How to Get Points Off Your License in Idaho
Like a lot of other states, Idaho uses a points system to keep track of its drivers. Basically, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) will hit you with a certain number of points each time you commit a traffic violation. The worse your offense, the more points that go on your record. And if you rack up too many points in too short a time period, you risk a license suspension.
Since something as simple as following too closely can stick as many as three points on your license, you’re probably keen to know where the threshold is. And, probably just as importantly, if there’s a way to remove points from your license.
Fortunately, there is a way to get points off your license — and even potentially avoid a license suspension — in Idaho. But first, let’s look at when you might want to ditch some points.
The Idaho license points system
How many points can you get before your license gets suspended? Here’s a quick look.
- 12 to 17 points accrued in any 12-month period means a 30-day suspension
- 18 to 23 points accrued in any 24-month period means a 90-day suspension
- 24+ points in 36 months means a six-month suspension
Ultimately, you probably don’t want to have to worry about any of the above situations. And that means keeping your Idaho license points total below 12.
The good news is that after three years, the points associated with any driving convictions fall off your record.
To find out how many points you’ve got on your license currently, you can start with the ITD driver’s license status check. You may need to order a driver’s license record request for more info.
Removing points from your Idaho license
Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter. You’re probably wondering how to reduce the number of points on your Idaho driver’s license. And the good news is that you can do exactly that fairly easily.
All you need to do is complete an ITD-approved defensive driving course. The six-hour course is designed to help you be safer out on the road. When you finish it, the ITD will remove three points from your license.
The course might sound like a drag, but you can actually knock it out fairly easily. That’s because certain defensive driving course providers allow you to take the hours online, at your own pace, and even from any mobile device. That means you can chip away at your hours whenever you have some spare time.
Also, although the course requires a final quiz, you only need to get an 80% to pass and you can take the quiz as many times as you need to get that score.
Once you finish your defensive driving course, you’ll get a certificate of completion. Submit that to the ITD to get three points off your license.
Two things you should know. First, you can only take the course for a point reduction every three years. Secondly, you need to finish the course before your license is suspended — the course won’t work if your license is already suspended because of too many points.
Ultimately, this can be a handy piece of info to know. If you ever want to get points off your Idaho license to avoid suspension or other issues like higher insurance rates, you have the option to complete a defensive driving course.