According to the Michigan Secretary of State, all new Michigan drivers, regardless of age, are placed on probation for a minimum of three years if they have not been previously licensed.

To successfully complete your probationary period, you must drive the last ten months of probation without a ticket, an at-fault crash, or a suspension of your driving privileges. If one of these events is entered on your driver record in the last ten months of probation, your probationary period will be extended until you can complete ten consecutive months of driving without an incident.

Each traffic violation posted on your driving record during probation will result in being contacted by the Secretary of State. If your driving record shows unsafe driving behavior, including speeding, stop sign violations, and accidents, you may be required by the SOS to undergo a driver assessment reexamination. At a driver assessment reexamination, a restriction, suspension, or combination of both may be imposed on your license.

After you successfully complete probation, the Secretary of State will continue to monitor you closely for two more years. This period of time is called post probation, and you will be subject to a driver assessment reexamination if you have nine or more points and an alcohol-related ticket or crash, or other at-fault crash.

Another important point to consider is that points placed on your driver record during probation or post probation are not automatically erased when probation and post probation end. Points remain on your driving record for two years from the conviction date.

If you accumulate 12 or more points on your driving record, you will be required to attend a driver assessment reexamination, regardless of whether those points were issued during probation or post probation.

When you accumulate 7 or more points there are more sanctions placed against you under the MI Driver Responsibility Law. The Driver Responsibility Program calls for monetary sanctions for drivers who:

• Accumulate seven or more points on their driving record (Category 1 Offenses)
• Are convicted of specific qualifying offenses (Category 2 Offenses)

Category 1 offenses are for moving violations and include speeding, improper turns, and following too closely. The Driver Responsibility fee is based on the number of points on the driving records, with a minimum of seven points required before a fee is assessed. The fees begin at $100 and increase by $50 for each additional point above seven points. Thus 9 Points is $200.

Drivers assessed a fee under Category 1 will be assessed only once per year. Category 1 fees will not be assessed in any year in which the number of points on a driving record falls below seven.

Certain offenses are classified as “qualifying offenses” (Category 2) and carry their own Driver Responsibility fee independent from the number of points on the driving record. Drivers convicted of qualifying offenses will be assessed a Driver Responsibility fee of $150, $200, $500 or $1,000 for two consecutive years. The amount is determined by the relative seriousness of the offense.

For example:

• Drunken driving or operating while intoxicated (OWI) - $1,000
• Reckless driving - $500
• Drove while license expired - $150

You will need to find out from the MI Secretary of State your exact penalties for receiving tickets and for accumulating 9 points during your probationary period.