Common high-point demerit offences

Last verified: August 2026. Calculate your demerit points → · Full offence table →

The demerit-point schedule in the AARTO Regulations, 2026 is in force, but demerit enforcement provisions in the AARTO Act (sections 24–28 — recording, suspension, and cancellation of licences) were not proclaimed as of July 2026. The values below are what the regulations say a charge is worth; they are not points currently being recorded against your licence. Latest status →

What "common" means on this page

This page lists the charges that carry the highest demerit values in Schedule 3 — not the charges that are issued most often. No public dataset breaks South African infringement notices down by charge code in a way we could verify, so we do not claim to know which offences are most frequently written. Ranking by severity is something we can source directly from column 6 of the gazette, so that is what we have done.

There are 131 charges in Schedule 3 worth four points or more. Below we show 42 of them, up to 14 per point value, sorted by code. Where Schedule 3 repeats near-identical wording across licence-code or permit-class variants — one row per driving licence code, for example — we show a single representative entry and leave the rest to the full searchable table.

Why the high-point tiers matter

The disqualification total under regulation 20(6) is 15 demerit points for natural-person drivers. At 6 points a charge, three final offences put you at 18 — over the threshold. At 5 points, four charges do it. At 4 points, four charges leave you at 16. Charges in these tiers are the ones where a small number of incidents changes your position materially, which is the practical reason to know them by code. How demerit points work →

Note the pattern in the tables: the heaviest values cluster around licence and permit integrity — driving without the correct licence code, misusing a professional driving permit, failing to surrender a suspended licence — and around braking, steering, and roadworthiness. Speeding and signage charges generally sit lower in the schedule.

Reading a charge before you rely on it

Schedule 3 wording is terse and sometimes carries typographical errors from the gazette itself; we reproduce it as published rather than tidying it, so that what you read here matches what you can search for in the official document. Two things are worth checking on any charge before you treat its point value as settled.

First, the code on your infringement notice is what matters, not a description that sounds similar. Several charges differ only in vehicle class or in whether a roadworthy certificate was involved, and they can carry different point values. Second, the classification — infringement or offence — reflects how the charge is processed under AARTO rather than its severity; both types can carry demerit points.

Each code above links to its own page with the statutory reference, classification, point value, and related charges. From there you can add it to the calculator.

Working out where you stand

Add each charge you have received to the calculator and mark it pending or final. Only final charges count toward the running total. If you are not certain a matter has been finalised, leave it pending — that avoids overstating your risk. Pending vs final →

If your final total goes over 15, the calculator shows an illustrative suspension estimate based on the Act's three-months-per-point formula. It is illustrative for a specific reason: section 25 of the Act is not in force, so no disqualification period is currently running against anyone's licence on this basis. Licence suspension & consequences →

Calculate your demerit points → · Search all 1694 charges → · How demerit points work → · Updates & sources →