What Is a Demerit Point?
Demerit points are marks placed on your driving record every time you’re convicted of a driving offence. As you accumulate demerit points, you’ll receive heavier consequences.
Alberta uses demerit points to track driving offences. If you pass the point threshold, your licence may be suspended. The point threshold differs with your licence type – learner licence holders have a lower point threshold than fully licenced drivers.
How Demerit Points Work
In Alberta, you get a certain number of driving demerit points every time you’re convicted of a traffic offence. More severe offences usually carry a higher point penalty. A common example would be speeding in the province, where you get:
- 2 demerit points for speeding up to 15 km/h above the speed limit
- 6 demerit points if you exceed the speed limit by 51 km/h.
Once you pass a certain threshold, the authorities will take action. These actions range from cautionary letters to licence suspension. But not all violations carry demerit point penalties. Some violations, like driving without insurance, get you fined instead of demerit point penalties.
Let’s go over some of the most common questions about Alberta’s demerit point system.
How Many Demerit Points Do You Start With on Your Licence?
All drivers in Alberta start with zero points on their licence. As you commit violations, the point total will rise until the maximum threshold. Once the point threshold is reached, your licence will be suspended.
Demerit points don’t reset to zero after suspension. Once your suspension is over, your licence will be reactivated with a certain number of demerit points.
How Many Demerit Points Before You Lose Your Licence?
How many demerit points you can accumulate before you lose your licence by suspension differs depending on your licence type. Here’s a breakdown of the maximum demerit points and suspension duration for each licence type:
Maximum Demerit Points for Class 5 Licence Holders
Fully licenced drivers with a Class 5 licence can get up to 15 points before their licence is suspended, which also applies to licence classes 1 through 6. The driver will receive a cautionary letter in the mail at 8 points.
Your suspension period also gets longer with every subsequent suspension. Here’s a summary of your first three suspension periods:
- First suspension: Once you accumulate 15 demerit points within two years, your licence is suspended for one month.
- Second suspension: If you receive another demerit suspension within one year, your licence is suspended for three months.
- Third suspension: Your third suspension within two years will last six months. This also applies to any subsequent suspensions.
After each suspension, your licence will be reinstated with 7 demerit points.
Maximum Demerit Points for Class 7 Licence Holders
Class 7 licence holders are learner drivers, so they have a lower demerit point threshold and longer suspension periods. You’ll get a cautionary letter at 4 demerit points and a suspension at 8 points.
Here’s a summary of a Class 7 licence holder’s suspension periods:
- First suspension: You’ll lose your licence for one month at 8 demerit points.
- Second suspension: A second suspension in one year extends your suspension period to three months.
- Third suspension: Getting suspended three times within one year means losing your licence for six months.
You’ll get your licence reinstated with 3 demerit points after each suspension.
How Long Do Demerit Points Last?
Demerit points last two years from your date of conviction. You’re considered convicted when you pay a fine or are found guilty in court. Demerit points are removed two years after the conviction date, not the ticket date.
Are Demerit Points Written on Your Ticket?
Demerit points aren’t written on your ticket because they’re issued on conviction. That means your demerit points will be issued after you pay a fine or are found guilty in court.
Can You Reduce Demerit Points?
You can reduce demerit points in Alberta by taking an approved driver improvement course. In some cases, drivers may complete an approved driver improvement course, which can reduce their demerit points, subject to eligibility and program limits.
How to Check Your Demerit Points in Alberta
You can check how many demerit points you have by requesting a driver’s abstract. A driver’s abstract contains essential information about your driving record, which includes:
- Basic personal information
- Licence status
- Demerit points
- Past suspensions
- Traffic convictions
- Conditions for licence reinstatement, if applicable
You can request abstracts for the past three, five, or 10 years. Insurers usually look at your abstract to determine your accident risk when setting your Alberta car insurance rates.
Your driver’s abstract is available at the nearest Alberta Registry Private Service Center. You can also get it online through the Government of Alberta’s website. Obtaining a copy costs about $20.
Do Demerit Points Transfer to Other Provinces?
Demerit points transfer to other provinces through the Canadian Driver Licence Compact. So, if you get demerit points in Alberta, they’ll still be there when you move to Ontario.
Read our guide on out-of-province speeding tickets to learn how to deal with traffic violations while away from home.
How Demerit Points Affect Insurance
Contrary to popular belief, demerit points themselves don’t affect insurance premiums, but the traffic convictions associated with them do. For example, a single police-issued speeding ticket in Alberta can increase your car insurance rates by 25%.
Being convicted of multiple traffic violations shows that you’re a dangerous driver. When insurers think you’re a dangerous driver, your premiums will increase.
But that doesn’t mean demerit points don’t matter to your insurance premiums. Accumulating demerit points leads to suspensions, which raises your insurance premiums. Some insurers may even turn you down if you have too many recorded suspensions.
Traffic violation convictions affect insurance premiums differently depending on how severe they are. If we break it down, you have three main categories:
- Minor violations, like speeding and not wearing seatbelts
- Major violations, like driving without insurance and escaping an accident
- Criminal violations, like street racing
Driving offences stay on your record for three years from your conviction date. But your rates may stay higher for longer – some companies even examine your driving record as far back as 10 years.
Offences That Come With Demerit Points
Different types of offences have varying demerit point penalties. Here’s an Alberta demerit points list to help you avoid committing these offences.
Key Advice from MyChoice
- Avoid accumulating multiple traffic violations. Even minor convictions like speeding can increase insurance premiums if they appear repeatedly on your driving record.
- Pay attention to your demerit point total. Reaching the suspension threshold can lead to licence suspensions, which may make it harder or more expensive to obtain car insurance.
- Consider improving your driving record if possible. Completing an approved driver improvement course may reduce demerit points in some cases and demonstrate safer driving habits.