In Alberta, demerit points are added to your driving record every time you’re convicted of a traffic violation, with the number of points depending on how serious the offence is. These points stay on your record for two years from the date of the conviction, and if you rack up too many within that window, Alberta Transportation can suspend your licence—on top of the licence suspensions and higher insurance premiums that will cost you heavily in the long run.
While your initial instinct may be to just pay the fine that comes with a driving ticket and move on, reducing or avoiding the number of demerit points you receive can be reason enough to fight a ticket.
Key Takeaways
- Demerit points are applied on your conviction date, not the day you’re ticketed — and paying the ticket is what creates the conviction.
- They stay on your record for 2 years from that conviction date. Not from the date of the offence.
- 15 points suspends a full licence for one month. For a GDL driver, it’s 8. Cautionary notices go out at 8 and 4.
- A suspension doesn’t clear your record. A full licence is reinstated with 7 points still on it, and a GDL licence with 3 points; both stay for another 2 years from reinstatement.
- A defensive driving course removes up to 3 points, once every 2 years — but only if you complete it before the conviction date that would trigger the suspension.
- You can’t appeal a demerit suspension. You can request a review if points were assigned in error, and the conviction itself can be appealed to the Court of Justice of Alberta.
What Are Demerit Points?
In Alberta, driving demerit points are used to track driving violations and go on a driver’s record when they are found guilty of committing an offence under the Traffic Safety Act. The more serious a driving offence, the more demerit points you’re likely to be handed, and if you accumulate enough demerit points, you can have your license suspended.
What Are the Repercussions of Demerit Points?
Alberta demerit points stay on your driving record for 2 years, and if you accumulate enough in a 2-year period, your license will be suspended. They appear on your record the day you are convicted, and that’s true whether you choose to fight a ticket or not.
It’s important to remember that demerit points are added to your driving record on the day of your conviction, not the day that the ticket is issued. The province is explicit about what counts as a conviction date:
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)
— Government of Alberta, Demerit driving suspension
Paying the ticket is listed first. For most drivers, that is exactly how a conviction happens—not in a courtroom, but at a registry counter or online, without ever intending to plead to anything.
It’s also worth noting that if your licence is suspended, you don’t just get all the demerit points wiped off your record when it’s reinstated. Many drivers assume that’s the case, but the points that remain start a fresh two-year clock.
How Many Demerit Points Do You Keep After a Suspension?
A fully licensed driver is reinstated with 7 demerit points. A GDL driver is reinstated with 3. In both cases, those points stay on your record for 2 years from the date of reinstatement—not from the date of the original convictions.
That matters more than most people expect. A full licence that was suspended at 15 points comes back at 7, which means it takes only 8 more points to trigger a second suspension. And a second suspension within a year is three months, not one.
For Drivers with Full (Non-GDL) Licences
- A cautionary notice of how many demerit points you have received if you have built up a total of 8 or more Alberta demerit points but fewer than 15.
- If you receive 15 Alberta demerit points within a 2-year period, your licence will automatically be suspended for 1 month.
- A second demerit suspension within a year results in a 3-month suspension, and a third or subsequent suspension within 2 years will be 6 months long. A third suspension may also require a review with the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services.
- It is possible to enter the Restricted Driver’s Licence Program for work, health, or educational purposes while your licence is suspended. This program is only available to fully licensed drivers.
- When your licence is reinstated after a suspension, 7 demerit points will remain on your record for 2 years.
For Drivers with Graduated (GDL) Licences
Drivers who are still in the graduated licensing program need fewer demerit points before their licence is suspended.
- Cautionary notices are mailed out if you receive 4 or more demerit points but fewer than 8 within a 2-year period.
- Once you receive 8 demerit points, your licence is suspended for 1 month. A second suspension within a year earns you a 3-month suspension, and a third or subsequent suspension within 2 years will be 6 months.
- When your licence is reinstated after a suspension, 3 demerit points will remain on your record for 2 years.
- GDL drivers cannot apply to the Restricted Driver’s Licence Program.
How Do You Check Demerit Points?
If you’re not sure how many demerit points might be on your driving record, it is fortunately easy to check. You can go to a registry agent and request a copy of your driver’s abstract, also commonly known as your driving record.
What Exactly Is a Driving Record?
Many people understand that they have a driving record (or driver’s abstract), but they don’t necessarily understand how it works or how traffic tickets affect it.
Here are a few things to know about your driving record:
- A standard driver’s abstract can be requested for 3, 5, or 10-year periods.
- A driving record includes your name, address, license number, details about your appearance, the status of your driver’s license, conviction information, demerit points, and suspensions.
- Demerit points typically stay on your driver’s abstract for 2 years.
- Convictions for traffic tickets will stay on your driving record for 3 years.
- Parking tickets do not appear on your driving record.
- Your driving record can be accessed by yourself, anyone you provide written consent to, and organizations that have an Access to Motor Vehicle Information Regulation agreement, like your employer or insurance companies.
Demerit Points in Alberta (List)
Not every infraction will result in Alberta driving demerit points being added to a driver’s record, but many do. Here are a few common violations and how many demerit points are associated with them:
- Hit and Run Tickets
Demerit Points: 7
Failing to remain at the scene of an accident carries the highest demerit value in Alberta’s schedule: 7 points. Given that the Alberta demerit point system suspends a full licence at 15 demerit points in a 2-year period, a single conviction takes you almost halfway there.
It’s also one of the few offences with no set fine, which means the amount is decided in court rather than printed on the ticket. More on hit and run charges in Alberta.
- Speeding Tickets
Demerit Points: Between 2 and 6
- Up to 15 km/h over: 2 demerit points
- Over 15 but not more than 30 km/h over: 3 demerit points
- Over 30 but not more than 50 km/h over: 4 demerit points
- More than 50 km/h over: 6 demerit points, and there is no option to pay the ticket — a court appearance is required
More on speeding tickets in Alberta.
- Careless Driving
Demerit Points: 6
Careless driving is the most serious non-criminal driving offence under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act, and it carries 6 demerit points.
The legal test is narrower than most people assume. Under section 115(1), a driver is driving carelessly if they drive “without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for persons using the highway.” There is no requirement to prove that anyone was actually endangered, or that a collision occurred—the question is how you were driving, not what resulted.
- Stunting
Demerit Points: 3
Stunting is often mentioned in the same breath as careless driving, but it is a separate offence and carries half the demerit points. Under section 115(2)(f), it covers driving so as to perform or engage in any stunt or other activity on a highway that is likely to distract, startle or interfere with other users of the highway.
Both charges carry the same fine. They do not carry the same demerit points.
More on careless driving and stunting charges.
- Distracted Driving
Demerit Points: 3
Distracted driving appears four separate times in Alberta’s demerit schedule, each at 3 points:
- Holding, viewing or manipulating a cell phone or electronic device
- A display screen visible to the driver
- Using a global positioning system
- Reading, writing, sketching, or personal grooming
Each is a distinct offence under sections 115.1 to 115.4, and each carries the same penalty.
- Failure to Yield at a Stop Sign or Red Light
Demerit Points: 3
These are two of the most common traffic tickets issued in Alberta, and they’ll lead to 3 demerit points being added to your driver’s record.
- Failing to Yield to a Pedestrian at a Crosswalk
Demerit Points: 4
Keeping pedestrians safe at crosswalks is obviously a priority in Alberta, so it’s no surprise that failing to yield to someone in a crosswalk carries a higher demerit value than most intersection offences.
The Full Demerit Point Schedule
| Points | Offence |
| 7 Points | Failing to remain at the scene of an accident |
| 6 Points | Speeding — more than 50 km/h over the limit |
| Careless driving | |
| Racing | |
| Bet or wager | |
| Failing to stop for a school bus | |
| 5 points | Failing to stop – school bus or explosives at an uncontrolled railway crossing |
| Failing to stop for a peace officer | |
| 4 points | Speeding — unreasonable rate |
| Speeding — over 30 but not more than 50 km/h over the limit | |
| Following too close | |
| Passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk | |
| Failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk | |
| 3 points | Speeding — over 15 but not more than 30 km/h over the limit |
| Failing to notify the owner of an unattended vehicle damaged in an accident | |
| Failing to notify the owner of property damaged in an accident | |
| Driver failing to make an accident repor | |
| Improper passing in a school zone | |
| Meeting and passing an oncoming vehicle | |
| Passing on a hill or curve | |
| Passing when meeting an oncoming vehicle | |
| Overtaking and passing | |
| Passing restrictions | |
| Impeding a passing vehicle | |
| Impeding a passing vehicle — multi-lane highway | |
| Passing a stopped vehicle with flashing lamps | |
| Failing to take reasonable precautions to allow a vehicle to move into the further lane | |
| Overtaking and passing snow plows | |
| Driving left of centre | |
| Driving the wrong way on a one-way highway | |
| Failing to yield to a vehicle — at an intersection | |
| Failing to yield to a vehicle — at a yield sign | |
| Failing to yield to a vehicle — in a traffic circle | |
| Failing to yield to a vehicle — at a merge sign | |
| Failing to yield to a vehicle — at a green light | |
| Failing to yield to a vehicle — at a flashing yellow light | |
| Failing to yield to a pedestrian — at an alley entrance | |
| Failing to yield to a pedestrian — at a green light | |
| Failing to yield to a pedestrian — at a flashing yellow light | |
| Failing to stop before entering a highway | |
| Failing to stop at a stop sign | |
| Failing to stop for a vehicle sounding a siren | |
| Following an emergency vehicle too close | |
| Failing to stop at a railway crossing | |
| Driving around a barrier at a railway crossing | |
| Failing to stop at a stop sign at a railway crossing | |
| Failing to stop at a yellow light | |
| Failing to stop at a flashing red light | |
| Failing to stop at a red light | |
| Proceeding when unsafe — entering a highway at a stop sign | |
| Proceeding when unsafe — at a stop sign at a railway crossing | |
| Proceeding when unsafe — to pass a school bus | |
| Proceeding when unsafe — at a red light | |
| Proceeding when unsafe — at a flashing red light | |
| Stunting | |
| Distracted driving — holding, viewing or manipulating a cell phone or electronic device | |
| Distracted driving — display screen visible to the driver | |
| Distracted driving — global positioning system | |
| Distracted driving — reading, writing, sketching or personal grooming | |
| 2 points | Speeding — up to 15 km/h over the limit |
| Slow moving vehicle | |
| Driving near the centre line | |
| Solid lines | |
| Unsafe lane change | |
| Failing to drive in the middle of a marked lane | |
| Straddling two lanes | |
| Three-lane highways | |
| Lane marked with an “X” | |
| Failing to obey the instruction of a traffic control device | |
| Slow driving impeding traffic | |
| Driving at less than the minimum speed | |
| Failing to obey a peace officer to increase speed | |
| Failing to signal when changing lanes | |
| Failing to signal a left or right turn | |
| Failing to signal when stopping | |
| Improper right turns | |
| Improper left turns | |
| Turns controlled by a traffic control device | |
| Improper U-turns | |
| U-turn by a school bus | |
| Improper backing |
Source: Demerit Point Program and Service of Documents Regulation, Alta Reg 331/2002, Schedule 1.
Why Demerit Points Are Always Worth Fighting in Alberta
When you receive a ticket in Alberta, driving demerit points may initially be less of a concern than the fine you incur. That shouldn’t be the case.
Because demerit points go on your record and can lead to a license suspension if they add up quickly, they can have real consequences in your day-to-day life, preventing you from doing daily tasks or getting to work, going to appointments, or attending school.
Your driver’s record can also affect the insurance premiums you pay every month, and those costs can actually be more expensive than the initial fine.
That’s why it’s always worth understanding what a ticket actually carries before you decide what to do with it. A ticket that looks like a fine is often a conviction, a demerit entry, and an insurance event attached to a fine—and the decision to pay it is made once, permanently, usually without anyone explaining that.
How to Reduce Demerit Points
In Alberta, traffic fines and demerit points can cause real issues in your life. The fines themselves are expensive, and getting too many Alberta demerit points can lead to a license suspension, which will affect your ability to get to work or important appointments and your insurance premiums will increase, too.
Remember, as well, that demerit points are applied to your driving record on your conviction date, not the day you received the ticket. That means a driver who is close to the 15-point threshold within a two-year period may have more room to maneuver than they realize—because the date the conviction lands is not fixed on the day the ticket is written.
When you hire We Defend, we’ll review the ticket, explain the realistic options, and handle the court appearance if there’s something worth arguing.
The most effective way to reduce demerit points in Alberta is to avoid conviction in the first place, which is why it’s worth finding out what your options are before the response deadline on your ticket passes.
The Thresholds:
| Fully licensed (non-GDL) | GDL | |
| Cautionary notice | 8+ points | 4+ points |
| First suspension | 15 points in 2 years → 1 month | 8 points in 2 years → 1 month |
| Second within a year | 3 months | 3 months |
| Third within 2 years | 6 months | 6 months |
| Reinstated with | 7 points | 3 points |
| Points expire | 2 years from conviction date | 2 years from conviction date |
| Merit credit | Up to 3 points, once per 2 years, before conviction | Same |
Source: alberta.ca — Demerit driving suspension
Taking a Defensive Driving Course
If you are concerned about accumulating enough demerit points in a two-year period that your license might get suspended, you can take a defensive driving course to reduce your demerit points in Alberta.
The Alberta Motor Association is one of the organizations that offers the course, and they estimate it takes six and a half hours to complete. The course must be taught by a licensed driver training school.
Once you’ve passed the course, you can get a maximum of three demerit points removed from your driving record, and the credit can be applied once every two years. There are conditions worth knowing before you book:
- Timing is the critical part. To avoid a demerit suspension, the course must be completed before the conviction date of the offence that would cause the suspension. Completing it afterwards will not undo a suspension that has already been triggered.
- There is also a points ceiling. A fully licensed driver must complete the course before accumulating 15 demerit points; a GDL driver before accumulating 8.
- The completion form is valid for 2 years from the date you finish the course. It doesn’t have to be submitted immediately, which means the course can be taken in advance and the credit held.
- Don’t apply the credit during a suspension. Alberta advises that if there is a pending or active suspension, the merit credit should not be applied until after your licence is reinstated—you won’t get any benefit from it.
Because the credit has to land before the conviction, the timing of a court date and the timing of a course are related decisions rather than separate ones.
Keep Demerit Points Off Your Record with We Defend
In Alberta, driving demerit points can add up quickly and lead to suspended licenses and increased insurance premiums.
If you’ve received a ticket that comes with demerit points, send us a photograph of every page (including the back and any court date), and we’ll tell you what you’re facing and what the options are. The consultation is free.
Start with a free consultation.
FAQs About Demerit Points in Alberta
How does the demerit system work in Alberta?
Demerit points are added to your driver’s record when you are convicted for certain offences like speeding or careless driving under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act. They accumulate, and iif you receive 15 demerit points within a 2-year period, a full licence is suspended. For a GDL driver, the threshold is 8.
How long do tickets stay on your record in Alberta?
Two different clocks run. Demerit points stay on your record for 2 years from the date of conviction. Convictions themselves stay on your driving record for 3 years. So a ticket can still show on an abstract after the points attached to it have expired.
Can you appeal a demerit point suspension?
No. A demerit point suspension is automatic and can not be appealed. You can submit a written request to have your record reviewed under section 99 of the Traffic Safety Act if you believe points were assigned in error. A conviction itself can only be removed by an appeal through the Court of Justice in Alberta, at the location where you were convicted.
Is it worth fighting a ticket just to avoid demerit points?
Yes. Demerit points can add up quickly and have financial consequences when your insurance is renewed. Preventing demerit points from being added to your driving record can be the difference between a suspension and not.
Do graduated license (GDL drivers have different demerit point limits?
Yes. A driver with a GDL license will receive a cautionary notice at four demerit points and will have their license suspended at eight or more demerit points within a two-year period. Those are significantly lower thresholds than for drivers with full licenses. GDL drivers also cannot apply to the Restricted Driver’s License Program during a suspension.
Sources: Government of Alberta — Demerit driving suspension · Government of Alberta — Defensive Driving Course · Traffic Safety Act, RSA 2000 c T-6 · Demerit Point Program and Service of Documents Regulation, Alta Reg 331/2002, Schedule 1