Penalty Points in Ireland (2026): Full Offence List and Thresholds

Penalty points are entries on your Irish driving licence record. They are added for a defined list of road traffic offences, they sit there for three years, and if enough of them build up you are disqualified automatically, with no judge weighing anything up. The system was created by the Road Traffic Act 2002, whose First Schedule pairs every qualifying offence with two different point totals: a lower figure if you pay the fixed charge, and a higher figure if the case goes to court and you are convicted.

This page sets out the current thresholds, the timing rules that catch people out, the offences most drivers actually get points for, and two things that a lot of Irish penalty point lists online still get wrong.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page is general legal information for the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice.

How the penalty points system works

Two separate documents decide what a penalty point offence costs you. The Road Traffic Act 2002 First Schedule fixes the number of points, in two columns: column (4) applies where you pay a fixed charge, and column (5) applies where you are convicted in court. Section 2 of the Act is what makes the endorsement happen in each case.

The euro amount comes from somewhere else entirely. S.I. No. 227 of 2024 lists every fixed charge offence across eight schedules and sets one amount per schedule, from €200 at the top down to €40 for parking and pedal cycle offences. The two documents move independently, which is why an offence can carry the same points for years while its fixed charge changes.

Not every fixed charge offence carries points, and not every penalty point offence carries a fixed charge. Both gaps are covered further down this page.

How many penalty points before disqualification in Ireland?

Section 3(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 2002, as substituted by section 8(c) of the Road Traffic Act 2014 with effect from 1 August 2014, is the operative provision. Where the number of points endorsed on a licence record equals or exceeds twelve, the driver stands disqualified for six months.

Section 3(1)(b) sets a lower threshold of seven points where the driver is a learner driver or a novice driver at the time of endorsement. The disqualification is the same six months.

The Road Safety Authority explains the seven point rule as applying to a novice driver who took out their first learner permit on or after 1 August 2014, and Citizens Information describes it as covering learner permit holders plus the first two years of a first full driving licence. Those qualifiers come from how the terms are applied in practice rather than from the wording of section 3 itself, so treat them as the RSA and Citizens Information position rather than as a quotation from the Act.

The disqualification is automatic. Nobody has to bring you to court for it, and there is no discretion to reduce it once the points are endorsed.

Section 3 does not actually contain the words in three years. The rolling window is a by product of section 4, which wipes points after three years, so the only way to reach twelve is to accumulate them inside a three year span. That is why the RSA phrases the threshold as twelve points within a three year period.

The 28 day rule: when points are actually endorsed

Section 7(1) of the 2002 Act defines the appropriate date for penalty points as the date that is 28 days from the date of the notice served under section 5. That means points do not attach on the date of the offence, and they do not attach on the date you pay. They attach 28 days after the notice telling you they are coming.

Section 7(2) adds one adjustment. If that date would fall inside a period when you are already disqualified or are not a licence holder, the endorsement moves to the day after that period ends.

The practical effect is a lag of about a month between paying and seeing the points, and the three year clock starts from that later date rather than from the payment.

How long do penalty points last in Ireland?

Section 4 of the 2002 Act says points remain on the entry for three years beginning on the appropriate date, after which the Minister removes them and notifies the driver. You do not have to apply for removal.

Citizens Information puts this as time out of date or disqualified not counting towards the three years. The statutory mechanism is slightly different, and the difference is worth understanding. Section 7(2) does not pause a clock that is already running. What it does is postpone the appropriate date itself, so that where the endorsement would otherwise take effect while you are disqualified or not a licence holder, it takes effect on the day after that period ends and the three years run from there.

The practical result for most drivers is the one Citizens Information describes: a period off the road does not quietly use up points that were waiting to be endorsed. But once points are on the record, section 4 runs three years from the appropriate date on its own terms.

Penalty points offence table

The amounts below are the fixed charge payable within 28 days of the date of the notice, taken from S.I. No. 227 of 2024. If you would rather search than scan, our penalty points lookup covers every fixed-charge offence and works out how the amount escalates if it is not paid. The points columns are from the First Schedule to the Road Traffic Act 2002. If the charge is not paid in time the amount rises, which is covered on our fixed charge notices page.

The hatched marked area entry is worth checking against any list you have seen elsewhere. Entry by the driver of a vehicle into a hatched marked area of roadway, contrary to article 26 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, sits in Schedule 5 to S.I. No. 227 of 2024, and Regulation 8(e) prescribes €80 for every Schedule 5 offence. It is not one of the €60 Schedule 6 offences. The points are the lowest on the whole list, one on payment and three on conviction.

That is the most commonly encountered part of a list running to roughly seventy five fixed charge offences, prescribed across Schedules 1 to 8 of S.I. No. 227 of 2024.

Offences that only carry points on conviction

Some penalty point offences have no fixed charge prescribed at all. There is no notice to pay and no lower payment figure, because the only route is a court appearance. The points below are the conviction figures from column (5) of the First Schedule.

Two of those need a note. Driving without a licence shows a figure of 2 in the payment column of the First Schedule, but section 38 is not a fixed charge offence under S.I. No. 227 of 2024, so only the five point conviction figure is ever reached. For the certificate of roadworthiness offence, a three point fixed charge column was inserted by section 34(b) of the Road Traffic Act 2016 but has not been commenced, so again only the conviction figure applies.

Fixed charge offences that carry no points at all

A large group of offences carries a charge and nothing else: parking, failure to display a motor tax or insurance disc, driving in a bus lane, entering a yellow box junction, failing to signal, driving into a pedestrianised street, all of the pedal cycle offences and all of the e-scooter offences.

The one worth spelling out is the U turn. Performing a U turn where a no U turn sign is provided, under article 35 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, is a €60 fixed charge carrying 2 penalty points on payment and 4 on conviction. The entry was inserted into Part 4 of the First Schedule at reference number 27 by section 10(c)(v) of the Road Traffic Act 2014, and it was commenced on 8 December 2014 by article 2 of S.I. No. 562 of 2014.

This one is worth stating plainly because the Law Reform Commission revised text disagrees with the enacted law. Its footnote records the entry as not commenced, but article 2 of S.I. No. 562 of 2014 commenced paragraphs (b) to (e) of section 10, excluding only subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c), with effect from 8 December 2014. The U turn entry is subparagraph (v), so it took effect on that date. The Road Safety Authority's own list showing 2 points is correct.

How you find out you have points

You get a notice under section 5 of the 2002 Act after the triggering event, whether that was payment of a fixed charge or a conviction. Because the endorsement date runs from the date of that notice, it is the document to keep.

To check your record at any time, the RSA issues a free Driver Statement Form. You supply your name as it appears on your licence, your driver number, your date of birth and your PPSN. There is no fee, and the statement is only ever issued to the email or postal address already held on your driver record.

Can you appeal penalty points?

There is no appeal tribunal for penalty points in Ireland. There are two distinct routes and they do different jobs.

The first is a cancellation request to An Garda Siochana, made on the Fixed Charge Notice Cancellation Request Form published on garda.ie. It is available on procedural grounds, for example where the wrong speed limit was recorded, where you were exempt from the offence, where the tax or insurance was in fact held, where the vehicle had been stolen, or where you were no longer the registered owner. It is also available on exceptional grounds such as a genuine medical emergency.

The second route applies only once a court has convicted you: a District Court conviction is appealed to the Circuit Court within 14 days.

What happens once you are disqualified

You must surrender your licence to the National Driver Licence Service within 14 days of the disqualification starting. The period runs whether or not you hand it in.

Restoration can be applied for to the District Court that made the order, for a fee of €55, but only once more than half the period has been served, and it is not available where the disqualification is two years or less or where there was another disqualification in the previous ten years. Where it is granted the court may reduce the period to two thirds of the original or two years, whichever is greater. Because of the two year exclusion, restoration is never available for an ordinary six month penalty point disqualification.

Drivers on foreign licences

Penalty points apply to drivers using a foreign licence in Ireland. A record is created against them, and reaching twelve points in three years disqualifies them from driving here. Points do not transfer between states: the mutual recognition arrangement between Ireland and the United Kingdom under section 40 of the Road Traffic Act 2016 covers disqualifications, not points.

This page is general information about road traffic law in the Republic of Ireland and is not legal advice. Penalty point totals, disqualifications and court fines turn on the exact offence charged and on your own driving record. For a decision that affects your licence, speak to a solicitor, and check your own record with the Road Safety Authority or the National Driver Licence Service before acting. Related reading: speeding fines, drink driving limits and our Ireland law hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many penalty points can you have in Ireland before you are disqualified?

Twelve points endorsed on your licence record means an automatic six month disqualification under section 3(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 2002. For a learner driver or a novice driver the threshold is seven points, with the same six month disqualification.

How long do penalty points stay on your licence in Ireland?

Three years from the appropriate date, under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 2002. The Minister then removes them and notifies you, so no application is needed. Citizens Information puts it as time out of date or disqualified not counting towards the three years; the mechanism in section 7(2) is that the appropriate date, and so the three year period, does not begin until that period ends.

When do penalty points actually go on my licence after I pay a fine?

Twenty eight days after the date of the notice you are sent under section 5 of the Road Traffic Act 2002, not on the day you pay and not on the day of the offence. If that date would fall while you are disqualified or are not a licence holder, it moves to the day after that period ends.

Do you get more penalty points if you go to court?

Yes. Every penalty point offence has two figures in the First Schedule, a lower one on payment of the fixed charge and a higher one on conviction. Speeding, for example, is three points on payment and five on conviction, so contesting a charge unsuccessfully costs more points as well as a court fine.

Does a U turn carry penalty points in Ireland?

Yes. A U turn past a no U turn sign is a €60 fixed charge carrying 2 penalty points if you pay it and 4 on conviction. The entry was inserted at reference number 27 of Part 4 of the First Schedule by section 10(c)(v) of the Road Traffic Act 2014 and commenced on 8 December 2014 under article 2 of S.I. No. 562 of 2014. The Law Reform Commission revised text still annotates the entry as not commenced, but that annotation is wrong, and the Road Safety Authority list showing 2 points is correct.

How do I check how many penalty points I have?

Request a free Driver Statement Form from the Road Safety Authority using your name as it appears on your licence, your driver number, your date of birth and your PPSN. There is no charge, and the statement is only issued to the email or postal address already on your driver record.