Traffic tickets in New York: points, fines and traffic school
How New York treats a traffic ticket: whether the points stick, whether a course can clear it, what the fine really costs, and which court or agency actually handles it. Prefer your own city? Jump to the 1 New York city guides below.
1Do points matter in New York?
New York adds points per conviction and can suspend your licence at 11 points in 18 months. The DMV's point-reduction course shaves up to 4 points off that calculation but never removes the conviction itself.2Can you keep it off your record?
New York has no ticket-dismissal course. It does have the Point & Insurance Reduction Program (PIRP): completing an approved course reduces by 4 the number of points used to decide whether to suspend your licence, once in any 18-month period, and gives a 10% insurance discount for three years on the liability and collision parts of your premium. It does not remove the violation or conviction from your record.Compare how traffic school works in every state we cover →
3What will it cost?
A fine in New York is set by statute or by the court named on your citation — never by the officer who wrote it. Here is where the real number comes from:
TVB fines come from a statutory schedule for each violation, and a mandatory state surcharge is added on top of every fine. The amount you will owe for a guilty plea is shown before you submit it - the fine schedule and surcharge are what make a New York ticket more expensive than the posted number suggests.4Who handles your ticket in New York?
In New York City (and some upstate areas) tickets go to the DMV's Traffic Violations Bureau, not a local court — no prosecutor, no plea bargaining, just a hearing. Elsewhere in the state it is the local court named on the ticket.Check your licence status and driving record with NY DMV - tickets, points and the PIRP course.
Pick your city in New York
Same six questions on every page, in the same order: where to pay, whether to fight it, traffic school, and when a lawyer is worth it.
Common questions
Does the PIRP course remove a New York ticket?
No. New York has no ticket-dismissal course, but the Point & Insurance Reduction Program reduces by 4 the number of points used to decide whether to suspend your licence, once in any 18-month period, and gives a 10% insurance discount for three years. It does not remove the violation from your record.
How many points suspend a New York licence?
New York adds points per conviction and can suspend at 11 points in 18 months. The DMV's course shaves up to 4 points off that calculation but never removes the conviction itself.
How much is a New York ticket?
TVB fines come from a statutory schedule for each violation, and a mandatory state surcharge is added on top of every fine. The amount you will owe for a guilty plea is shown before you submit it.
Informational only, not legal advice. Rules, deadlines and fine schedules change — always confirm the detail with the court or agency named on your ticket. Last checked 2026-10-12.