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Tips & advice

Driving offence codes explained: UK licence endorsements for speeding and other offences 

What are driving offence endorsement codes and what do they mean on your driving licence?

Driving licence UK

If you are convicted of a motoring offence in the UK, the courts have a number of penalties that they can impose depending on the severity of your offence. You could be fined, disqualified from driving,  imprisoned or some combination of all three. Even for less serious offences, it’s also likely that your driving licence will be ‘endorsed’ with penalty points and an endorsement code.

Endorsements like this stay on your driving licence record for either four or 11 years, depending on the offence, and you can view them online to see how many points you have, as well as when they will be removed. If you accumulate 12 or more points on your licence over a period of three years you risk being disqualified from driving under the ‘totting-up’ process.

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If that happens, you’ll see the endorsement code TT99 on your driving licence record, but there are also endorsement codes relating to the other driving offences for which you can be given penalty points. Below you’ll find all these driving offence codes with explanations of which offences they refer to and how long the penalty points will remain on your licence. 

How long do endorsement codes stay on your licence?

The driving offence endorsement codes stay on your licence for 4 or 11 years as we’ve said, but they are only ‘valid’ for three and 10 years respectively. While the endorsement is valid it can be taken into account if you commit a further driving offence, unless it has been removed from your driving record by the time your case gets to court. 

Driving endorsement codes may be visible to third parties such as insurers and employers for the entire time that they appear on your driving record in the case of 4-year endorsements. In the case of 11-year endorsements, the code is only visible for the first 5 years, or 30 months if you are under 18.

The rules are slightly different for new drivers who can have their licence revoked completely if they get six or more points within the first two years of passing their test. They will then have to retake their practical and theory tests to get a new licence. 

UK driving offence endorsement codes

Below you'll find the licence endorsement codes for driving offences in the UK...

Accident offences

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

AC10

Failing to stop after an accident

5 to 10

4

AC20

Failing to give particulars or report an accident within 24 hours

5 to 10

4

AC30

Undefined accident offences

4 to 9

4

    

Disqualified driver

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

BA10

Driving while disqualified by order of court

6

4

BA30

Attempting to drive while disqualified by order of court

6

4

BA40

Causing death by driving while disqualified

3 to 11

4

BA60

Causing serious injury by driving while disqualified

3 to 11

4

    

Careless driving

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

CD10

Driving without due care and attention

3 to 9

4

CD20

Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users

3 to 9

4

CD30

Driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users

3 to 9

4

CD33

Causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving

3 to 9

4

CD40

Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drink

3 to 11

11

CD50

Causing death by careless driving when unfit through drugs

3 to 11

11

CD60

Causing death by careless driving with alcohol level above the limit

3 to 11

11

CD70

Causing death by careless driving then failing to supply a specimen for alcohol analysis

3 to 11

11

CD80

Causing death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving

3 to 11

4

CD90

Causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers

3 to 11

4

    

Construction and use offences

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

CU10

Using a vehicle with defective brakes

3

4

CU20

Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of use of unsuitable vehicle or using a vehicle with parts or accessories (excluding brakes, steering or tyres) in a dangerous condition

3

4

CU30

Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s)

3

4

CU40

Using a vehicle with defective steering

3

4

CU50

Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers

3

4

CU80

Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone

3 to 6

4

    

Reckless/dangerous driving

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

DD10

Causing serious injury by dangerous driving

3 to 11

4

DD40

Dangerous driving

3 to 11

4

DD60

Manslaughter or culpable homicide while driving a vehicle

3 to 11

4

DD80

Causing death by dangerous driving

3 to 11

4

DD90

Furious driving

3 to 9

4

    

Drink

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

DR10

Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit

3 to 11

11

DR20

Driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink

3 to 11

11

DR30

Driving or attempting to drive then failing to supply a specimen for analysis

3 to 11

11

DR31

Driving or attempting to drive then refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity

3 to 11

11

DR61

Refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive

10

11

DR40

In charge of a vehicle while alcohol level above limit

10

4

DR50

In charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink

10

4

DR60

Failure to provide a specimen for analysis in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive

10

4

DR70

Failing to co-operate with a preliminary test

4

4

    

Drugs

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

DG10

Driving or attempting to drive with drug level above the specified limit

3 to 11

11

DG60

Causing death by careless driving with drug level above the limit

3 to 11

11

DR80

Driving or attempting to drive when unfit through drugs

3 to 11

11

DG40

In charge of a vehicle while drug level above specified limit

10

4

DR70

Failing to co-operate with a preliminary test

4

4

DR90

In charge of a vehicle when unfit through drugs

10

4

    

Insurance offences

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

IN10

Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks

6 to 8

4

    

Licence offences

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

LC20

Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence

3 to 6

4

LC30

Driving after making a false declaration about fitness when applying for a licence

3 to 6

4

LC40

Driving a vehicle having failed to notify a disability

3 to 6

4

LC50

Driving after a licence has been cancelled (revoked) or refused on medical grounds

3 to 6

4

    

Miscellaneous offences

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

MS10

Leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position

3

4

MS20

Unlawful pillion riding

3

4

MS30

Play street offences

2

4

MS50

Motor racing on the highway

3 to 11

4

MS60

Offences not covered by other codes (including offences relating to breach of requirements as to control of vehicle)

3

4

MS70

Driving with uncorrected defective eyesight

3

4

MS80

Refusing to submit to an eyesight test

3

4

MS90

Failure to give information as to identity of driver etc

6

4

    

Motorway offences

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

MW10

Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits)

3

4

    

Pedestrian crossings

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

PC10

Undefined contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations

3

4

PC20

Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with moving vehicle

3

4

PC30

Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with stationary vehicle

3

4

    

Speed limits

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

SP10

Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits

3 to 6

4

SP20

Exceeding speed limit for type of vehicle (excluding goods or passenger vehicles)

3 to 6

4

SP30

Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road

3 to 6

4

SP40

Exceeding passenger vehicle speed limit

3 to 6

4

SP50

Exceeding speed limit on a motorway

3 to 6

4

    

Traffic direction and signs

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

TS10

Failing to comply with traffic light signals

3

4

TS20

Failing to comply with double white lines

3

4

TS30

Failing to comply with ‘stop’ sign

3

4

TS40

Failing to comply with direction of a constable/warden

3

4

TS50

Failing to comply with traffic sign (excluding ‘stop’ signs, traffic lights or double white lines)

3

4

TS60

Failing to comply with a school crossing patrol sign

3

4

TS70

Undefined failure to comply with a traffic direction sign

3

4

    

Theft or unauthorised taking

Code

Offence

Penalty points

Time points remain on licence (years)

UT50

Aggravated taking of a vehicle

3 to 11

4

Now take a look at our guide to speeding fines and how to appeal them...

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Head of digital content

Steve looks after the Auto Express website; planning new content, growing online traffic and managing the web team. He’s been a motoring journalist, road tester and editor for over 20 years, contributing to titles including MSN Cars, Auto Trader, The Scotsman and The Wall Street Journal.

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