According to the information we found from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), points for offences other than drink/drugs offences count for totting up purposes for three years from date of conviction and you may apply to have them removed after four years.

If you are convicted of a motoring offence, the court can endorse your driving licence with penalty points or order a period of disqualification from driving.

The details are entered on your driving record and your paper driving licence. In addition to paying a fine or fixed penalty, your driving licence will be endorsed with a penalty ranging from three to eleven points or a period disqualification depending on the seriousness of the offence.

The amount of time in which an endorsement remains on your licence depends on the type of offence committed. The date in which the endorsement starts also depends on the type of offence.

If you incur 12 or more penalty points within a period of three years you will be liable to be disqualified under the 'totting-up' system. Information on your driving entitlement and endorsements are sent to the courts and police on request.

Endorsements must remain on a licence for 11 years from date of conviction if the offence is:

• drinking/drugs and driving
• causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink/drugs
• causing death by careless driving, then failing to provide a specimen for analysis

Endorsements must remain on a licence for four years from date of conviction if the offence is:

• reckless/dangerous driving
• offences resulting in disqualification
• disqualified from holding a full licence until a driving test has been passed

Endorsements must remain on a licence for four years from the date of offence in all other cases. The endorsement offence code schedule has 3 to 6 points listed for speeding offenses.

If you want to remove any expired endorsements from your driving licence (e.g. penalty points for speeding), then you must apply to the DVLA using the relevant application form and fee. We have read that the fee is around 20 pounds. Some users have commented: The fee is £17.50 as of 02/04/2008.

For more information on this topic you can contact the DVLA. To get a quote for motor vehicle insurance in the UK, click here.