Virginia traffic tickets.
In Virginia, 86 mph on a 70 mph interstate is a crime, not a ticket. This is the state most likely to turn a speeding stop into a criminal record.
How it works in Virginia.
General District Court, traffic division, with the DMV running a demerit point system.
For drivers eighteen and over: eight points in twelve months brings an advisory letter, twelve brings a mandatory driver improvement clinic within ninety days, and eighteen points in twelve months or twenty four in twenty four months brings a ninety day suspension plus the clinic plus six months of probation afterwards.
Demerit points
Expire two years from the date of the violation
Three point convictions
Stay three years
Speeding convictions
Stay five years
Reckless driving and DUI
Stay eleven years
86 mph on a 70 mph interstate is a crime.
Virginia Code 46.2-862 makes you guilty of reckless driving if you drive twenty miles per hour or more over the limit, or in excess of 85 miles per hour regardless of the speed limit.
That means 86 mph on a 70 mph interstate is a Class 1 misdemeanour: up to twelve months in jail and a $2,500 fine, a licence suspension of ten days to six months, six demerit points, eleven years on your DMV record, and a permanent criminal record. It is not prepayable, and it applies to out of state drivers in exactly the same way. Georgia treats that same 85 mph as a $200 administrative fee.
Common violations and what they carry.
Speeding, 1 to 9 over
Five years on the record
Three demerit points.
Speeding, 10 to 19 over
Five years on the record
Four demerit points.
Failure to obey a traffic signal
Three years on the record
Four demerit points.
Following too closely
Three years on the record
Four demerit points.
Failure to yield
Three years on the record
Four demerit points.
Reckless driving, in any form
Va. Code 46.2-862
Eleven years on the record, and a permanent criminal record. Twenty or more over the limit, or in excess of 85 mph regardless of the limit.
Two clocks run at once. Demerit points expire two years from the date of the violation, but the conviction stays far longer: three years for three point convictions, five years for speeding, and eleven years for reckless driving and DUI.
What actually helps here.
Improper driving under 46.2-869
Where the degree of culpability is slight, a reckless driving charge can be reduced to improper driving, a traffic infraction with the fine capped at $500, three points, and three years on the record.
Changed in 2025: chapter 357 now lets the Commonwealth's Attorney reduce the charge before the court's decision, rather than leaving it to a judicial finding.
The Driver Improvement Clinic
Eight hours, capped at $100, and it credits up to five safe driving points to offset your balance.
It does not delete points or the conviction. The voluntary clinic frequency limit is not verified.
The court date printed on the summons
To prepay instead, by post at least seven days before, or online by 3:30pm the business day before. Prepayment is a guilty plea, and reckless driving is not prepayable at all.
Yes as a matter of law, but check the judge
An attorney may appear for misdemeanours and infractions. In practice individual judges often require you to appear on reckless driving, which is local practice, not a statewide rule.
Read this first.
How it works
You send us the ticket. That is your entire job. Four steps and a flat fee in writing.
What we fight
Speeding, red light, cell phone, reckless driving, suspended licence and CDL tickets.
Send us the ticket
Free review, no obligation, and a straight answer about whether fighting it is worth your money.
Send us the Virginia ticket.
Free review, no obligation, and a straight answer about whether fighting it is worth your money. Representation in Virginia is provided by an attorney licensed in Virginia.