What is a CU30 endorsement?

CU30 is the DVLA code for using a vehicle with defective tyres. It carries 3 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 CU30 carry?

3 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 CU30 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 CU30 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.

Do two bald tyres mean 6 CU30 points?

Not ordinarily. The offence guideline says one set of points will normally cover multiple offences on the same occasion. CU30 is published as 3 points. Two tyres at one stop are usually 3 points and two fines. A second stop on a later date is a second 3. A new driver who already holds 3 is still revoked by this 3.

Does a company van give CU30 to the company?

Points attach to a human driver. The owner-company row on the offence page is a fine without points. The driver of that van can still receive CU30. Fleet cases often involve both. The company's fine does not absorb the driver's code.

Is an MOT advisory a CU30?

No. An advisory is not a conviction. CU30 is the endorsement after a defective tyre offence is dealt with. The legal tread minimum and the other defects that make a tyre illegal sit on the tyre tread pages. Replace the tyre. Do not wait for the code to tell you it was illegal.

Does CU30 apply in Scotland?

The CU30 letters and the 3 points belong on a GB licence. A Scottish tyre case is a Scottish process. A Scottish CU30 still counts for 3 years towards totting and still revokes a new driver at 6. The England and Wales Band B per-tyre pounds on the offence page do not travel with the code.

Endorsement code

CU30: Using a vehicle with defective tyres

Summary: CU30 carries 3 points and stays on the driving record for 4 years from the offence.

3 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 CU30 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 CU30 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 CU30 mean on a driving licence?

CU30 is using a vehicle with defective tyres. DVLA publishes 3 points and a stay of 4 years from the date of the offence. The range is a single 3. Two illegal tyres at the same stop do not ordinarily become 6 points. They become two fines and one set of 3 points. Those 3 points still take a new driver who already holds 3 to the 6 that revokes the licence, and a driver on 9 to the 12 that brings a ban.

The offence page is the per-tyre fine. This page is the code. An MOT advisory is not CU30. An illegal tyre in use on the road is.

A hire car and a company van still produce a driver's CU30. The owner-company fine on the offence page does not absorb the human driver's points.

CU30 is 3 points, 4 years from the offence, counting for 3. Small, and decisive on top of 3 or 9 live points.

Example

Two bald tyres, one CU30, new driver already on 3

Tyres: 2 illegal
Existing points: 3
CU30 points: 3, one set for the occasion

The guideline normally uses one set of 3 points for several tyres on the same stop.
3 plus 3 is 6.
A new driver is revoked.
The fines still stack per tyre. The points, ordinarily, do not.
A second stop a month later with the same rubber is a second occasion and a second 3.

CU30 is 'only' 3 points, and 3 points is enough. Two tyres do not double it on the same day. They do not need to.

How should I declare CU30?

Give the letters, the date and the 3 points. Mentioning two tyres without mentioning one set of points confuses an underwriter. No official premium percentage is published. A collision on illegal tyres is also a claims issue.

A Scottish defective tyre case is entered as CU30 on the GB record. The Band B pounds on the offence page are England and Wales. Northern Ireland uses DVA.

A space-saver used beyond its limit is a facts argument. If CU30 is on the record, that is the code you declare.

Published points 3 points, stay 4 years from the date of the offence.
One set of 3 points normally covers several tyres on the same stop.
3 plus 3 existing revokes a new driver.
The driver is endorsed even in a hire car or company van.

What do people get wrong about CU30?

That two tyres mean 6 points. Ordinarily they do not. That an advisory 3 millimetres is already CU30. The legal minimum is on the tyre pages. That a hire sticker is a defence. That a CU30 vanishes from insurance questions after 3 years. Totting stops after the third anniversary. The record can still print in year 4.

What happens if I ignore a defective tyre notice?

The tyres are still illegal. A second stop is a second 3 points. 3 plus 3 revokes a new driver and tot a driver who already holds 9. Booking a fitting for Friday does not cover Thursday's miles. The first notice is the cheap day.

An MOT the following week that fails on tyres is a separate process. It does not cancel CU30 already imposed. Replace the rubber, then take the test.

A hire car you returned with bald tyres can still leave CU30 on your licence if you were the driver when stopped. The hire firm's owner-company fine, if they are prosecuted, does not absorb your 3 points.

How does CU30 affect fleets, motorcycles and trailers?

Fleet drivers are still endorsed. Walk-around checks exist to stop this code. A van with two illegal tyres is two fines and, ordinarily, one set of 3 points for the driver. The company can be fined on Band C without taking points.

Motorcycle tread rules are on the tyre pages. CU30 is still the code if the tyre is defective. A trailer tyre on the road can be a defective tyre. The £2,500 per tyre maximum on the offence page is for a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes. No maximum is invented here for heavier vehicles.

A Scottish defective tyre case appears as CU30 on the GB record. The Band B pounds are England and Wales. A GB CU30 still counts towards 12.

How do I read CU30 on a licence check?

CU30 is 3 points. If a check shows 6, look for a second occasion or a second code. Two tyres on one stop should not ordinarily double the points. Two stops should. Tell an employer it was 3 points, and tell them if there were two fines, so they do not think you are hiding a 6.

A company van's owner-company fine does not appear on your licence. Your CU30 does. Do not point at the company's court result as if it cancelled your code. It did not.

Year 4 can still show CU30. The calculator may already exclude it from the current total. Answer the question that was asked.

Read CU30, offence date, 3 points.
If two dates exist, add both.
On a proposal, give the letters and the points. Mention two tyres only as context, not as a claim that the points doubled.

Who do I contact about a CU30, and by when?

Replace the tyres first. Then deal with the notice. The garage is not the appeal body. The police or the fixed penalty office named on the paper is. A second stop before the fitting is a second 3 points. That is the deadline that actually matters on the road, even if the paper date is later.

A hire firm or a fleet workshop should be told the same day if you were in their vehicle. Their owner-company case, if any, is separate. Your CU30 is on your licence. They cannot take the 3 points off you by paying a Band C fine.

An MOT station can fail the car on tyres the next week. That does not cancel CU30 already imposed. It is a second process. Take the new tyres to the test. Take the notice to the office named on it.

Common questions

What is a CU30 endorsement?: CU30 is the DVLA code for using a vehicle with defective tyres. It carries 3 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 CU30 carry?: 3 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 CU30 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 CU30 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.
Do two bald tyres mean 6 CU30 points?: Not ordinarily. The offence guideline says one set of points will normally cover multiple offences on the same occasion. CU30 is published as 3 points. Two tyres at one stop are usually 3 points and two fines. A second stop on a later date is a second 3. A new driver who already holds 3 is still revoked by this 3.
Does a company van give CU30 to the company?: Points attach to a human driver. The owner-company row on the offence page is a fine without points. The driver of that van can still receive CU30. Fleet cases often involve both. The company's fine does not absorb the driver's code.
Is an MOT advisory a CU30?: No. An advisory is not a conviction. CU30 is the endorsement after a defective tyre offence is dealt with. The legal tread minimum and the other defects that make a tyre illegal sit on the tyre tread pages. Replace the tyre. Do not wait for the code to tell you it was illegal.
Does CU30 apply in Scotland?: The CU30 letters and the 3 points belong on a GB licence. A Scottish tyre case is a Scottish process. A Scottish CU30 still counts for 3 years towards totting and still revokes a new driver at 6. The England and Wales Band B per-tyre pounds on the offence page do not travel with the code.