Driving Record Check

A clean driving record is a driving record with no moving violations, accidents, driving-related convictions or points from the past 3-7 years. The length of time that drivers need to stay clear of such issues in order to have a clean driving record depends on the state and the purpose of the record check. For instance, many insurance companies only look back three years, whereas certain employers may disqualify candidates with a DUI from seven years ago.

What Clean Driving Records Include

• No moving violations
• No at-fault accidents
• No driving-related criminal convictions
• No points from the past 3-7 years

Insurance companies and employers are more forgiving of smaller violations like speeding tickets. As a result, one speeding ticket over a three year period will have a smaller impact on your insurance premium than multiple infractions or a serious conviction like a DUI.

What Does a Clean Driving Record Mean for You?

Having a clean driving record will help you pay lower rates for car insurance, since your driving history is one of the main things insurers take into account when calculating your premium. Your insurance rate is based on how likely insurance companies think you are to file a claim and cost them money, so a clean driving record suggests that you are a safe driver and therefore less likely to get into an accident.

In addition, a clean driving record keeps you on good terms with your state's DMV, since states suspend or revoke the licenses of drivers with severe or repeated offenses. For instance, states like Rhode Island and Washington automatically suspend the licenses of those convicted of a DUI. Finally, a clean driving record is also useful if you are applying for a job that requires driving in a professional capacity.  

How to See If You Have a Clean Driving Record

Driving records are available via state DMVs in the form of a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR), which insurance companies access when you get a quote or renew your policy. If you've recently gotten a ticket, been in an accident, or had your insurance rates increase, it might be worth checking your own MVR for errors and to see how long your offenses will continue to affect you. Most state DMVs allow you to request your own MVR on their website for a small fee.

How to Get a Clean Driving Record

1. Practice good habits behind the wheel 

Avoiding accidents and moving violations by being a safe driver is the best way to get a clean driving record and prevent your premiums from rising. 

2. Attend traffic school 

In certain states, you can remove tickets or points from your record by attending traffic school for an eligible offense. Depending on the offense, you might even prevent insurance companies from ever seeing a ticket or violation.

With certain insurers and states, points or tickets can also disqualify you from a good driver discount. So, attending traffic school to erase points might allow you to keep or get this discount, too.

 3. Keep track of your points

If you don't have a clean driving record, keeping track of when offenses fall off your record and getting new quotes for insurance after your record improves can help you save on auto insurance coverage. You can usually check your driving record on your state DMV's website, or you can request an official copy in the mail.

You can check your driving record for free in some states by going to the designated government website and entering your personal information, or requesting a copy in person or by mail. Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio allow residents to check their driving record for free. In states that don't allow you to check your driving record for free, you should expect to pay a $2-$25 fee.

How to Check Your Driving Record

1. Go to your state's official DMV, Department of Revenue, or Secretary of State website (varies by state).
2. Provide your personal information.
3. Pay any applicable fees, if requested.
4. Have your printer ready if you want an unofficial hard copy.

Alternatively, you could ask your insurer for a copy, since they consider your driving record when calculating your premium. However, they are not obligated to give it to you for free.

Key Things to Remember About Checking Your Driving Record

• Most states don't allow you to check your driving record for free.
• The fee for checking your record can be as high as $25.
• You may be able to get a copy of your driving record from your insurance company.
• Knowing what's on your driving record allows you to anticipate when moving violations or accidents will stop affecting your insurance rate.

For more information, including state-by-state instructions, check out WalletHub's guide to checking your driving record.

No. There are no auto insurance companies that don't check your driving record. Most auto insurance companies check your driving record for the past 3 years when you submit your application for coverage, and some check your driving record as far back as 7-10 years.

However, auto insurance companies generally do not check your driving record just to give you a simple quote, with no obligation to buy. It costs money to check someone's official driving record, so the agent (or online tool) will initially generate a quote for your car insurance coverage based on the driving history you submit. Once you accept the quote and commit to move forward, an underwriter from the insurance company will check your actual driving record to make sure the quote is valid.

It's also common practice for auto insurance companies to check your driving record when it's time to renew your policy, generally every 6 or 12 months. They will typically run a check on your driving record about 45 days before a policy is going to expire. If you've received any new tickets or gotten into an accident since the policy began, you may be required to pay a higher rate. However, if you've been with a company for a long time and maintained a clean driving record, the insurer may choose to forgo continuously checking your driving record due to the cost.

Know What's In Your Driving Record

Since there are no auto insurance companies that do not check your driving record, knowing what an insurer might find out beforehand could be key to helping you get the cheapest insurance rate. For example, it's helpful to know if an old traffic violation is going to fall off your record soon, as that may be a good time to shop around for a better auto insurance rate. On the other hand, if you've accumulated several points on your license recently, you may want to take a defensive driving class to help prevent your insurance rate from going up or having your coverage canceled. Also, if your motor vehicle record is so bad that your driver's license is suspended or revoked, your policy could be canceled or you could be prevented from getting auto insurance altogether until your license is reinstated.

To get ahead of what an insurance provider might find in your driving history, you can request a copy of your official driving record from the department of motor vehicles for each state in which you've held a valid driver's license. Keep in mind that each state has its own rules about how long it keeps personal driving history records and how you should request those records.

Another source of useful information regarding your driving record is a Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report, which offers a detailed history of claims you've made through insurance providers. With your CLUE report, you can dispute errors and have a clear idea of what insurance companies will be reviewing.

You can check your driving record in Alabama by mailing a request form to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, calling the Driver License Records Unit at 334-242-4241, or visiting an Alabama Reinstatement office. Purchasing a copy of your driving record in Alabama costs $5.75, and you will need to provide your full name, date of birth, and license number or Social Security number. In Alabama, you cannot check your driving record online.

Driving records are important for insurance purposes because car insurance companies charge higher premiums for customers with a history of violations or accidents. For instance, a single speeding ticket increases premiums by an average of 19% in Alabama. Checking your driving record can help you verify that the information is correct.

It's also a good idea to see when a violation occurred, because insurance companies generally look at the past three to five years of your driving record. Once insurance companies stop taking the violation into account, you should compare quotes again to be sure you're still getting the best rate on the coverage you need.

For more information, check out WalletHub's guides to driving record checks and driver's license points.

A speeding ticket will stay on your record for five years or less in most states. Some states require a speeding ticket to stay on your driving record for longer, but most insurance companies will still only take the last 3-5 years into consideration when calculating your premium. 

For example, a speeding ticket in Hawaii will stick with you for 10 years, and in Montana it will be on your record forever. But having an old speeding ticket on your record won't hurt you long-term. Once it's beyond your insurer's lookback period, it won't affect your premium anymore.

It's important to remember that every insurance company has its own polices on how far back it looks on customers' driving records, so be sure to check with your insurer to know exactly how long your speeding ticket will affect your premium. If you previously qualified for a good driver discount, you can also ask how long it will be before you can requalify. For example, American Family Insurance requires you to have a clean record for five years before you can receive the discount.

To check how many points are on your license, you can go to your state DMV's website, mail a request for a copy of your driving record, or visit your local DMV in person. Checking for license points is free in some states, while other states might charge a fee of $2 to $25 to check how many points are on your license.

You will generally need your license number, birth date, and/or Social Security number to see the number of points on your license. For state-by-state guidelines, consult WalletHub's guide to driver's license checks. 

Geico checks your driving record twice a year, since it sells six-month policies. Insurance companies like Geico check driving records when customers renew their policies, to determine how risky they are to continue insuring. Given that driving-related offenses suggest you are more likely to get into an accident and file a claim, Geico raises premiums for drivers who don't have a clean driving record.

One speeding ticket will raise insurance rates by an average of 25% across insurance companies, for example. Similarly, an at-fault accident increases premiums by 20% to 40%, on average, and 45% at Geico.

Geico uses a points and surcharge system that explains exactly how much your premium will increase for each citation. But since Geico checks your driving record only when it's time to renew your policy, a moving violation will not affect your insurance instantly. And rest assured that an accident or ticket will stop affecting your rates in three to five years.

In the meantime, though, policy renewal is a great time to compare quotes from multiple insurers to be sure you're getting the best deal for the coverage levels you want.

To get auto insurance with a bad driving record, compare quotes and purchase a high-risk car insurance policy. Some national insurance companies, like Geico and Progressive, offer great insurance options for bad drivers, including those who need an SR-22 or FR-44, and other companies – such as The General and Dairyland – specialize in nonstandard insurance.

How to Get Insurance With a Bad Driving Record

1. Look for a high-risk policy

High-risk policies are designed for drivers who are more likely than the average driver to file a claim, and they're usually more expensive than normal policies. Although the specifics of your driving record will affect your coverage options, you should be able to find a policy that works for you from one of the many companies that offer insurance to bad drivers.

2. Compare quotes to find affordable coverage

Since a high-risk policy can cost between $1,800 and $3,300 annually, you might need to temporarily get a basic policy that offers a low level of coverage while you work to improve your driving record. The more coverage you add, the more a car insurance policy is likely to cost.

3. Consider coverage options provided by your state

If a bad driving record is preventing you from getting coverage, you should consider joining your state's assigned risk pool, where you'll be assigned to an insurance company and given the minimum coverage required by state law.

Most insurance companies only take the last two to three years of your driving record into account when determining your premium, so if you're able to practice good habits for long enough, you'll eventually be able to get a better deal.

Insurance companies may check your driving record every 6 to 12 months when you apply for a new policy or renew an existing one. Car insurance companies might also check your driving record when you add a new driver, add a new vehicle, or change your coverage details.

By checking your driving record, insurance companies can determine how safe of a driver you are, which helps them estimate how risky you will be to insure. However, checking someone's driving record costs money, so insurance companies are less likely to check your record if you are an experienced driver who has been with the company for years.

If your insurance company doesn't check your record at every renewal, your rate might not change after a recent violation. But insurers do not disclose how often they skip record checks, and you can count on them finding out about violations eventually.

A bad driving record is a driving record that includes one or more moving violations, driver's license points, accidents, or serious charges such as DUI or hit-and-run. Having a bad driving record may result in a driver being classified as “high-risk,” likely making insurance coverage more expensive. Not all offenses that can appear on a driver's record are weighed the same, however, so what exactly is considered a bad driving record and how much it will affect your coverage depend on the insurance company and the specifics of your driving history. 

Having a driving record that isn't clean doesn't automatically make it bad. For example, insurance companies give less weight to minor violations like parking tickets or low-level speeding. Major accidents and serious charges like DUI and hit-and-run, on the other hand, are massive red flags that will have the greatest impact on your car insurance policy. They'll also stay on your driving record for much longer than minor violations. Although the exact amount of time varies between states, a serious offense such as DUI will usually stay on your record for 5-10 years (sometimes even longer), while a minor claim or moving violation will stay for about three years. 

If you have a bad driving record, you'll likely end up paying a much higher car insurance premium than the average driver. Depending on how bad your record is, you could potentially have trouble finding an insurer who will cover you at all. In that case, you'll want to explore the assigned-risk option offered by your state so you can receive the minimum coverage required by law as you work to improve you record.