A totting-up ban is a court disqualification that normally applies when a driver reaches 12 or more penalty points for offences committed within three years.
A totting-up ban can be imposed when a driver reaches 12 or more penalty points for offences committed within three years.
It normally follows several offences, although one new offence can trigger the process if the driver already has penalty points.
The court looks at the date of the offences, not just the date of conviction. The Sentencing Council says points for offences more than three years before the current offence are not counted for a totting-up disqualification.
The usual minimum ban is 6 months.
These rules are set out in the Sentencing Council’s guidance on totting-up bans.
A driver can ask the court to reduce or avoid a totting-up ban. This is often called an exceptional hardship argument.
The test is strict. The court will not usually accept normal hardship as enough. The Sentencing Council says the hardship must be exceptional and supported by evidence. Losing a job may be considered, but it is not always enough on its own.
This is legal information, not legal advice. A driver facing court should get legal advice if they are unsure what to do.
TT99 is the endorsement code linked to a totting-up disqualification.
GOV.UK says TT99 stays on a driving record for four years from the date of conviction. It shows that the driver was disqualified because their penalty points reached 12 or more within three years.
The four-year TT99 driving-record period is separate from the rehabilitation period. In England and Wales, a driving endorsement is generally spent after 5 years for an adult or 2 years and 6 months for someone under 18. A driving disqualification itself becomes spent when it ends, but if an endorsement or another sentence was also imposed, the latest applicable rehabilitation date determines when the conviction becomes spent. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.
When applying for consumer insurance, disclose an unspent conviction only if the insurer asks about it. You do not need to disclose a spent conviction, even if asked.
A totting-up ban can make car or van insurance harder to arrange. Insurers may look at the TT99 code, the offences that led to the points, the date of the ban, the vehicle, the type of use, and the driver’s wider claims or conviction history.
Some insurers may decline to quote. Others may offer cover with a higher premium, a higher excess, or extra terms. This depends on the insurer and the full details.
When applying for insurance, you must answer the insurer’s questions with care. The Financial Ombudsman Service explains that insurers should look at whether the customer took reasonable care, whether the question was clear, and whether the insurer would have acted differently if it had known the right facts. This is part of its guidance on misrepresentation and non-disclosure.
MoneyHelper also says you only need to disclose convictions if asked, but failing to disclose them when asked can affect your insurance. Its guide explains how criminal and driving convictions can affect getting insurance.
Check your driving record before you apply for insurance. You can use GOV.UK to view or share your driving licence information, including penalty points and disqualifications.
You should also check how the insurer asks the question. Some insurers ask about motoring convictions. Some ask about bans, penalty points, endorsements, pending prosecutions, or fixed penalties. The time period can also vary.
If a question is unclear, ask the insurer or broker before buying. Under consumer insurance law, an insurer cannot take action for a misrepresentation if the customer took reasonable care. If the customer did not take reasonable care, any remedy depends on whether the error was careless or deliberate or reckless, whether it affected the insurer’s decision and what the insurer would have done with the correct information.
You must also have valid insurance before driving again after a ban. GOV.UK says third party insurance is the legal minimum for driving on UK roads.
We arrange insurance through insurers and work with drivers who may find cover harder to place.
A totting-up ban or TT99 conviction does not mean every insurer will offer cover. It also does not mean cover will always be available at a price that works for you. Each insurer has its own rules.
We may be able to help by taking the details clearly, checking what insurers need to know, and looking for suitable options through our panel. This can include convicted driver insurance, car insurance, and van insurance, depending on your needs.
Any quote, cover, excess, restriction, or exclusion will depend on the insurer and the policy terms.
A totting-up ban can happen when a driver reaches 12 or more penalty points within three years. The usual minimum ban is 6 months, but it can be longer if there have been recent disqualifications.
TT99 is the special code associated with the disqualification. It may affect insurance, so take reasonable care to answer the insurer’s questions accurately and check the policy’s cover, conditions and exclusions.
