Your License and the Law
Whenever you drive, you must carry your driver’s license with you. Any misuse of your driver’s license is a misdemeanor. You could be fined, sentenced to jail, or your license may be suspended.
For your own protection, do not:
- allow an unlicensed driver to operate your vehicle;
- lend anyone your driver’s license;
- use anyone else’s driver’s license;
- display or possess a fraudulent driver’s license;
- use a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
If you are underage, it is against the law to use a falsified or non-genuine license to obtain alcoholic beverages or tobacco products. Also, it is unlawful to knowingly allow anyone to get a driver’s license in your name.
License Suspension and Revocation
When you receive a driver’s license, you accept responsibility for obeying Virginia’s
traffic and safety laws. If you repeatedly violate them, DMV is authorized to
suspend or revoke your driver’s license.
If you are convicted of any of the following offenses, your license will be revoked or suspended.
- Making a false statement to DMV
- Failing to stop and identify yourself at the scene of a crash if someone has been injured or killed
- Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Voluntary or involuntary manslaughter resulting from driving a motor vehicle
- Committing a drug offense, regardless of whether or not a motor vehicle is involved
- Committing a felony involving the use of a motor vehicle
- Taking a driver’s license examination for another person, or appearing for another person to renew a license. If convicted of this offense, your license will be revoked for ten years.
- Eluding police
If you are convicted of a safety belt, child safety seat or demerit-point traffic violation committed when you were under age 18, you will be required to satisfactorily complete a driver improvement clinic. No safe driving points will be awarded for attending the clinic. If you do not satisfactorily complete the clinic within 90 days, DMV will suspend your permit or license until the clinic is completed.
After your second demerit point conviction, DMV will suspend your permit or license for 90 days. The court may grant you restricted driving privileges so you can drive between your home, workplace, or to and from home and an institution of higher learning (college, university, technical or business school offering post-secondary instructions). The court may grant these restrictions provided there is no other means of transportation.
After a third demerit point conviction, DMV will revoke your permit or license for one year or until you reach age 18, whichever is longer. The court cannot grant restricted driving privileges.
If you are under age 18 and have ten or more unapproved absences from school on consecutive school days, a court may suspend your driving privileges for any period of time, or until you reach age 18.
If you are age 18 or older and you accumulate eight demerit points in 12 months (or 12 points in 24 months), you will receive an advisory letter that cautions you about the consequences of violating the law.
If you accumulate 12 demerit points in 12 months (or 18 points in 24 months), you will be required to complete a clinic. You must enroll in and satisfactorily complete the driver improvement clinic within 90 days or your driver’s license will be suspended.
If you accumulate 18 demerit points in 12 months (or 24 points in 24 months), your driving privilege will be suspended for 90 days. Additionally, you must complete a driver improvement clinic before your privilege will be restored. Once your privilege is restored, you will be placed on a six month probation. You will not be granted restricted driving privileges.
If you are under age 20, a computer based driver improvement clinic will not satisfy a driver improvement requirement. You must satisfactorily complete a clinic that provides classroom instruction.
Your license also may be suspended or revoked if you:
- Become delinquent in your child support payments by 90 days or $5,000
- Fail to pay court fines, costs and fees at for traffic or criminal convictions within 15 days
- Fail to satisfactorily complete a required driver improvement clinic within the specified time
- Are convicted of making a bomb threat
- Are convicted of failing to pay for gasoline purchases
- Become physically or mentally unable to drive safely
- Give false information on a driver’s license application
- Receive 18 or more demerit points in a 12-month period or 24 demerit points in a 24-month period
- Register an uninsured motor vehicle without paying the uninsured motor vehicle fee
- Operate or permit operation of your uninsured vehicle
- Operate a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license. If you are convicted of driving without a license, the court may suspend your driving privilege or privilege to obtain a license for up to 90 days.
If you are unable to pay court fines and costs or enter into an installment payment plan for full driving privileges and the court suspends your driving privilege, you may petition the court for restricted driving privileges for a period of six months.
If you are convicted of driving while your license is revoked or suspended, the court may revoke or suspend your license for the same amount of time for which it had previously been revoked or suspended. This will be in addition to any other penalties, possibly including jail time.
If you receive a second conviction of driving while your license is suspended or revoked because of non-DUI-related offenses, DMV will require that you complete an intervention interview with the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program.
A third conviction within ten years for driving on a license suspended because of a DUI-related offense is a class 6 felony and carries a mandatory term of one to five years or a fine of $2,500 or both.
If your license is suspended, your privilege to drive has been withdrawn temporarily. You may pay the required fees and reinstate your license at the end of the suspension period unless your license expires during that period. You must also show proof of legal presence.
Revocation, on the other hand, means that your privilege to drive has been terminated. Your driving privilege may be restored if you reapply for a driver’s license after the revocation period has passed. You must show proof of legal presence. You must successfully complete the vision screening, two-part knowledge exam and road skills tests and pay the required fees when you reapply.
