AARTO demerit points, explained

What AARTO is

AARTO — the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences — is the system that handles traffic fines and, from 1 September 2026, demerit points. The idea is simple: repeat offenders accumulate points, and enough points cost you your licence.

How points work

• Points are added when you pay an infringement fine, an enforcement order is issued, or a court convicts you. Paying the fine does not stop the points.
• Points scale with severity — a minor infringement like failing to stop at a line is around 2 points, while driving without a valid licence is about 6 points.
• They fall away over time: one point every three months with no new infringement, until you're back to zero.

The thresholds — and why learners face a stricter one

A fully licensed driver may hold up to 15 points. A learner driver's threshold is just 6 points — low enough that a single serious infringement can put your provisional driving at risk. Go over the threshold and your licence is suspended for three months for every point above the limit. Three suspensions and the licence is cancelled — you'd have to apply and test all over again.

How to keep your record clean

There's no trick — just lawful driving. Because points melt away at one per three months, a stretch of clean driving brings you back to zero and keeps you well under the threshold. The same knowledge that passes your learner's test — right-of-way order, stopping rules, speed limits — is what keeps demerit points off your record once you're on the road. Practise the rules of the road to build both at once.

Is this on the learner's test?

AARTO itself isn't part of the K53 learner's question paper — but it's the law you'll be driving under the moment you pass, and a few AARTO questions appear in K53 Mentor's rules practice so you know where you stand. Treat this as "know the law" material rather than exam cramming.