Pennsylvania License Suspension Rules

points

Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 4: The Pennsylvania Point System · Verified Aug 2026

Pennsylvania suspends an adult driver's operating privilege once the record reaches 11 or more points. The first suspension runs 5 days for each point, the second 10 days per point, the third 15 days per point, and any suspension after that is a flat one year. Six points is not a suspension for an adult, it is the first warning step. Reaching six points for the first time lets you choose between driver improvement school and a special written examination. Passing the examination removes two points; completing the school removes four. Dropping below six and climbing back to six a second time brings a departmental hearing and driver improvement school, and the hearing examiner can recommend a suspension of up to 15 days. A third or subsequent trip back to six points can bring a suspension of up to 30 days. For a driver under 18 the six-point mark is different: accumulating six or more points suspends the junior driver's privilege outright, for 90 days on a first suspension and 120 days on every one after that.

Source: 75 Pa.C.S. Sec. 1539(a): "When any person's record shows an accumulation of 11 points or more, the department shall suspend the operating privilege"; Sec. 1539(b) sets the 5, 10 and 15 days per point escalation and the one-year subsequent suspension. The six-point ladder and the under-18 rule are from PA Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21), Chapter 4, The Pennsylvania Point System: "When a driving record reaches six (6) or more points for the first time, the driver will receive a written notice to take a written special point examination ... the driving privilege of a person under the age of 18 will be suspended if that person accumulates six (6) or more points." · Verified Aug 2026

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Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Chapter 4: Point Removal for Safe Driving · Verified Aug 2026

DUI in Pennsylvania is handled by direct action under Title 75 Section 3802, not through the point system. License suspensions are tied to BAC tier and prior history, and "prior history" is broader than a prior conviction: a DUI committed within 10 years after completing Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition or a comparable out-of-state diversion program is charged under its own provision and graded accordingly. at the General Impairment tier (0.08 to 0.099 BAC) a first offense carries no suspension, a second offense carries 12 months plus a 1-year ignition interlock, and a third offense carries 12 months plus a 1-year ignition interlock; at the High Rate tier (0.10 to 0.159 BAC), a first or second offense carries a 12-month suspension plus 1-year interlock and a third offense carries 18 months plus 1-year interlock; at the Highest Rate tier (0.16+ BAC, controlled-substance DUI, refusals, or combinations) a first offense carries 12 months plus interlock and second or third offenses carry 18 months plus interlock. Chemical-test refusal adds its own 12-month suspension on top of any DUI penalty. That refusal suspension rises to 18 months in either of two situations: your operating privilege has already been suspended once for a refusal, or you had already been sentenced for a DUI offense before this refusal. The second route catches people out, because a first-ever refusal still draws 18 months if a DUI conviction sits behind it. Refusal also carries a restoration fee that PennDOT currently sets at $653 for a first refusal, $1,309 for a second, and $2,616 for a third or subsequent refusal.

Source: DUI tiers and suspensions: PA Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21), Chapter 4, Tables 1, 2 and 3, and 75 Pa.C.S. Sec. 3802 / Sec. 3804. Refusal suspension durations from 75 Pa.C.S. Sec. 1547(b)(1): "(i) Except as set forth in subparagraph (ii), for a period of 12 months. (ii) For a period of 18 months if any of the following apply: (A) The person's operating privileges have previously been suspended under this subsection. (B) The person has, prior to the refusal under this paragraph, been sentenced for: (I) an offense under section 3802; (II) an offense under former section 3731; (III) an offense equivalent to an offense under subclause (I) or (II); or (IV) a combination of the offenses set forth in this clause." Refusal restoration fees from Sec. 1547(b.2)(1). Refusal restoration fee amounts are PennDOT current published figures from the online Pennsylvania Driver Manual, Chapter 4: $653, $1,309 and $2,616. The Sec. 1547(b.2)(1) figures of $500, $1,000 and $2,000 are the statutory base before the inflation adjustment PennDOT applies. · Verified Aug 2026

A reckless driving conviction carries a six-month suspension of your operating privilege. PennDOT imposes it directly on receiving the certified record of conviction, so it does not depend on how many points you have accumulated, and it stacks on top of any point-based sanction. The same six-month suspension applies to racing on a highway, careless driving that causes an unintentional death, driving without lights to avoid identification or arrest, and accidents involving damage to an attended vehicle or property.

Source: 75 Pa.C.S. Sec. 1532(b)(1): "The department shall suspend the operating privilege of any driver for six months upon receiving a certified record of the driver's conviction of or an adjudication of delinquency based on any offense under the following provisions: ... Section 3736 (relating to reckless driving)." The same subsection lists Sec. 3367 (racing), Sec. 3714(b) (careless driving), Sec. 3734 (driving without lights to avoid identification or arrest) and Sec. 3743 (accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property). Reckless driving itself is defined at Sec. 3736. · Verified Aug 2026

Pennsylvania treats excessive speeding as its own process, separate from ordinary point accumulation, and the trigger differs by age. If you are under 18 and are convicted of driving 26 mph or more over the posted limit, your operating privilege is suspended for 90 days on the first occasion and 120 days for each one after that. Those suspensions run consecutively, stacked on top of any other suspension, and they still apply if the conviction arrives after you turn 18. The same 90 and 120 day ladder applies if you accumulate six or more points for violations committed before you turned 18. For any driver, a conviction for driving 31 mph or more over the limit requires you to attend a departmental hearing and a driver improvement school. The hearing examiner may also order a special examination or a suspension, though a suspension under this provision cannot run longer than 15 days. At least one of those sanctions is imposed. Skipping the hearing suspends your operating privilege until you complete the requirements. Ordinary speeding below those thresholds is handled through the point system in the usual way.

Source: 75 Pa.C.S. Sec. 1538(e)(1)(i): suspension where "Prior to reaching age 18, the person violates section 3362 ... by traveling 26 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit and the violation results in a conviction ... before or after the person reaches age 18"; Sec. 1538(e)(1)(ii) applies the same to six or more points accumulated before 18; Sec. 1538(e)(2): "The first suspension under paragraph (1) shall be for a period of 90 days with every subsequent suspension ... to be for a period of 120 days. Suspensions under paragraph (1) shall be imposed consecutively." Sec. 1538(d)(1): "When any person is convicted of driving 31 miles per hour or more in excess of the speed limit, the department shall require the person to attend a departmental hearing and attend a driver improvement school," with a recommended suspension "for a period not exceeding 15 days"; Sec. 1538(d)(2) requires at least one sanction; Sec. 1538(d)(3) suspends the privilege for failure to attend. Last amended Nov. 3, 2022 (P.L.1783, No.120). · Verified Aug 2026