Cengolio · Fines · Codes · DR70
DR70 : failing to co-operate with a preliminary test
Checked 22 July 2026 · How we check our figures
What it means
DR70 is the smallest drink code, 4 points for failing to co-operate with a preliminary test at the roadside, s. 6 RTA 1988. It rarely stands alone: where the evidential specimen is also refused, DR30 or DR60 takes over, and where a reading follows, DR10 does. Its standalone habitat is the stop that went no further, and 4 points for declining a screening breath is the table's reminder that the roadside request is not optional.
Points and how long it stays
4 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
A fine up to level 3, 1,000 pounds, with a discretionary ban; set against what the evidential codes carry, this is the shallow end.
Read next
Calculator: the code decoder, every code on the official list →
Authority
gov.uk, Penalty points (endorsements), checked 2026-07-22