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Part of Demerit points

Demerit driving suspension

A driver’s licence suspension can occur due to an accumulation of demerit points.

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Demerit points

Overview

Demerit points are assigned for traffic violations. They are applied to your driving record on your conviction date and remain on your driving record and driver's abstract for 2 years from the date of conviction. Your conviction date is not the date you received the ticket.

For more information, see the Demerit Point Program and Service of Documents Regulation in the Traffic Safety Act.

Fully (non-GDL) licensed drivers

  • Fully (non-GDL) licensed drivers

    Two years after the date of your conviction, the demerit points will be removed from your driving record and abstract. Your conviction date is not the date you received the ticket. It is the date that you:

    • pay the ticket
    • appear in court and are found guilty
    • fail to appear in court and are convicted (found guilty in absence) 

  • Cautionary notice

    If you receive a total of 8 or more but less than 15 demerit points, you will receive a cautionary notice by mail with your demerit point total. If you receive a cautionary notice, you can visit any Alberta registry agent to obtain a driver abstract which provides a summary of your driving record, including any traffic violations/convictions and the associated demerit points.

  • First suspension

    If you receive a total of 15 or more demerit points within a 2-year period, your driver's licence is automatically suspended for one month.

  • Second suspension

    If you receive a second demerit driving suspension within a year, your driver’s licence will be suspended for 3 months.

  • Third and subsequent suspensions

    If you receive a third or subsequent demerit point suspension within 2 years, your driver’s licence will be suspended for 6 months. You may also be required to have a review conducted with the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services.

  • Suspension completion

    When a demerit point suspension ends, your driver’s licence will be reinstated with 7 demerit points which will remain on your driving record for 2 years from the date of reinstatement.

Graduated Driver’s Licence (GDL) drivers

  • Cautionary notice

    If you receive 4 or more but less than 8 demerit points, you will receive a cautionary notice by mail with your demerit point total. If you receive a cautionary notice, you can visit any Alberta registry agent to obtain a driver abstract which provides a summary of your driving record, including any traffic violations/convictions and the associated demerit points.

  • First suspension

    If you receive a total of 8 or more demerit points within a 2-year period, your driver’s licence will be suspended for one month.

  • Second suspension

    If you receive a second demerit point suspension within a year, your driver’s licence will be suspended for 3 months. You may also need a review conducted with the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services.

  • Third and subsequent suspensions

    If you receive a third or subsequent demerit point suspension within 2 years, your driver’s licence will be suspended for 6 months. You may also require a review conducted with the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services.

  • Suspension completion

    When a demerit point suspension ends, your driver’s licence will be reinstated with 3 demerit points which will remain on your driving record for 2 years from the date of reinstatement.

  • Two years after the date of conviction

    Two years after the date of your conviction, the demerit points will be removed from your driving record and driver's abstract. Your conviction date is not the date you received the ticket. It is the date that you:

    • pay the ticket
    • appear in court and are found guilty
    • fail to appear in court and are convicted (found guilty in absence) 

Appeals

You cannot appeal a demerit driving suspension. However, you may request a review of the demerit points to ensure they were not assigned in error. If you believe demerit points were assigned to your driver’s licence in error, you can submit a request in writing to Driver Fitness and Monitoring to have your record reviewed as per section 99 of the Traffic Safety Act.

Convictions can only be removed from your driving record by an appeal through the Court of Justice of Alberta. If you want to appeal the most recent conviction that triggered your demerit driving suspension, the appeal and/or set aside process must be processed at the Court of Justice Alberta location where you were convicted.

Merit credit

To reduce the number of demerits on your driving record, you can participate in a Defensive Driving Course or a Professional Driver Improvement Course. To avoid a demerit driving suspension, the course must be completed prior to the conviction date of the driving offence which caused your demerit suspension. You must schedule it through a licensed driver training school.

Once you’ve successfully completed the course, you must submit the Notice of Driver Education Course Completion form to any Alberta registry agent to have it applied to your driving record. A registry agent service fee may apply.

The course completion form is valid for 2 years from the date of completion. You can only apply a driver training course to your driving record once every 2 years. If there is a pending or an active suspension, a merit credit should not be applied until after your driver's licence is reinstated, as you will not receive any benefit from the merit credit.

If a merit course was added incorrectly or applied to your driving record, you can return to the registry agent where you had the merit course applied and ask for assistance.

  • Fully (non-GDL) licensed drivers

    If you have successfully completed an approved defensive driving course before accumulating 15 or more demerit points, a maximum of 3 demerit points may be removed from your driving record once every 2 years.

  • Graduated Driver’s Licence (GDL) drivers

    If you have successfully completed an approved defensive driving course before accumulating 8 or more demerit points, a maximum of 3 demerit points may be removed from your driving record once every 2 years.

    Find an Alberta driver training school that offers defensive driving or professional driver improvement courses.

    If a merit course was incorrectly added or applied to your driving record, you can return to the registry agent where you had the merit course applied and ask for assistance.

Driving while serving a demerit suspension

Fully licensed drivers with demerit driving suspensions can apply to the Restricted Driver’s Licence Program to drive for their primary employment, health or educational reasons. Restrictions vary for applicants, depending on a person’s need to drive while under a demerit suspension. Factors such as hours of work, travel time to and from work, shift work, training commitments and health needs are considered in assessing applications.

Contact

Connect with the Driver Programs Client Support Centre

Previous Demerit points
Next Restricted Driver's Licence Program

Related

Distracted driving

Defensive Driving Course and Professional Driver Improvement Course