Demerit Points in Singapore: The DIPS Thresholds

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate and solicitor about your situation. Information last verified on 22 July 2026.

Singapore’s Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) attaches demerit points to traffic offences, and once enough points build up within a set window, a licence can be suspended or revoked. This guide sets out the exact thresholds, how they differ for new and experienced drivers, how a suspension can be reduced, and how points are cleared.

The thresholds come from subsidiary legislation made under the Road Traffic Act 1961. The specific suspension durations come from Traffic Police administrative practice, published by the Singapore Police Force, so the guide separates the two.

How the demerit points system works

Each scheduled traffic offence carries a fixed number of demerit points. The points accumulate against a driver’s licence, and the system looks at how many points are reached within a defined period.

What happens once a threshold is crossed depends on whether the driver is new or experienced. A new driver faces revocation; an experienced driver faces suspension. The two are governed by different rules, so it is worth taking them separately.

The legal basis

The demerit points system is not found in a single headline section of the Road Traffic Act. It sits in subsidiary legislation made under the Act.

For experienced drivers, the suspension mechanism is set out in the Road Traffic (Driver Improvement Points System) Rules, made under section 45(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1961. For new drivers, revocation is governed by the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Rules, made under section 35A(2). These are the correct provisions; section 42 of the Act deals with a separate, court-ordered disqualification and is not the basis for demerit points.

New and probationary drivers

A new driver is one who has held a driving licence for less than one year from the date it was granted, a period commonly called probation.

For a new driver, a Deputy Commissioner of Police may revoke the licence where the driver has been awarded 13 or more demerit points within a 12-month period from the grant of the licence. The driver is warned in writing once they reach 6 points, and a 14-day show-cause notice is required before revocation. If the licence is revoked, it is no longer valid and the person cannot drive until they go through the process to be relicensed.

Experienced drivers: suspension thresholds

An experienced driver, meaning one past the one-year probation, faces suspension rather than revocation. The first suspension is triggered by 24 or more demerit points within a 24-month period.

After a first suspension, the threshold tightens. A driver who then reaches 12 or more demerit points within a 12-month period faces a second suspension. The Rules themselves set only the point thresholds and cap the suspension at a period not exceeding 36 months; they do not fix the specific number of weeks.

The suspension cascade

The specific durations are Traffic Police administrative practice, published by the Singapore Police Force. In current practice the cascade runs as follows:

• First suspension (24 or more points in 24 months): 12 weeks.
• Second suspension (12 or more points in 12 months): 24 weeks.
• Third suspension: 1 year.
• Fourth suspension: 2 years.
• Fifth suspension: 3 years.
• Sixth suspension: 4 years.
• Seventh suspension: 5 years.

A crucial consequence follows from the length. Any suspension of 1 year or more results in the licence being revoked, not merely suspended. Because the third suspension is 1 year, a driver at that stage is effectively looking at revocation, and would have to be relicensed before driving again.

Reducing a suspension through retraining

A suspension can be shortened by completing a retraining course. The legal mechanism is in the DIPS Rules: on successful completion of the course, the Deputy Commissioner of Police may disregard 4 of the demerit points that would otherwise count towards suspension.

In Traffic Police practice, this reduces the first suspension from 12 weeks to 4 weeks, and where the offences are not accident-related it can be reduced to 1 week. The retraining reduction also applies to the second suspension, cutting it from 24 weeks to 12 weeks. It is not limited to the first suspension.

How points are cleared

Demerit points do not stay on a record indefinitely. Where a driver does not commit any scheduled offence for 12 consecutive months, the demerit points awarded before that clean period are disregarded in working out whether the licence is liable to suspension.

There is a narrow qualification. An offence committed before the clean period but only detected and points awarded after it can still be counted back in, if together with the earlier points it would trigger a suspension. In the ordinary case, though, a year without a new offence wipes the slate.

Enhanced points in school, silver and Friendly Streets zones

From 1 January 2026, the DIPS Rules add an extra 2 demerit points, on top of the base points for the offence, where a specified offence is committed in a school zone, a silver zone, or a Friendly Streets zone. This is aimed at protecting more vulnerable road users in those areas.

This change added a points loading only. It did not alter the suspension or revocation thresholds. The 13-points-in-12-months rule for new drivers, the 24-points-in-24-months first suspension, the 12-points-in-12-months second suspension, and the 12-month clean-record wipe are all unchanged.

Check your demerit points

To see how many demerit points a given offence carries and how close a running total is to a threshold, use the Singapore demerit points lookup. It applies the thresholds set out above so you can see where a total stands.

For the wider picture on road rules and enforcement, see Driving and Traffic Laws in Singapore.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many demerit points can I get before my licence is suspended in Singapore?

For an experienced driver, a first suspension is triggered by 24 or more demerit points within 24 months. After that, 12 or more points within 12 months triggers a further suspension. A new or probationary driver faces revocation, not suspension, at 13 or more points within 12 months.

How long is a demerit points suspension in Singapore?

In Traffic Police practice, the first suspension is 12 weeks, the second is 24 weeks, the third is 1 year, and later suspensions run to 2, 3, 4 and 5 years. These durations are administrative practice; the Rules themselves set only the point thresholds and a cap of not exceeding 36 months.

Can I reduce a driving suspension in Singapore?

Yes. Completing a retraining course lets the Deputy Commissioner of Police disregard 4 demerit points, which in practice reduces the first suspension from 12 weeks to 4 weeks, or to 1 week where the offences are not accident-related, and the second from 24 weeks to 12 weeks.

How many demerit points before a new driver loses the licence?

A new or probationary driver, in the first year of holding a licence, faces revocation of the licence at 13 or more demerit points within 12 months, under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Rules.

Do demerit points expire in Singapore?

Yes. Where a driver does not commit any scheduled offence for 12 consecutive months, the demerit points awarded before that clean period are disregarded when working out whether the licence is liable to suspension.

Did the demerit points thresholds change in 2026?

No. From 1 January 2026 the rules added an extra 2 demerit points for offences committed in a school zone, silver zone, or Friendly Streets zone. The suspension and revocation thresholds themselves were not changed by that amendment.

What is the legal basis for the demerit points system?

The suspension of experienced drivers is governed by the Road Traffic (Driver Improvement Points System) Rules, made under section 45(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1961. Revocation of new drivers is governed by the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Rules, made under section 35A(2).