New Driver Point System Coming Soon
The Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles is introducing a Driver Point System to promote safer driving and reduce dangerous behavior on our roads.
When a driver is convicted of a covered moving violation, points are added to the driver’s record. More serious violations receive more points.
Important: Receiving a traffic ticket does not, by itself, add points to your driving record. Points are assessed after a conviction.
As points accumulate, a driver may receive a warning notice, be required to complete an approved driver-education course, or face suspension of their driving privileges.
Why the Point System Matters
The Driver Point System:
- Encourages safer driving by attaching consequences to dangerous behavior
- Helps identify drivers who repeatedly violate traffic laws
- Provides educational opportunities to help drivers improve
- Applies increasing consequences as points accumulate
- Helps reduce collisions, injuries, and deaths on Virgin Islands roads
Examples of Violations and Point Values
| Moving violation | Points |
|---|---|
| Failure to observe a traffic signal | 2 |
| Failure to wear a seat belt | 3 |
| Failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk | 3 |
| Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle | 3 |
| Speeding up to 14 mph above the limit | 4 |
| Improperly passing a school bus | 8 |
| Reckless driving | 9 |
| Speeding 30 mph or more above the limit | 10 |
| Driving under the influence | 12 |
These are selected examples. The complete schedule of violations and point values is established in Title 20, § 803 of the Virgin Islands Code.
What Happens as Points Accumulate?
- At 9 points: The BMV will issue a warning notice explaining the driver’s point status and may recommend an approved Driver Improvement Course.
- At 12 points: The driver may face suspension of their driving privileges for at least six months. Under Virgin Islands law, the BMV Director must petition the Court for the suspension.
Completing an approved driver-education course may reduce an eligible driver’s active point total, but it does not erase the conviction from the Driver History Record.
How to Protect Your Driving Record
- Follow posted speed limits
- Wear your seat belt and properly restrain children
- Avoid distracted driving
- Maintain a safe following distance
- Obey traffic signals and signs
- Yield to pedestrians and emergency vehicles
- Stop for school buses as required by law
- Never drive under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances
Drive Smart. Stay Safe. Protect Your Record.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Driver Point System is a highway-safety program that adds points to your driving record when you are convicted of certain moving violations.
More serious violations receive more points. The system helps identify repeated unsafe driving, encourages better driving behavior, and improves road safety throughout the territory.
The BMV will announce the official implementation date.
Before the system is fully implemented, the BMV and the Virgin Islands Office of Highway Safety will provide public education explaining how points are assigned and what drivers can do to protect their driving privileges.
Points are added to your driving record after you are convicted of a covered moving violation. The number of points depends on how serious the violation is.
Examples include:
- Driving under the influence — 12 points
- Speeding 30 mph or more above the limit — 10 points
- Reckless driving — 9 points
- Failing to properly restrain a child under five — 6 points
- Failing to wear a seat belt — 3 points
Point values generally range from 2 to 12. The complete point schedule is established in Title 20, § 803 of the Virgin Islands Code.
Reaching 12 points can result in the suspension of your driving privileges for at least six months.
Under Virgin Islands law, the BMV Director must petition the Court for the suspension. The suspension is not imposed solely by the BMV without the required court process.
After you complete the suspension period and your driving privileges are reinstated, your active point total is reduced to zero.
Points generally count toward your active point total for three years from the date of the violation.
When determining whether you have reached the suspension threshold, violations that occurred more than three years earlier are not counted.
The conviction may still appear on your Driver History Record even after its points are no longer included in your active point total.
Eligible drivers may be able to reduce their active point total by successfully completing a BMV-approved driver-education course.
Voluntary Driver Improvement Course
- Intended for eligible violations not connected to a collision
- May reduce your active point total by 3 points
- May be used only once every 12 months
Mandatory Driver Education Course
- May be required when a violation is connected to a collision
- May reduce your active point total by 4 points after successful completion
Completing a course may reduce your active point total, but it does not erase the conviction from your Driver History Record. The BMV determines course eligibility and requirements.
Yes. The BMV will notify drivers as they approach or reach the suspension level.
- At 9 points: You will receive a warning notice explaining your point status. The notice may recommend taking an approved Driver Improvement Course.
- At 12 points: You will receive a suspension notice explaining the action being taken and what you must do to restore your driving privileges.
Keep your physical and mailing addresses current with the BMV so that you receive important notices.
The Driver Education Program helps drivers understand unsafe driving behavior and make safer choices on the road.
Courses may cover:
- Virgin Islands traffic laws
- Defensive-driving techniques
- Collision avoidance
- Distracted and impaired driving
- The effects of alcohol and controlled substances
- Reducing risky driving behavior
Courses may last from 4 to 12 hours, depending on the violation and program requirements.
The Superior Court reports moving-violation convictions to the BMV.
The BMV uses this information to update your Driver History Record and apply the point value required by law. Electronic reporting between the Superior Court and the BMV helps reduce processing delays and data-entry errors.
Points are based on a conviction—not simply on receiving a traffic ticket.
An unpaid moving-violation ticket may create a lien on the title of the vehicle associated with the ticket.
Until the ticket is paid or otherwise resolved, the lien may prevent the BMV from:
- Registering or renewing the registration of the vehicle
- Processing a change or transfer of vehicle ownership
Paying the ticket clears the payment-related restriction so the applicable BMV transaction may proceed. It does not remove any points assessed for the violation from your driving record.
Points remain subject to the Driver Point System’s three-year counting period unless reduced through an approved driver-education program or reset following reinstatement after a point-related suspension.
The vehicle-title lien is established under Title 20, § 544a of the Virgin Islands Code.
Yes. You may request a hearing or review using the process allowed under Virgin Islands law and BMV procedures.
Your notice will explain:
- Why the action is being taken
- The deadline for responding
- How to request a hearing or review
- Any further review that may be available through the Superior Court
Be sure to respond within the deadline stated in the notice.
The system applies to anyone with a Virgin Islands driver’s license who is convicted of a moving violation covered by the point system.
This includes drivers with commercial endorsements. Commercial drivers may also be subject to additional federal or territorial requirements.
You may request an official Driver History Record from the BMV for the applicable fee.
Your record may include:
- Moving-violation convictions
- Points
- Suspensions or revocations
- Reported collisions
- Your current license status
The BMV will provide information about online access when that service becomes available.
The BMV and the Virgin Islands Office of Highway Safety will conduct a territory-wide public information and education campaign.
Information may be shared through:
- Radio and television announcements
- Social-media posts
- Flyers and brochures
- Community meetings and presentations
- Public-service announcements
- Newsletters
- The BMV website
Always rely on official BMV communication channels for current information.
The primary goal is to make Virgin Islands roads safer.
The system is intended to:
- Reduce repeat traffic violations
- Identify patterns of unsafe driving
- Encourage drivers to improve their behavior
- Apply consequences fairly and consistently
- Offer educational rehabilitation through approved driver-improvement programs
- Help reduce traffic collisions, injuries, and deaths
- Align the USVI with recognized national highway-safety practices
The Driver Point System is not simply a new BMV policy. It is established under Virgin Islands law.