Tags show the kind of rule and whether it’s a written-test point or matters on the drive test (our tagging). Each rule links to its official source.
A suspension takes your license away for a set time before it’s returned, often after a $50 termination fee. A revocation cancels it: when the period ends you must reapply, usually paying a $100 fee, and DMV may refuse.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Drivers who pass the road test at 18 or older start with six months of probation. Under state law (VTL §501(4)), junior licenses (class DJ and MJ) aren’t probationary; the manual gives junior drivers their own penalties. A probationer convicted of speeding, reckless driving, tailgating, a speed contest, DWAI or any two violations is suspended for 60 days, then starts a new probation. A texting or cell phone conviction suspends a probationary license for 120 days.
California differs: California’s handbook has no six-month probation for adult first-time drivers. In New York, a new driver 18 or older is on probation for six months (junior DJ and MJ licenses aren’t probationary under state law).
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §501
A second such conviction during the new probation brings a revocation of at least six months, followed by another six months of probation when the license is restored.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Answer every traffic ticket by following its instructions. If you don’t respond, your license is suspended indefinitely and you can be convicted by default.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Tickets you get in other states don’t add New York points (convictions in Canada can), but ignoring one can suspend your New York license until you answer it; the manual lists seven states as exceptions, California among them.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
DMV counts points by the date of the violation. Reach 11 or more points within 24 months and your license may be suspended.
Changed 2026-02-16: Since 2026-02-16, DMV counts points over 24 months (it was 18) when deciding an 11-point suspension, and several violations carry more points. The web manual already shows this; older copies still say 18 months. DMV news: updated point values (2026)
California differs: California’s handbook says an adult’s license may be suspended at 4 points in 12 months (6 in 24, 8 in 36). New York’s scale is bigger: 11 points in 24 months, and a single moving violation can be worth 2 to 11. California rule
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Speeding points: 1–10 mph over the limit is 3 points, 11–20 is 4, 21–30 is 6, 31–40 is 8, and more than 40 over is 11, enough for a suspension on its own.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
High-point violations: any alcohol- or drug-related driving offense 11; passing a stopped school bus or speeding in a work zone 8; phone or texting while driving, reckless driving, railroad-crossing violations and failure to exercise due care 5; tailgating 4.
Changed 2026-02-16: New values for violations on or after 2026-02-16 include: school bus 5→8, work-zone speeding 8, alcohol/drug offenses 0→11, failure to exercise due care 2→5, leaving an injury crash 3→5, speed contests 0→5. DMV news: updated point values (2026)
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Three-point violations include running a red light, STOP or YIELD sign, failing to yield, unsafe passing or lane changes, and not properly restraining a passenger under 16; most other moving violations are 2.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
A DMV-approved crash-prevention course (PIRP) can take up to 4 points off your total for suspension purposes and cut liability and collision premiums by 10% for three years; you may use it once every 18 months.
DMV process NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Driver Responsibility Assessment: 6 or more points in 18 months costs $100 a year for three years, plus $25 a year per extra point; an alcohol or drug conviction or a test refusal costs $250 a year for three years. Unpaid, it suspends your license.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Some convictions revoke your license for at least six months: three speeding or misdemeanor traffic violations within 18 months, three school-bus passing violations within three years, or leaving the scene of an injury or fatal crash.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
A single speed-contest conviction also revokes your license for at least six months; a second within 12 months makes it at least one year.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
An alcohol or drug driving conviction in another state or Canada revokes your New York license for at least 90 days, or at least one year if you’re under 21.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Your license can also be suspended indefinitely for not filing a required crash report, unpaid child support or taxes, or an unpaid court judgment from a crash, until you fix the problem.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
If you’re in a crash in which someone dies, DMV can suspend or revoke your license after a hearing even if you got no ticket.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License
Driving while suspended or revoked is a crime, with mandatory fines from $200 to $5,000, possible jail or probation, and possible seizure of the car.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 2: How to Keep Your License