What is a CU80 endorsement?

CU80 is the DVLA code for breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone. It carries 3 to 6 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 CU80 carry?

3 to 6 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 CU80 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 CU80 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 is the phone fixed penalty 6 points if CU80 starts at 3?

DVLA publishes a range of 3 to 6. The current out of court disposal for a hand-held phone uses the top of that range, 6. A court can still impose 3, or can disqualify instead. Do not assume a CU80 on someone else's licence was a 3 point ticket. Read the points column, not only the letters.

Will CU80 revoke a new driver on its own?

Yes, if 6 points are imposed inside 2 years of the first pass. The threshold is 6. The current phone fixed penalty is 6 points, so a clean new driver who accepts it is at the line. A 3 point CU80 on a clean new licence would not revoke on its own. Check the number on the notice, not the range on the table.

Is CU80 only for mobile phones?

The DVLA description is a breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone. Phones are the usual search. The letters on the licence are CU80 either way. An insurer who asks for the code wants the letters, not a story about a sat nav cradle.

Does the England and Wales phone fine apply to a Scottish CU80?

The Band B and Band C figures on the phone offence page are England and Wales Sentencing Council figures. The CU80 points on a GB licence still count towards 12 and still revoke a new driver at 6, wherever in Great Britain the offence was committed. Northern Ireland uses DVA.

Endorsement code

CU80: Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone

Summary: CU80 carries 3 to 6 points and stays on the driving record for 4 years from the offence.

3 to 6 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 CU80 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 CU80 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 CU80 mean on a driving licence?

CU80 is a breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone. DVLA publishes 3 to 6 points and a stay of 4 years from the date of the offence. The current fixed penalty for a hand-held phone is 6 points, which is the top of that range. A court can still use 3, or can disqualify instead of points. The driving offence page for a phone is the sentence calculator. This page is the code that then sits on the record.

Six points is the new driver revocation line. A clean new driver who accepts the phone fixed penalty is revoked. A driver with 6 live points who then takes CU80 at 6 is at 12 and facing a totting ban. That is why this code is more dangerous than its 3 to 6 range looks on the table.

CU80 is not only phones. The DVLA description is wider: control of the vehicle. A phone is the search people type. The letters on the licence are what the insurer sees.

CU80 stays 4 years from the offence and counts for 3. At 6 points it revokes a new driver on its own and uses half of the 12 point totting total.

Example

A driver with 6 live SP30 points who then takes a 6 point CU80

Existing: SP30, 6 points, offence 14 months ago
New code: CU80, 6 points
Totting threshold: 12 points in 3 years

Both offence dates sit inside 3 years.
6 plus 6 is 12, which is the totting line.
A ban of at least 6 months is required unless the bench accepts exceptional hardship.
TT99 then records that ban for 4 years from conviction.
A new driver would already have been revoked at the first 6.

CU80 at 6 points on top of 6 live points is a totting case, not 'just another phone ticket'. The 6 month minimum ban is the published floor.

How should I declare CU80 to an insurer or employer?

Answer the unspent conviction questions. No official CU80 premium percentage exists. A driving job that needs a clean licence can end at 6 points. Tell the truth about the letters. Relabelling it as 'using a sat nav' on a form that asks for the code is a lie.

Scotland puts the same letters on a GB licence. The Band B court fine on the offence page is England and Wales only. Northern Ireland uses DVA. A GB CU80 still counts towards 12.

A company phone is not a different code. A hire car is not a different code. The driver is endorsed.

Published range 3 to 6 points, stay 4 years from the date of the offence.
Current phone fixed penalty uses 6 points.
6 points revokes a clean new driver.
Court may disqualify instead of points.

What do people get wrong about CU80?

That it is still 3 points. The published phone offer is 6. That a new driver can absorb it. They cannot. That going to court will cut it to 3 as of right. The guideline's published points are 6 unless the court bans. That the CU80 record clears after 3 years for insurance. It can still print in year 4.

What happens if I ignore a phone-use notice?

The published offer is 6 points. Ignoring it does not cut it to 3. It can take you to court, where Band B or Band C starts well above the £200 offer on a £500 a week income, and the points are still 6 unless the court bans. A new driver who ignores it still faces revocation once 6 points are imposed.

If the notice is a section 172 request because a camera saw a phone, failing to name the driver is MS90 at 6 points on top. That is 12 from two codes and a totting ban, from one camera event plus silence.

Hands-free arguments belong in a hearing with the facts, not in an unanswered letter. A cradle does not legalise holding the phone to unlock it. A work WhatsApp is not a different code.

How does CU80 affect driving jobs and hire cars?

Six points is enough to breach many employer policies and is also the new driver revocation line of 6 points inside 2 years of the first pass. A taxi, private hire or HGV job can end on CU80 alone. Tell the operator before the next licence check. A hire car contract that requires a clean licence can refuse you at the desk. The code is on the driver, not on the car's owner. Six live CU80 points on top of six live speeding points is 12 and a totting ban of at least 6 months.

A company mobile phone policy that 'allows' handheld use is not a defence. The criminal offence is the offence. The employer can still discipline you as well. Two punishments can sit on the same facts.

A Scottish phone offence is recorded as CU80 on the GB record. The Band B court fine on the offence page is England and Wales. A Scottish CU80 still revokes a new driver at 6 points and still counts towards 12.

How do I read CU80 on a licence check?

CU80 plus 6 points is the current phone offer. CU80 plus 3 points is possible if a court used the bottom of the range. Read the points column. An employer who hears 'phone ticket' assumes 6. If you have 3, say 3. If you have 6, say 6. Do not let them guess.

The 4 year print and the 3 year tot both run from the offence date. Year 4 can still show CU80 on a check while the calculator's current total excludes it. Say which question you are answering: current points, or what is on the record.

A ban instead of points means the court disqualified. That is a different line on the record. Tell an employer you were banned, not that you 'took points instead' when you did not.

Note CU80, the date, and whether points or a ban were imposed.
If points, note 3 or 6.
Run the dates through the codes calculator with everything else that is live.
Tell a driving employer the same day the notice is accepted, not at the next appraisal.

Who do I contact about a CU80, and by when?

The notice is a fixed penalty offer or a court summons. The published offer is 6 points. A new driver who accepts it is revoked at 6 points. Get advice before the printed date if you are inside 2 years of a first pass, or if you already hold 6 live points and this 6 would tot you to 12.

A work phone is not a different office. The employer may also run a disciplinary process. That is employment, not DVLA. Tell them. The criminal deadline and the employment deadline can both sit on the same week.

After the points are on the record, DVLA is not the appeal body. A hearing had to be requested on the notice. Once accepted, the code prints for 4 years from the offence and counts for 3. An insurer who asks later wants the letters, the date and the 6, not a story about a cradle.

Common questions

What is a CU80 endorsement?: CU80 is the DVLA code for breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone. It carries 3 to 6 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 CU80 carry?: 3 to 6 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 CU80 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 CU80 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 is the phone fixed penalty 6 points if CU80 starts at 3?: DVLA publishes a range of 3 to 6. The current out of court disposal for a hand-held phone uses the top of that range, 6. A court can still impose 3, or can disqualify instead. Do not assume a CU80 on someone else's licence was a 3 point ticket. Read the points column, not only the letters.
Will CU80 revoke a new driver on its own?: Yes, if 6 points are imposed inside 2 years of the first pass. The threshold is 6. The current phone fixed penalty is 6 points, so a clean new driver who accepts it is at the line. A 3 point CU80 on a clean new licence would not revoke on its own. Check the number on the notice, not the range on the table.
Is CU80 only for mobile phones?: The DVLA description is a breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone. Phones are the usual search. The letters on the licence are CU80 either way. An insurer who asks for the code wants the letters, not a story about a sat nav cradle.
Does the England and Wales phone fine apply to a Scottish CU80?: The Band B and Band C figures on the phone offence page are England and Wales Sentencing Council figures. The CU80 points on a GB licence still count towards 12 and still revoke a new driver at 6, wherever in Great Britain the offence was committed. Northern Ireland uses DVA.