed.
- Major traffic violation: criminal offenses such as OUI, leaving the scene of an accident or refusing to stop for police.
At-fault crashes
A crash counts if you are found more than 50 percent at fault and the insurer pays more than $1,000 (above any deductible). The payment must be for someone else’s property, collision or limited collision. A bodily injury claim can count instead if there is no qualifying property or collision claim from the same crash.
- Minor at-fault accident: claim payment over $1,000 and up to $5,000.
- Major at-fault accident: claim payment over $5,000.
Insurers must use the Massachusetts standards of fault to decide whether you were more than 50 percent at fault. The 19 standards cover:
- Hitting a parked vehicle, lawfully parked or not
- Rear-ending another vehicle
- An out-of-lane collision
- Failing to signal
- Failing to proceed with due caution from a signal or sign
- A collision on the wrong side of the road
- Driving in the wrong direction
- A collision at an uncontrolled intersection
- Backing into something
- Turning left or making a U-turn across another vehicle’s path
- Pulling out of a parked position, parking lot, alley or driveway
- Opening a car door into traffic
- A single-vehicle collision
- Failing to obey the rules and regulations for driving
- A collision with an unattended vehicle
- A collision while merging onto a highway or into a rotary
- Causing a crash without contact
- Failing to yield to emergency vehicles
- A collision at a “T” intersection after entering from the side road
Out-of-state crashes and convictions can count too.
SDIP surcharge points
| Incident | Points |
|---|---|
| Minor traffic law violation | 2 |
| Minor at-fault accident | 3 |
| Major at-fault accident | 4 |
| Major traffic law violation | 5 |
If one incident produces more than one surcharge, it counts as one incident. Points affect four coverages: bodily injury to others (Part 1), personal injury protection (Part 2), damage to someone else’s property (Part 4) and collision (Part 7).
Important: insurers do not have to use SDIP. They may use their own merit rating plan instead. SDIP applies if your insurer has chosen it, or if your policy is written through the Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Plan (MAIP). Ask your insurer which plan it uses.
Ways points shrink or disappear under SDIP
- First minor violation: no points if it is your first traffic violation in the 5 years before your policy date.
- Oldest year: no points for incidents in the sixth (oldest) year of your experience period.
- “Clean in 3”: each incident is worth 1 point less if you have 3 or fewer incidents in 5 years, the latest is at least 3 years old, and you have at least 3 years of driving experience.
- Excellent driver discounts: credits for drivers with 5 or 6 years of experience and a clean record. New drivers cannot qualify yet.
When the RMV suspends your license
| Trigger | Result | Reinstatement fee |
|---|---|---|
| 3 speeding violations in 12 months | Automatic 30-day suspension | $100 |
| 3 surchargeable events in 2 years | Driver Retraining course within 90 days, or suspension until you complete it | $100 |
| 7 surchargeable events in 3 years | Automatic 60-day suspension | $100 |
| 3 major violations, or 12 major or minor violations, in 5 years (habitual traffic offender) | 4-year suspension | $500 |
| Suspension in another state | Suspended until it is resolved | $100 |
This is the RMV’s chart for drivers 18 and older. The 12-month speeding period starts when you pay or are found responsible for the first ticket. Junior operators (16 and a half to 18) face far stricter rules: a first speeding offense alone means 90 days. See Massachusetts Junior Operator License rules.
The Driver Retraining course
It runs for 8 hours, usually as two 4-hour sessions, and sometimes as one Saturday session. It focuses on driving behavior, not skills. The RMV mails you an information packet. Finishing it does not remove offenses or surcharges from your record.
What a speeding ticket costs in Massachusetts
- The minimum fine is $100, and a $5 public safety surcharge is added to every civil motor vehicle fine.
- Above 10 mph over the limit, add $10 for each extra mph.
- Worked example from the manual: 73 mph in a 55 zone is 18 mph over. That is $105 for the first 10 mph plus $80 for the next 8, so $185.
- Fines double in a posted work zone.
Got a ticket? Your options
- Within 20 days, either pay or request a hearing.
- A hearing request costs a $25 filing fee. It is refunded if you are found not responsible for all violations on the citation.
- Ignoring it means you are found responsible, charged a large late fee, and eventually suspended if you do not pay.
You can also appeal an at-fault accident finding through the Merit Rating Board’s appeal process.
Common questions
Does one speeding ticket raise my insurance in Massachusetts?
Under SDIP, your first minor violation in 5 years carries no points. Your insurer may use its own plan, though, so ask it.
Is SDIP the same as a points system for my license?
No. SDIP points set insurance pricing. The RMV counts surchargeable events over 12 months, 2 years, 3 years and 5 years to decide on suspensions.
Do out-of-state tickets count in Massachusetts?
Yes. The RMV treats most out-of-state convictions as if they happened in Massachusetts, and insurers can surcharge them.
If I take the retraining course, are my events removed?
No. It only stops the suspension.
Is a crash under $1,000 surchargeable?
Not as an at-fault accident. The insurer must pay more than $1,000 above any deductible.
Where can I check my driving record?
Order it from the RMV: an attested copy costs $20 and an unattested online copy costs $8 (as of November 2026).
Related guides
- Learning to drive in Massachusetts
- How to drive through a Massachusetts rotary
- Points systems and license suspensions in the US
- Car insurance for new drivers
Sources
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, Merit Rating Board, “Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP)” (mass.gov)
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, Merit Rating Board, “Surchargeable incidents” (mass.gov)
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, “Massachusetts Driver’s Manual (Class D), revised April 2026” (mass.gov)