You may be holding out hope that authorities back home will never find out if you got an out-of-state driving ticket, but in most cases, your local DMV will be alerted to your ticket, and unfortunately, so will your insurer.
There is some good news — not all states treat out-of-state tickets the same as a local ticket, you may not get dinged with points and if you are really lucky, your car insurance company might not find out for years. See laws specific to your area in our state car insurance rates guide.
- Driving infractions, such as a speeding ticket, in another state will almost always be reported back to your home state driving record.
- Depending on the state you live in, an out of state ticket may or may not result in points added to your driving record.
- Your insurer will eventually find out about the out of state speeding ticket and in many cases, your rates will be headed up.
How a ticket follows you home
Most states have interstate reciprocal agreements that require them to share information on convictions for moving violations, such as. The Driver License Compact (DLC), signed by 45 states plus the District of Columbia.
DLC-member states agree to report out-of-state convictions to each other. In addition, when a state suspends the license of an out-of-state driver, that driver’s home state is likely to do the same. So if you receive a DUI while on spring break in Florida and your driver’s license is suspended in that state, your home state can and most likely will, also suspend your license.
Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin are the only states that are not DLC members. However, receiving a ticket in one of these states does not guarantee that it will not be reported to your home state.
According to DMV representatives in these five states, they usually notify an out-of-state driver’s home state, and are generally notified if their own drivers received violations in other states.
Thinking about ignoring the out-of-state ticket and not paying it? Bad idea; states that are part of the Non-Resident Violator Compact and Driver License Agreement (virtually all of them) agree to suspend your driver’s license on the other state’s behalf.
How states treat out-of-state convictions
Unfortunately, most states record any out-of-state violation on your driving record and assign points to your driver’s license.
However, some states don’t put minor tickets on your DMV record. States like Colorado and Pennsylvania do not record the violation if it is considered a minor offense, like a speeding ticket. Other states, like Maryland and Nevada, record the violation, but do not assign points for out-of-state tickets. In these states, the out-of-state ticket may not impact your insurance premium.
On the other hand, states such as Florida and Texas place both the violation and points on your driving record for all out-of-state convictions – a move that most likely will increase your car insurance premium.
A few states have unique laws when it comes to out of state violations. If you’re a New York resident who received a minor traffic ticket in Quebec or Ontario, New York will record it and assess points to your license.
However, if you receive the ticket in another state within the U.S., it will not go on your record. New Jersey simply adds two points for all out-of-state traffic convictions, even if your points for the violation would have been different in-state.
When it comes to out of state tickets, you can be certain of two things: A conviction for a serious offense such as DUI will absolutely go on your driving record, and any violation – serious or minor – that appears on your DMV record will be seen by your car insurance company and could result in a higher premium.
Convictions and car insurance companies
Auto insurance companies don’t care where you received a traffic ticket, they consider a conviction in any state a risk and will up your premium accordingly. However, how traffic offenses are rated varies by insurer and state.
In some states, car insurance companies are prohibited from raising your rates after just one moving violation conviction. If this is the case in your state, an out-of-state ticket may not affect your car insurance premium.
In other states, your car insurance company will increase your premium for one speeding violation or they may take away your good driver discount.
It’s important to remember that regardless of where you received the ticket, insurers base your rate increase on the type of violation you receive. For example, a ticket for 10 mph over the speed limit may not result in a rate increase, but if you are caught driving 30 mph over the limit, your insurer will consider that a major violation and will most likely increase your premium.
Resources & Methodology
Sources
AAMVA. “Driver License Compact.” Accessed August 2024.
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