How Does a DWI Affect Your License Points

Hi, I’m attorney Derek Gray of Graystar Legal. We are a criminal law firm located here in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and this is our FAQ series. So, today’s question is going to deal with DWI or driving while impaired charges.

Specifically, how many points is a DWI conviction on my license?

As we always start, we want to go to the actual law itself. So in North Carolina, that’s going to be North Carolina General Statute 20-19. So specifically, DWIs aren’t scored on a point system; it is just an outright one-year suspension if it’s your first DWI conviction. Now, as it relates to your insurance, that would be a 12-point offense on your insurance, which would likely cause your insurance to increase by approximately 300%.

So you would feel a huge impact as it relates to your insurance. But on your actual DMV record itself is just a flat-out one-year suspension; you’d be eligible immediately for a limited driving privilege. So you still potentially be able to drive during that period of suspension, but it is limited. It’s not a regular driver’s license. But yeah, so to answer your question is not a points offense. It is simply a one-year suspension. However, your insurance will be highly impacted. If you have any further questions about DWI impact suspension points, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us I would love to help you and guide you through this process. DWIs are very serious offenses in the state of North Carolina, and this is something you’re going to need to help from a criminal defense attorney.