On the first day of having your driver’s license, you start with a clean slate, meaning there are no points on your license. This is a good thing. The amount of points on your license in Missouri directly affects your driving privileges. When a person commits a traffic offense, say running a stop sign, causing an accident, or driving while intoxicated, he or she will incur points on their driver’s license. 
While many traffic violations will not yield a large number of points, getting too many tickets and then being found or pleading guilty to the traffic violation (paying the ticket), as you’ll see will quickly start to add up. To put it simply the more points you have the fewer driving privileges you have. And you even run the risk of losing your license if you run up your points.
The good news is, is that points can be removed and are not permanent in most cases. Though the length of time of which they are on your license can feel like forever. Read on to learn more about Missouri’s point system and how you can get points removed from your Missouri Driver’s License.
Understanding Missouri’s Point System
Missouri’s point system is set up so that each moving violation (traffic violation) has a certain number of points associated with it that is determined by both the state and the nature of the violation. For example, a speeding ticket in Springfield would cost two points, whereas, being convicted of a DUI charge would cost 8 points. In most cases, a couple of points over a ten year period isn’t a big problem. However, when points start to accumulate rapidly in a shorter amount of time, that’s when having your license suspended or revoked can become a real possibility.
As this article states, before your license is suspended, if you receive four points within a 12 month period, you will be sent an advisory letter from the Missouri Department of Revenue. In Missouri, points and their penalties can be broken down as follows, according to the Missouri DMV:
Driver’s license suspension (8 points or more within 18 months):
- 1st suspension–30 days.
- 2nd suspension—60 days.
- 3rd suspension—90 days.
Driver’s license revocation for one year:
- 12 points or more within 12 months.
- 18 points or more within 24 months.
- 24 points or more within 36 months.
Getting Points Removed From Your Missouri License
If you need points removed from your license, you have a few different options. Let’s take a look at what options are available to you to remove points for a Springfield traffic ticket:
- Hire a traffic ticket attorney in Springfield before pleading guilty to the ticket. In most cases, an attorney can help you get your ticket down to a non-moving violation, i.e., no points will be added to your license.
- If you have already pleaded guilty to a traffic citation, you have the option to hire an attorney to assist you in withdrawing your guilty plea. This is more difficult than the first option, but not impossible.
- Enroll and successfully complete the Missouri Driver Improvement Program. If for whatever reason you choose not to hire a traffic attorney in Springfield to reduce your charge, this is the second-best option. Contact Springfield Traffic Tickets to get in touch and enroll in an accredited program near you.
- The last option is to deal with the repercussions of the traffic violation and pay the ticket and plead guilty to the moving violation. If you take this route, know that it will take at least three years to have your point total back to zero (as long as you don’t get any more points during this time). *Some traffic infractions like a DWI in Missouri will stay on your permanent record long after the points are removed.
If you would like to have points removed from your license or need legal aid to keep points from being added to your Missouri driver’s license, contact our team of traffic ticket experts at Springfield Traffic Tickets today.
