How Many Points Can an HGV Driver Have on Their Licence?

One licence, one set of points

Your HGV entitlement is added to the same photocard licence you already hold for your car. There is no separate lorry licence with its own points. That means a speeding offence in your own car counts in exactly the same way as one committed in a lorry, and both build towards the same limit.

The 12-point limit

If you reach 12 or more points within three years, you can be disqualified from driving under what is called totting up. A ban removes all your entitlements, car and lorry together. Drivers who passed their car test within the last two years face a lower limit: six points in that period means the licence is revoked and you go back to provisional status.

Can you apply for an HGV licence with points?

Yes. Having points does not stop you applying for provisional lorry entitlement or starting training. DVLA can, however, refer drivers with significant offences to the Traffic Commissioner. The Traffic Commissioner looks at your conduct as a driver and can refuse, suspend or revoke lorry and bus entitlement, or require you to appear at a hearing. Drink driving, drug driving, dangerous driving and repeated offences are the kinds of history most likely to be examined. If you are unsure, it is worth checking before you pay for any training.

How long points stay on your record

Points count towards a totting up ban for three years, but the endorsement stays visible for longer, and employers and insurers can see it when they check your licence.

What employers and insurers look at

Many haulage employers check your licence with DVLA before offering work, and their insurers often set their own limits on points and offence types. Those limits vary between companies, so a few points for minor speeding may not matter to one operator but rule you out with another. Being upfront at interview usually goes down better than an employer finding out from the check.

Points on your licence while you are training

Any offence you pick up during training counts in the usual way, and as a full licence holder you are responsible for offences committed while under instruction or on test. If you are close to the 12-point limit, a single speeding offence could take away your car licence and your provisional lorry entitlement at the same time, and end your training until the ban is over. Drive with that in mind between lessons as well as during them.

Points and professional drivers

Once you are driving for a living, offences can also come from the vehicle itself: drivers' hours and tachograph breaches, overloading and defects found at the roadside. Some of these carry fines or points, and serious cases can again reach the Traffic Commissioner. A careful daily walkaround and a good understanding of the hours rules protect your licence as much as careful driving does.