What is a LC20 endorsement?

LC20 is the DVLA code for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. 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 LC20 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 LC20 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 LC20 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.

Does a provisional driver always get LC20 for driving alone?

Driving a car unaccompanied, without L plates, or without a qualified supervisor is the usual LC20 fact pattern for a provisional holder. The published range is 3 to 6 points. Those points sit on the provisional and count towards the 6 point new driver total when you pass. They can also revoke you after you pass if they are still live and you add more.

Is LC20 the same as driving while disqualified?

No. Driving while disqualified is a BA code, 6 points, a different family. LC20 is driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence you hold, or with the licence conditions. A ban is not a category error. Do not relabel a BA10 as LC20 on a form.

Will LC20 put my insurance up?

No official LC20 premium percentage is published. A policy that required the right full licence may also have been invalid, which is a claims and IN10 problem as well as a points problem. Answer the questions about convictions and about previous insurance issues. Give the letters and the points.

Does LC20 apply in Scotland?

The LC20 letters and points are held on a GB licence. A Scottish licensing offence is a Scottish court matter. The 3 year totting window and the 6 point revocation threshold still apply in Scotland. Northern Ireland uses DVA. A foreign licence used in Great Britain still has to match the vehicle and the conditions of use.

Endorsement code

LC20: Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence

Summary: LC20 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 LC20 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 LC20 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 an LC20 mean on a driving licence?

LC20 is driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. DVLA publishes 3 to 6 points and a stay of 4 years from the date of the offence. Typical facts: the wrong category, a provisional holder without L plates or a qualified supervisor, a car when you only hold a motorcycle category, or driving after a medical revocation you have not resolved. It is not 'no licence at all' in every case. It is not in accordance with the licence you hold.

A 6 point LC20 revokes a clean new driver. A 3 point LC20 takes a new driver who already holds 3 to the line. Learner drivers who already carry points from a provisional can meet 6 the day they pass, then add LC20 by driving unaccompanied, and lose the full licence they just got.

LC20 often sits next to IN10, because a policy can require a full licence of the right category. Two codes from one stop is how 9 or 12 arrives.

LC20 stays 4 years from the offence and counts for 3. At 6 points it revokes a new driver and uses half of the 12 point total.

Example

A provisional driver, no supervisor, 6 point LC20 after passing theory only

Licence: Provisional car
Facts: Driven unaccompanied, no L plates
Points: 6, top of the LC20 range

Driving otherwise than in accordance with a provisional is LC20.
6 points on a provisional count towards the new driver total when you pass, and can already sit on the provisional record.
If you then pass the test with those 6 still live, the full licence can be revoked at once.
Insurance may also fail, which is a separate IN10.
A qualified supervisor and L plates are not optional extras. They are how a provisional is in accordance with itself.

LC20 is how a learner or a wrongly categorised driver collects 3 to 6 points without speeding. Combined with IN10 it is a totting case.

How does LC20 interact with insurance and a foreign licence?

A policy that requires a full UK licence of category B will not cover a provisional driver or a motorcycle-only licence in a car. That is how IN10 joins LC20. Tell the insurer the truth about what you hold.

A foreign licence that you are entitled to use in the UK still has to match the vehicle. Exchanging a licence and then failing to hold the right category is still LC20. The new driver rules can apply if you exchange and then pass a further test in Great Britain.

A Scottish licensing offence is recorded as LC20 on a GB licence. Northern Ireland uses DVA. A GB LC20 still counts towards 12.

Published range 3 to 6 points, stay 4 years from the date of the offence.
Wrong category, provisional rules, or a licence that does not match the vehicle.
Often paired with IN10 on the same stop.
6 points revokes a clean new driver.

What do people get wrong about LC20?

That a full motorcycle licence covers a car. It does not. That a pass certificate in the post is already a full licence you can use unaccompanied. Read what you actually hold that day. That a trailer category is optional if the car licence is full. Towing pages on this site deal with categories. LC20 is what you get if you ignore them. That it is a 'paperwork' code insurers ignore. No official percentage is published. The letters still print.

What happens if I ignore an LC20 notice?

Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence is often found at the same stop as no insurance. Ignoring one notice does not pause the other. 3 to 6 points plus 6 IN10 points is 9 to 12. That is a new-driver revocation and a possible tot from one weekend in a car you were not licensed for.

A provisional driver who keeps driving unaccompanied after the first stop is a second occasion. Points can stack. A pass certificate in the glovebox is not a full licence until it is one.

A medical revocation you have not resolved is still LC20 if you drive. Ignoring DVLA's medical letters does not restore the category. It adds this code when you are caught.

How does LC20 affect learners, foreign licences and towing?

Learner drivers need L plates and a qualified supervisor. Paying a friend in fuel to sit in is a separate offence for them if they are not allowed to take payment. For you it is still LC20 if the conditions of the provisional are broken.

A foreign licence that you are entitled to use still has to match the vehicle. A motorcycle-only foreign licence in a British car is LC20. Exchanging and then passing a further test can bring the new driver rules into play.

Towing without the right category is LC20 as well as a towing-law problem. The towing pages on this site deal with weights. This code is what DVLA prints if you drive outside the licence you hold.

How do I read LC20 on a licence check?

LC20 plus 3 or 6 points means the licence did not match the driving. A reader may ask whether you were a learner, the wrong category, or medically revoked. The code does not say. You may add the facts in a free-text box. You must still give the letters and the points.

If IN10 is also present, give both. Wrong licence and no insurance are how one weekend becomes 9 or 12 points. An employer who hires drivers will care about both.

A provisional who then passes still carries live LC20 towards the new driver 6. Check the dates before you celebrate a pass. Revocation can follow a pass if 6 are already live.

Note LC20, date, 3 or 6 points.
Note any IN10 from the same stop.
If you have since passed a test, still add the old dates into the new-driver arithmetic.
On a proposal, give the letters. Do not write only 'wrong licence, sorted now'.

Who do I contact about an LC20, and by when?

The notice is usually a fixed penalty or a court charge from the police. If you also have no insurance, that is a second notice. Deal with both dates. 3 to 6 plus 6 is 9 to 12 points from one stop.

If the problem is a medical revocation, DVLA's medical group is the contact to restore the category, not the fixed penalty office. Driving while that is unresolved is how LC20 is created. Stopping driving is the first step. Then the medical. Then the court or the penalty if you have already been caught.

A foreign licence question goes to GOV.UK's exchanging-a-licence material and to the police process for the offence already committed. The code, once imposed, is on the GB record. An employer who hired you as a full category B driver will want the letters and the facts of the category error.

Common questions

What is a LC20 endorsement?: LC20 is the DVLA code for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. 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 LC20 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 LC20 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 LC20 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.
Does a provisional driver always get LC20 for driving alone?: Driving a car unaccompanied, without L plates, or without a qualified supervisor is the usual LC20 fact pattern for a provisional holder. The published range is 3 to 6 points. Those points sit on the provisional and count towards the 6 point new driver total when you pass. They can also revoke you after you pass if they are still live and you add more.
Is LC20 the same as driving while disqualified?: No. Driving while disqualified is a BA code, 6 points, a different family. LC20 is driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence you hold, or with the licence conditions. A ban is not a category error. Do not relabel a BA10 as LC20 on a form.
Will LC20 put my insurance up?: No official LC20 premium percentage is published. A policy that required the right full licence may also have been invalid, which is a claims and IN10 problem as well as a points problem. Answer the questions about convictions and about previous insurance issues. Give the letters and the points.
Does LC20 apply in Scotland?: The LC20 letters and points are held on a GB licence. A Scottish licensing offence is a Scottish court matter. The 3 year totting window and the 6 point revocation threshold still apply in Scotland. Northern Ireland uses DVA. A foreign licence used in Great Britain still has to match the vehicle and the conditions of use.