Photo: Donald Lee Pardue, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
North Carolina has two separate point systems, and one ticket can count against both. NCDMV license points can lead to a driver improvement clinic or a license suspension. Insurance points under the Safe Driver Incentive Plan (SDIP) raise what you pay for car insurance. A conviction for passing a stopped school bus, for example, is 4 insurance points and a 90% rate increase. This guide is for new drivers and parents who want to know what a ticket really costs in North Carolina.
Key facts
- Two systems: NCDMV license points (your license) and SDIP insurance points (your premium).
- Insurance points run from 1 to 12 per conviction or at-fault crash, raising your rate by 40% to 340%.
- Serious convictions on or after July 1, 2025 (4 points or more, other than speeding) now count for 5 years instead of 3.
- Small speeding tickets (10 mph or less over, not in a school zone) carry no insurance points if it is your only moving violation in the lookback period.
- Not-at-fault crashes: an insurer cannot charge insurance points for them.
License points vs insurance points in North Carolina
| NCDMV license points | SDIP insurance points | |
|---|---|---|
| Who keeps them | NC Division of Motor Vehicles | Your insurance company, under rules from the NC Department of Insurance |
| What they affect | Whether you keep your license | How much your policy costs |
| What adds them | Moving violation convictions | Moving violation convictions and at-fault crashes |
| Possible result | Driver improvement clinic or suspension | Premium surcharge for 3 or 5 policy years |
The point values are different in each system. Do not assume a 4-point insurance offense is 4 license points.
How many insurance points is a ticket in NC?
This is the Department of Insurance’s SDIP table, as of November 2026.
| Insurance points | Convictions and at-fault crashes | Rate increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All other moving violations; speeding 10 mph or less over a limit under 55 mph; at-fault crash with total property damage of $2,300 or less | 40% |
| 2 | Illegal passing; following too closely; driving on the wrong side of the road; speeding 10 mph or less over in a 55 mph or higher zone; speeding more than 10 mph over at a total speed over 55 but under 76 mph; at-fault crash with property damage over $2,300 but under $3,850 | 55% |
| 3 | At-fault crash causing death, or total bodily injury over $1,800, or total property damage of $3,850 or more | 70% |
| 4 | Reckless driving; hit and run with property damage only; passing a stopped school bus; speeding over 75 mph where the limit is under 70; speeding over 80 mph where the limit is 70 or higher; driving after drinking or using drugs while under 21 | 90% |
| 8 | Driving while your license or registration is revoked or suspended; aggressive driving | 200% |
| 10 | Highway racing or knowingly lending a car for it; speeding to elude arrest | 260% |
| 12 | Manslaughter or negligent homicide; prearranged highway racing or lending a car for it; hit and run with injury or death; blood alcohol of 0.08 or more; driving while impaired; transporting illegal liquor for sale | 340% |
How long do insurance points last in North Carolina?
Insurers look back over an “experience period” and charge the surcharge for a set number of policy years.
| Conviction | Counts for | Surcharge lasts |
|---|---|---|
| 4 points or more, on or after July 1, 2025 (not speeding) | 5 years | 5 policy years |
| 4 points or more, before July 1, 2025 | 3 years | 3 policy years |
| All other convictions, including speeding | 3 years | 3 policy years |
The 5-year lookback cannot reach back before July 1, 2025.
When you get no insurance points
A minor speeding ticket
Speeding 10 mph or less over the limit carries no insurance points if both are true:
- it was not in a school zone
- the same driver had no other moving violation in the prior 5 years (prior 3 years for tickets before July 1, 2025).
A small at-fault crash
No points for an at-fault crash if all of these are true:
- property damage only, $2,300 or less in total
- no moving violation conviction connected to the crash
- no licensed driver in your household has a conviction or at-fault crash in the experience period.
An insurer may require you to have been with that company for six months in a row to get this.
Medical costs for diagnosis only
Bodily injury does not add points if the medical costs were only for diagnosis.
Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC)
A PJC on a moving violation means no insurance points or surcharge, unless the owner, principal driver or another licensed driver in the household has had another PJC for a moving violation in the previous 5 years (3 years for a PJC granted before July 1, 2025).
Worked examples
- 8 mph over in a 45 zone, first ticket in years, not a school zone: 0 insurance points.
- Same ticket, but you had a stop sign ticket 2 years earlier: 1 point, a 40% increase.
- Passing a stopped school bus, convicted in 2026: 4 points, a 90% increase, for 5 policy years. See the North Carolina school bus stopping law.
- A teen convicted of driving after drinking: 4 points, a 90% increase, on the family policy. See NC provisional licensee alcohol rules.
Teen drivers and the family policy
- A newly licensed teen who lives with you generally has to be added to your policy. Tell your agent or company, or your cover could be at risk.
- The teen’s rate should apply to the vehicle they mainly drive.
- The household rule above means one teen’s ticket can cost the small-crash exemption for everyone in the house.
NCDMV license points
NCDMV adds license points for moving violation convictions. Build up enough within a set period and NCDMV can require a driver improvement clinic; more points can mean a suspension. Drivers under 18 on a limited provisional or full provisional license face their own, stricter rules for moving violations.
The provisional licensee suspension steps
G.S. 20-13 sets a separate ladder for provisional licensees, apart from the points total. A first moving violation does not trigger suspension under this section by itself. For convictions of a second, third or fourth moving offense committed within 12 months of the date of the first offense, NCDMV may suspend the license for up to 30 days, 90 days or six months respectively. Multiple moving-offense convictions from one occasion ordinarily count as one for this ladder, subject to the statutory qualification. With the licensee’s written consent, NCDMV may use probation instead. Other suspension or revocation laws can still apply to a single serious offense; suspensions imposed at the same time under this section and other provisions run concurrently.
NCDMV thresholds: at 7 license points you may be offered or may request a driver improvement clinic, and finishing it takes 3 points off (once every 5 years). At 12 points within 3 years your license is suspended. After a points suspension is lifted, 8 more points within 3 years means another suspension. The point value for each offense is in Chapter 3, “Your Driving Privilege”, of the North Carolina Driver Handbook. How point systems work across states is in US points systems and license suspensions.
Common questions
Do NC insurance points and license points go together?
No. They are separate systems with separate values. One conviction usually counts in both.
How many insurance points is a speeding ticket in North Carolina?
0 to 4, depending on speed and limit. 10 mph or less over in a zone under 55 is 1 point (0 if it is your only moving violation and not in a school zone). Over 80 mph where the limit is 70 or higher is 4 points.
How long do insurance points stay on in NC?
3 policy years for most convictions. 5 policy years for 4-point-plus convictions on or after July 1, 2025, other than speeding.
Can I get insurance points for an accident that was not my fault?
No. The Department of Insurance says an insurer cannot charge points for a not-at-fault accident.
Does a PJC stop insurance points?
Yes, for the first PJC on a moving violation in the household within the lookback period (5 years, or 3 for a PJC granted before July 1, 2025).
Will my teen’s ticket raise my premium?
Expect it to, if the teen is on your policy. The Department of Insurance says moving violations and at-fault crashes push premiums up, and a household driver’s record can also remove the small-crash exemption.
Sources
- North Carolina Department of Insurance, “Safe Driver Incentive Plan (Insurance Points)” (ncdoi.gov)
- North Carolina Department of Insurance, “FAQs About Auto Insurance” (ncdoi.gov)
- North Carolina Department of Insurance, “Auto and Vehicle Insurance” (ncdoi.gov)
- North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, “Driver Improvement Clinics” (ncdot.gov)
- North Carolina General Assembly, G.S. 20-13 (ncleg.gov)
- North Carolina General Assembly, G.S. 20-13(b)-(d) (ncleg.gov)