New California Law for Cell Phone Ticket Points on DMV Record

TrafficSchool.com Says

Good afternoon Patrick,

Thanks for reaching out! You are correct that a new California law went into effect July 1st, 2021 concerning cell phone moving violations. The law can be confusing, so hopefully this helps to clear it up:

How to Get the Point Off Your Driving Record:
As far as getting approval from the court to take traffic school for cell phone tickets, the court listed on your traffic ticket will determine the process allowing you to opt in for traffic school for a cell phone ticket, and also will charge you a court admin fee. Keep in mind that the court may not know about previous cell phone violations you received, so it will be your responsibility to determine if you are fully eligible for traffic school to have the point removed because you received a previous cell phone ticket within 3 years (36 months).

Remember, to have the cell phone point removed from your record with traffic school, you have to receive TWO cell phone tickets in a 3 year period.

If you were to receive a THIRD cell phone ticket, then you would not be eligible to take traffic school unless 18-months have passed since you last attended traffic school for the second cell phone ticket.

Why You Don't Want Points on Your DMV Record:
The California DMV can suspend your driver's license if you get:

• Four points within 12 months
• Six points within 24 months
• Eight points within 36 months

In summary:
So, if you were to receive a single cellphone ticket on or after July 1st of this year and you had no other cellphone tickets within 3 years, then no point would go on your record, and you would not need to take traffic school. A point would only be added to your record if you received TWO cell phone tickets, with one being on or after July 1st and both of those tickets occurring within 36 months of each other (citation date to citation date).

Kind of confusing, but hopefully this makes some sense of the new law. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly if you have any additional questions or want more clarification.

Thanks Patrick and have a wonderful day!

Chris
TrafficSchool.com
California DMV License #E1393

* This question and answer may have been modified to remove any identifying personal information of the person asking the question.
** The information contained within this FAQ is up to date as of 7/5/2021. We always recommend that you get the latest information available by contacting TrafficSchool.com, the DMV, or Court directly.