Cengolio · Fines · Codes · DR40
DR40 : in charge of a vehicle while alcohol level above limit
Checked 22 July 2026 · How we check our figures
What it means
DR40 is the sleeping-it-off code: in charge of a vehicle with alcohol above the limit, s. 5(1)(b) RTA 1988, the keys present and no journey yet. The statutory exit is s. 5(2), no likelihood of driving while still over the limit, and that is where these cases are actually fought, on where the keys were and when the morning would have started. The 10 points arrive on the ordinary 4-year clock, the ban is discretionary, and 10 is a loud number: one flat 3 within 3 years reaches the totting line.
Points and how long it stays
10 points.
On the licence for 4 years from the date of the offence.
The DR family is the 11-year shelf of the endorsement system, but only half of it sits there. DR10, DR20, DR30, DR31 and DR61 stay on the record for 11 years from conviction, not from the offence, though third parties such as insurers can see an 11-year code only through its first 5 years, where a 4-year code shows throughout (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22). The in-charge and roadside codes, DR40, DR50, DR60 and DR70, run on the ordinary 4-year clock from the offence, or from conviction where a court disqualifies (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22). The driving variants carry a mandatory ban of 12 months or more, 3 years for a second drink offence inside 10, so their points column is mostly theoretical; the others carry fixed points instead, 10 for the in-charge entries and 4 for the roadside test. High readings, refusals and a second drink-related disqualification inside 10 years add the high risk offender scheme, where the licence returns only after the DVLA is medically satisfied. The tables, the course that shortens the ban and the courtroom mechanics sit in the drink driving guide at /fines/guides/drink-driving.
The usual route
There is no fixed penalty at this end of the table; the charge is heard in person, as the drink driving guide sets out.
If it goes to court
The ceiling is 3 months and 2,500 pounds with a discretionary ban (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22); mechanics in the drink driving guide.
Read next
Calculator: the code decoder, every code on the official list →
Authority
gov.uk, Penalty points (endorsements), checked 2026-07-22