What is a CD10 endorsement?

CD10 is the DVLA code for driving without due care and attention. It carries 3 to 9 points and stays on the driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence. The points count towards the 12 point totting total for 3 years from the offence date, which is a different clock from the 4 year print period. Use the number on your record, which will sit inside the published range. The code is what a licence check shows an insurer or an employer.

How many points does CD10 carry?

3 to 9 points, which is the range DVLA publishes. A fixed penalty, where one exists for the underlying offence, uses a single number inside that range. A court can use any number in the range, or can disqualify instead of points where the offence guideline allows it. A new driver is revoked at 6 points, so a code at the top of its range can cancel a new licence on its own.

How long does CD10 stay on a licence?

4 years from the date of the offence. It counts towards totting for 3 years from the offence date. After that it can still be visible until the 4 year point. Drink and drug codes use conviction as the start of the 11 year stay. Most other codes, including this one if it is a 4 year code, use the offence date. Insurers ask about unspent convictions, which is not the same clock.

What does CD10 do to insurance?

No official code specific premium change is published. The Highway Code says insurance costs are likely to rise considerably after conviction for a serious driving offence.

Why does CD10 have 3 to 9 points?

Because the court guideline runs from a momentary lapse at 3 to 4 points up to driving close to dangerous at 7 to 9 points if there is no ban. The fixed penalty uses 3. DVLA publishes the full range. An insurer who sees CD10 without the points number does not know which row you were on. Give both.

Is CD10 the same as CD20 or CD30?

No. CD10 is due care and attention. CD20 is without reasonable consideration. CD30 is the combined wording. Points and stays are in the same family, 3 to 9 and 4 years from the offence. Use the letters on your record. Do not pick the one that sounds softer.

Will a driver improvement course avoid CD10?

Where a force offers a course instead of a prosecution, the notice is the source. This page does not publish a national course fee. A completed course that avoids points never creates CD10. A course you refuse or fail leaves the code in play. Not every careless case is offered a course.

Does CD10 apply in Scotland?

The letters and points sit on a Great Britain licence. A Scottish due care case is a Scottish court matter. The 3 year totting clock and the 6 point new driver rule still apply. The England and Wales Band A to Band D table on the offence page does not travel with the code.

Endorsement code

CD10: Driving without due care and attention

Summary: CD10 carries 3 to 9 points and stays on the driving record for 4 years from the offence.

3 to 9 points

Published points

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Penalty points endorsements: endorsement codes and penalty points (as of 10 September 2026)

4 years

From offence

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, How long endorsements stay on your driving record (as of 10 September 2026)

Not published

Official code specific premium change

Department for Transport, The Highway Code: Annex 5, penalties (as of 10 September 2026)

Checked on 10 September 2026.

When must CD10 be declared?

Answer an insurer's questions about unspent convictions. A road traffic endorsement may become spent after 5 years for an adult or 2 years 6 months if under 18, but another sentence can make the period longer.
The time an endorsement remains on the licence is not a universal insurance declaration period.
If an insurer asks about unspent convictions, answer the question accurately.

How can CD10 affect insurance?

No official code specific premium change is published. The Highway Code says insurance costs are likely to rise considerably after conviction for a serious driving offence.
No official source publishes a fixed premium increase for this code, so no percentage is shown.

What does a CD10 mean on a driving licence?

CD10 is driving without due care and attention. DVLA publishes 3 to 9 points and a stay of 4 years from the date of the offence. The range is wide: 3 to 9. The current out of court disposal uses 3 points. A court on a high culpability row of the 1 July 2025 guideline uses 7 to 9 if it does not ban. That is why two CD10s on two licences are not the same insurance conversation.

A new driver who already holds 3 is revoked by a 3 point CD10. A 9 point CD10 revokes a clean new driver and tot a driver who already holds 3 live points. Read the points column, not only the letters.

CD20 and CD30 are related careless codes. This page is CD10. Do not relabel a CD20 as CD10 on a form.

CD10 stays 4 years from the offence and counts for 3. The points can be 3, or they can be 9. The letters do not tell an insurer which.

Example

A 9 point CD10 after a collision, driver already on 3

Existing: SP30, 3 points, still counting
New code: CD10, 9 points
Totting threshold: 12

DVLA's CD10 range includes 9 points.
3 plus 9 is 12, which is the totting line.
A totting ban of at least 6 months follows unless exceptional hardship is accepted.
A new driver would already have been revoked at 6, which this 9 exceeds on its own.
TT99 then records the totting ban.

CD10 is not always a 3 point slap. At the top of the range it tot a driver who only held a single speeding ticket.

How should I explain CD10 to an insurer?

Give the letters, the date and the points. 'Careless' on its own hides a 9 point court row. No official premium percentage is published. A collision with injury is also a claims history issue, which is separate from the code.

A Scottish careless conviction carries the CD10 code on the GB record. The Band A to Band D pounds on the offence page are England and Wales. Northern Ireland uses DVA.

A company car does not absorb CD10. The driver is endorsed. A hire car does not shift it to the hire firm as a matter of right.

Published range 3 to 9 points, stay 4 years from the date of the offence.
Fixed penalty uses 3 points.
Court A rows use 7 to 9 if there is no ban.
3 plus 3 existing revokes a new driver.

What do people get wrong about CD10?

That it is always 3 points. The range goes to 9. That it is dangerous driving. That is a DD code. That a course always wipes it. Only where a course is offered and completed. That it drops off at 3 years for every purpose. Totting stops after the third anniversary. The record can still print in year 4.

What happens if I ignore a careless driving allegation?

A collision you drove away from can add AC10 at 5 to 10 points. Ignoring the original due care case does not shrink it. A course offer, where one exists, expires. After that the 3 to 9 point range is back in court, not a £100 and 3 point offer.

If someone was hurt, expect court rather than a postal 3 points. Culpability A with harm 1 starts at Band D and 7 to 9 points. That 9 on top of 3 live points is a tot. Get advice early, not after the date for a plea.

A civil claim from the other driver is separate from CD10. Ignoring the criminal notice does not pause the claim. Telling an insurer 'it was only a scrape' when CD10 is on the way is how proposals go wrong.

How does CD10 affect work and a hire car?

A 3 point CD10 may be survivable in a job that allows 6. A 9 point CD10 is not. Give the points number, not only the letters. A hire company will see the same record. A company car does not absorb the code.

Dashcam from another driver is how many CD10s now start. Do not contact that driver to 'sort it'. The police process and the insurer process are the routes. A private deal that hides a collision can still leave you with AC10 if you failed to stop.

A Scottish due care case carries CD10 on the GB record. The 1 July 2025 Band A to Band D table is England and Wales. A Scottish CD10 still counts towards 12 and still revokes a new driver at 6.

How do I read CD10 on a licence check?

The points on a CD10 can be 3 or they can be 9. That spread is the whole point of giving the number. A 3 point lapse and a 9 point near-dangerous row are the same letters. They are not the same insurance conversation. Copy the points from the record, not from a memory of the fixed penalty table.

CD20 and CD30 are different letters. If the record says CD20, do not write CD10. If both exist, give both. A collision that also produced AC10 will show two codes. Give both.

A course that avoided a prosecution means there is no CD10. Do not add one. A course you failed means the code may still arrive. Check the record, not the booking email.

Read CD10, the date, and the points actually imposed.
Look for AC10 or another code from the same collision.
Add every date to the calculator.
On a proposal, give letters and points. Do not write only 'careless'.

Who do I contact about a CD10, and by when?

A course offer, a fixed penalty, or a court charge are three different letters. The date on each is the date that matters. A collision with injury is usually court. Get advice before the plea date. Culpability A with harm 1 is 7 to 9 points or a ban. That is not a £100 postal matter.

If you left the scene, expect AC10 as well. The police collision unit is the contact, not DVLA. A civil claim from the other driver goes through insurers. Do not ignore the criminal letter because you are dealing with the claim, or the other way around.

A driver improvement course, where one is offered, is completed with the provider on the notice. Fail it or skip it and CD10 proceeds. The course people cannot cancel a court date you have already been given.

Common questions

What is a CD10 endorsement?: CD10 is the DVLA code for driving without due care and attention. It carries 3 to 9 points and stays on the driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence. The points count towards the 12 point totting total for 3 years from the offence date, which is a different clock from the 4 year print period. Use the number on your record, which will sit inside the published range. The code is what a licence check shows an insurer or an employer.
How many points does CD10 carry?: 3 to 9 points, which is the range DVLA publishes. A fixed penalty, where one exists for the underlying offence, uses a single number inside that range. A court can use any number in the range, or can disqualify instead of points where the offence guideline allows it. A new driver is revoked at 6 points, so a code at the top of its range can cancel a new licence on its own.
How long does CD10 stay on a licence?: 4 years from the date of the offence. It counts towards totting for 3 years from the offence date. After that it can still be visible until the 4 year point. Drink and drug codes use conviction as the start of the 11 year stay. Most other codes, including this one if it is a 4 year code, use the offence date. Insurers ask about unspent convictions, which is not the same clock.
What does CD10 do to insurance?: No official code specific premium change is published. The Highway Code says insurance costs are likely to rise considerably after conviction for a serious driving offence.
Why does CD10 have 3 to 9 points?: Because the court guideline runs from a momentary lapse at 3 to 4 points up to driving close to dangerous at 7 to 9 points if there is no ban. The fixed penalty uses 3. DVLA publishes the full range. An insurer who sees CD10 without the points number does not know which row you were on. Give both.
Is CD10 the same as CD20 or CD30?: No. CD10 is due care and attention. CD20 is without reasonable consideration. CD30 is the combined wording. Points and stays are in the same family, 3 to 9 and 4 years from the offence. Use the letters on your record. Do not pick the one that sounds softer.
Will a driver improvement course avoid CD10?: Where a force offers a course instead of a prosecution, the notice is the source. This page does not publish a national course fee. A completed course that avoids points never creates CD10. A course you refuse or fail leaves the code in play. Not every careless case is offered a course.
Does CD10 apply in Scotland?: The letters and points sit on a Great Britain licence. A Scottish due care case is a Scottish court matter. The 3 year totting clock and the 6 point new driver rule still apply. The England and Wales Band A to Band D table on the offence page does not travel with the code.