Drivers who accumulate six or more penalty points within two years of passing their driving test face having their licence revoked, and may be required to retake both the theory and practical tests before being allowed back on the road. The cost of retaking tests, along with any necessary lessons and hiring a driving instructor's car for the test day, can add up to hundreds of pounds.
When licence revocation applies
According to gov.uk, a licence will be cancelled (revoked) if a driver gets six or more points within two years of passing their test. In such cases, the driver must apply and pay for a new provisional licence and pass both the theory and practical parts of the driving or riding test again to obtain a full licence.
The rule applies not only to drivers in Scotland, England, and Wales but also to all new drivers who passed their first driving test in the Channel Islands, the European Community (EC) and European Economic Area (EEA), Gibraltar, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Great Britain. The EC/EEA countries include Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, France, Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Norway, Slovakia, Latvia, Republic of Cyprus, Luxembourg, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Lithuania, Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, Iceland, Finland, Czechia, Ireland, Austria, Romania, and Malta.
Carrying points from a provisional licence
Any penalty points accumulated while driving on a provisional licence that have not expired will be carried over to a full licence once the test is passed. However, the licence will be cancelled if any further points bring the total to six or more within two years of passing the driving test.
Sending your licence to the DVLA
The DVLA will write to a driver asking them to send their licence if they have let the DVLA know about a change of address, if the licence given to the court is invalid, if they are a new driver with six or more penalty points within two years of passing their test and the DVLA has revoked their licence, or if they have been disqualified by the court and did not hand in their licence. The agency cautions that drivers must send their licence to the DVLA when asked, or they could be fined up to £1,000.
