What does reckless driving actually cost in NC?
Reckless driving carries a court-set fine, $191 in court costs, 4 DMV licence points and 4 SDIP insurance points, which sets a +90% statutory surcharge on your base premium for 5 years.
Calculate your true cost for this charge
What the law attaches to this charge
| Line | Value | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | Court-set | waiver list 12/2024 |
| Court costs (infraction) | $191 | G.S. 7A-304 |
| DMV licence points | 4 | G.S. 20-16 |
| SDIP insurance points | 4 | NCDOI SDIP |
| Statutory surcharge factor | +90% | NCRB A-25-4 |
| Experience period | 5 years | NCRB A-25-4 |
| Appearance | Court appearance | AOC waiver list |
| Prayer for Judgment Continued | Eligible | G.S. 20-4.01(4a) |
5-year window if convicted on/after 7/1/2025 (4+ pts, not speeding)
This charge at a $1,000 premium
Worked as a conviction as charged, with no other violation in the window.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fine | Court-set |
| Court costs | $191 |
| Surcharge per year | $900 |
| Experience period | 5 years |
| Surcharge over the window | $4,500 |
| True cost | $4,691 |
Statutory example: a $1,000/yr base premium. The surcharge is a percentage of your own base premium, so put your number in the calculator to see your dollars. NCRB A-25-4
The charges closest to this one
Tickets are often written for one of these instead, and the reduction paths run between them.
- Hit and run (property damage only)Court-set · 4 SDIP pts
- Passing a stopped school busCourt-set · 4 SDIP pts
- Failure to report accidentCourt-set · 1 SDIP pt
Questions about reckless driving
- How much does reckless driving cost in North Carolina?
- Reckless driving carries a court-set fine plus $191 in court costs under G.S. 7A-304. The larger number is the insurance surcharge: +90% of your base premium for 5 years, which on a $1,000 premium is $4,500.
- How many points does reckless driving carry in NC?
- This charge carries 4 DMV licence points under G.S. 20-16 and 4 SDIP insurance points under the Safe Driver Incentive Plan. The two totals are separate: DMV points can suspend a licence at twelve within three years, SDIP points set the surcharge percentage.
- Can a Prayer for Judgment Continued be used for reckless driving?
- A PJC is available on this charge. If granted, no judgment is entered, so no SDIP points and no surcharge attach — worth $4,500 on a $1,000 premium in this worked case. One PJC per household per five years is the practical effect, and only a judge decides.
Educational estimate, not legal advice — see how we calculate this. A PJC is granted or refused by a judge; every figure here assumes conviction as charged unless it says otherwise.
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The SDIP surcharge schedule
North Carolina does not average insurance increases — it files them. The Safe Driver Incentive Plan sets one percentage per SDIP point total, and that percentage is applied to the base premium of the highest-rated vehicle on the policy. NCRB A-25-4
| SDIP points | Surcharge | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +40% | Verified |
| 2 | +55% | Verified |
| 3 | +70% | Verified |
| 4 | +90% | Verified |
| 5 | +110% | Unverified — pre-revision ladder |
| 6 | +135% | Unverified — pre-revision ladder |
| 7 | +165% | Unverified — pre-revision ladder |
| 8 | +200% | Verified |
| 9 | +225% | Unverified — pre-revision ladder |
| 10 | +260% | Verified |
| 11 | +300% | Unverified — pre-revision ladder |
| 12 | +340% | Verified |
Rows for 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 points are the pre-revision ladder still published on attorney sites and are flagged unverified in our rules file. A total only lands on one of them when points sum across more than one violation, so a single-ticket calculation is unaffected. NCRB A-25-4
How the true cost is calculated
True cost = fine + court costs + (SDIP factor x base premium x window years)
Court costs on an infraction are $191. G.S. 7A-304 The window is five years only when the conviction falls on or after 2025-07-01, the SDIP points total four or more, and the offence is not speeding over the posted limit; otherwise it is three years, and at-fault accidents are always three. NCRB A-25-4
A worked example
55 in a 35 — twenty over — Twenty over, but the actual speed is not above 55, so no suspension attaches.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fine | $50 |
| Court costs (infraction) | $191 |
| SDIP points | 2 |
| Statutory surcharge factor | +55% |
| Surcharge per year on a $1,000 base premium | $550 |
| Experience period | 3 years |
| Surcharge over the window | $1,650 |
| True cost | $1,891 |
Every figure in this table is produced by the same engine the calculator above runs, so the example and your own result can never disagree.
Statutory example: a $1,000/yr base premium. The surcharge is a percentage of your own base premium, so put your number in the calculator to see your dollars. NCRB A-25-4
DMV points, and how they differ
DMV points sit on the licence; SDIP points set the insurance surcharge. The two totals are different numbers for the same ticket.
| Violation | Fine | DMV points | SDIP points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speeding 6–10 over (limit under 55, speed ≤55) | $15 | 2 | 1 |
| Speeding 11–15 over (speed ≤55) | $30 | 2 | 2 |
| Speeding 16–25 over (speed ≤55) | $50 | 2 | 2 |
| Running a red light | $50 | 3 | 1 |
| Running a stop sign | $50 | 3 | 1 |
| Following too closely | $35 | 4 | 2 |
| Unsafe movement / other moving violation | $35 | 2 | 1 |
12 points within 3 years (8 within 3 years after a reinstatement); 1st suspension up to 60 days, 2nd up to 6 months, later up to 1 year. G.S. 20-16(c),(e)
Questions people ask
- What does a North Carolina ticket actually cost?
- The fine is the small part. A conviction adds $191 in court costs under G.S. 7A-304, and then the statutory insurance surcharge — a set percentage of your own base premium, charged every year of the experience period. On a $1,000 premium, that surcharge is usually several times the fine.
- Why is North Carolina different from other states?
- In most states an increase after a ticket is a carrier decision, so published figures are averages. In North Carolina the increase is a filed statutory schedule: a fixed percentage tied to the points your conviction carries. That means the number is computable in advance rather than estimated from national averages.
- What are SDIP points?
- SDIP points are insurance points under the Safe Driver Incentive Plan, and they are not the same as DMV licence points. SDIP points set the surcharge percentage — one point is +40% and twelve points is +340%. DMV points sit separately and can suspend a licence at twelve within three years.
- Does a Prayer for Judgment Continued erase the surcharge?
- A PJC, if granted, means no judgment is entered, so no surcharge and no SDIP points attach — unless someone in the household already used a PJC for a moving violation inside the lookback window. One PJC per household per five years is the practical effect. A judge decides; nobody can promise one.
- Is the surcharge charged for three years or five?
- Five years applies only when the conviction is on or after 2025-07-01, the SDIP points total four or more, and the offence is not speeding over the posted limit. Everything else, including at-fault accidents, stays on the three-year experience period. The window multiplies the annual surcharge, so it often matters more than the fine.
- When does a speeding ticket suspend a licence in North Carolina?
- Conviction of more than 15 mph over the limit while actually driving faster than 55 mph, or of any speed above 80 mph, carries a mandatory 30-day suspension under G.S. 20-16.1. It is the actual speed that counts, not the posted zone, and 15 over exactly does not trigger it.
Every figure above is quoted, sourced, and dated on the methodology page — including what we do not claim.
Rules verified