- Number of learner drivers with penalty points revealed
- Almost 35,000 provisional licence holders with points on their record
- L plates don’t make you immune to prosecution
- Motorists in their 80s and 90s also caught out
- Stats via FOI from the DVLA
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Tens of thousands of learner drivers have racked up points on their provisional licences - and it’s a stark reminder how the rules of the road apply to everyone.
Whether it’s speeding, driving without the right supervision, or a multitude of other potential offences, almost 35,000 trainees are currently sitting on points before passing their practical driving test.
An 89-year-old female and a 91-year-old male motorist - both from West Yorkshire - have also ended up with points on their provisional.
The stats come via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the DVLA from Select Car Leasing.
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Can you get points on a provisional licence in the UK?
Yes, you absolutely can get points on a provisional licence.
This can happen for a number of reasons, including speeding, using a mobile phone, driving without the correct insurance, driving unsupervised, or failing to comply with traffic lights or signals.
If you’re using a provisional licence to drive a moped or motorcycle, the same rules apply.
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There are a few other scenarios to consider.
You can actually receive penalty points before you've ever held or applied for a provisional licence. If you commit a road traffic offence, however young or old you might be, your driver record can still be endorsed with points without a licence being in place.
When you ultimately apply for a provisional licence, those points will be active.
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In recent years, many youngsters have fallen foul of that rule having committed e-bike and e-scooter offences, earning points in the process.
The other potential scenario involves motorists who have been banned from driving and ordered to retake their test again before they can regain a full licence.
Any existing penalty points remain on their driver record and therefore appear on the provisional licence. The points do not disappear simply because the person has reverted to learner-driver status.
So, it’s for ALL of the reasons above why we see so many provisional licence holders sitting on points before actually passing their practical test.
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How many penalty points can you get on a provisional licence?
Get 12 penalty points on your provisional within 3 years and you can be disqualified, just like with a full licence holder. You’ll likely face a 6-month ban.
The other thing to consider is the two year probationary period for new drivers (those passing their test for the first time, not drivers who are retaking a test after a ban).
If a new driver racks-up 6 or more points within two years, they face an automatic licence revocation and will have to resit both their tests again (theory and practical).
And that 6 points-or-more threshold INCLUDES any points carried over from a provisional licence.
When you consider that using a mobile phone while driving attracts 6 penalty points and a £200 fine, you can see that just one isolated offence can see your licence taken away.
Law-breaking learners by age
According to our stats, the age group with the highest number of points on provisional licences is, perhaps unsurprisingly, 20-29 year olds, with a total of 9,774 provisional licences with points.
The second highest group are 30-39 year olds with 9,009 provisional licences with points.
We also compared the number of provisional licences with points to the number of provisional licences in each age group and found that people aged 80 to 89 are statistically more likely to get points on their provisional licences, with 2.7 percent of provisional licence holders having points.
The age group with the lowest percentage of provisional licences with points are - surprisingly - 17 to 19 year olds with 0.14% of provisional licence holders having points.
L-plate points by gender
Motorists who identify as male make up 69% of provisional licences with points.
That tallies with other research, with one recent report suggesting women account for around 30% of penalty points on record.
The 17–19 age group shows the starkest gender divide, with men accounting for more than 80 percent of provisional licence holders who have points.
Within this group, 1,432 men have points on their licence compared to just 294 women.
The second age group with the biggest difference in gender is 80- 89-year-olds, with men accounting for 78 per cent of fines.
L-plate points by location
The more populated areas tend to have a higher number of provisional licences with points, with Greater London having a total of 5,382 licences with points, far higher than any other area.
This is followed by West Midlands with 1,510 and West Yorkshire with 1,443 licences with points.
To get a better idea of how the number of provisional licences with points is represented we calculated the number of provisional licences with points per 1,000 licence holders.
The area with the highest proportion of provisional licences with points is Stirling, Scotland, with 51 provisional licences with points, equating to 16.9 per 1,000 licence holders.
Of our top ten areas by proportion, five are in Wales and four are in Scotland, with only one English area – Worcestershire - making the list.
In second place is Merthyr Tydfil, Wales with 94 provisional licences with points or 11.4 per 1,000 licence holders.
Rounding off the top three areas with the most dangerous learner drivers is Worcestershire with 312 licences with points or 9.5 per 1,000 licence holders.
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Conclusions
Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing, said: “We’d urge all motorists, whether they’re carrying ‘L’ plates or not, to keep road safety at the forefront of minds.
“This study serves as a reminder that all drivers, regardless of age or gender, and whether they’re provisional or full licence holders, must follow traffic rules and regulations in order to keep other road users safe.
“It’s just as important for those supervising learner drivers – typically mums and dads – to pay close attention to what their proteges are doing.
“With the widespread use of sophisticated cameras to catch rule-breakers, the chances of being prosecuted have risen exponentially in recent years.”
*Select Car Leasing sent an FOI request to DVLA for the number of provisional licences with penalty points across the UK, we asked for the data to be separated by age, gender and location. We used 2026 driver’s licence data to determine the number of provisional licence data by age and area.
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