Your License Is Your Livelihood
If you drive a yellow cab, a green Boro taxi, a black car, or for an app like Uber or Lyft, you carry two licenses that matter every single day: your New York State driver license and your New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) license. A traffic ticket can threaten both. That is what makes a moving violation different for a for-hire driver than for an ordinary commuter — a ticket an office worker might just pay can put your ability to earn a living on the line.
We represent TLC and for-hire drivers across the five boroughs. Below is how the system actually works in 2026, and what we do when your license is at stake.
Two Separate Point Systems, One Driving Record
This is the part most drivers do not realize until it is too late: the DMV and the TLC each keep their own points. A guilty plea or conviction on a moving violation feeds into both.
DMV points
The New York State DMV assigns points based on the violation. Reach 11 points within a 24-month window and your state license can be suspended. (That lookback was extended from 18 to 24 months effective February 2026, so older tickets now count for longer.) Here are the current point values that hit for-hire drivers most often:
| Violation (NY VTL) | DMV points |
|---|---|
| Speeding 1–10 mph over | 3 |
| Speeding 11–20 mph over | 4 |
| Speeding 21–30 mph over | 6 |
| Speeding 31–40 mph over | 8 |
| Speeding more than 40 mph over | 11 |
| Speeding in a work/construction zone | 8 |
| Following too closely (tailgating) | 4 |
| Red light, stop sign, or yield violation | 3 |
| Improper passing / unsafe lane change | 3 |
| Failure to yield right-of-way | 3 |
| Phone or portable electronic device (incl. texting) | 5 |
| Passing a stopped school bus | 8 |
| Reckless driving | 5 (also a misdemeanor) |
| Any other moving violation | 2 |
A few changes took effect February 16, 2026 that drivers should know about: passing a stopped school bus jumped from 5 to 8 points, and an alcohol- or drug-related conviction (DWI/DWAI) and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation under VTL 511 now each carry 11 points where they previously carried zero.
The Driver Responsibility Assessment
On top of any fine, hitting 6 points in 18 months triggers the DMV's Driver Responsibility Assessment: $100 per year for three years, plus $25 per year for each point above 6. For a working driver racking up tickets, that adds up fast.
TLC points
Separately, the TLC runs its own Critical Driver Program and Persistent Violator Program, which assign TLC points for convictions on your driving record. The TLC's thresholds are stricter and its window is shorter than the DMV's — accumulating points over a rolling 15-month period can trigger a mandatory remedial driving course, a suspension, or revocation of your TLC license. Because the TLC counts certain convictions even when the DMV total looks survivable, a driver can keep a state license but still lose the for-hire license that pays the bills.
The takeaway: the cheapest move on a ticket — just paying it — is a guilty plea that posts points to both systems.
TLC Summonses Are Not the Same as Traffic Tickets
A police officer writes a moving-violation ticket returnable to the DMV's Traffic Violations Bureau. The TLC issues its own summonses for rule violations, and those are heard at the OATH Hearings Division (the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, which absorbed the old TLC tribunal). Common TLC summonses include:
- Operating without the proper TLC license or vehicle license
- Picking up a street hail you are not authorized to accept, or refusing a lawful fare
- Using an electronic device while a passenger is in the vehicle
- Refusing service to a passenger with a disability or based on a protected characteristic
- Meter, lighting, or vehicle-condition violations
Ignoring a TLC summons is its own problem. Failing to appear can result in a default, additional penalties, and a hold on your license. If you received a summons, the worst thing you can do is nothing.
How Camera Tickets Fit In
Not every ticket carries points. Speed-camera and red-light-camera tickets are civil violations issued to the vehicle owner. They carry a fine but zero points and do not go on the driver's record the way an officer-issued ticket does. That distinction matters when you are weighing how hard to fight a particular notice — and it is one of the first things we sort out when reviewing what you have received.
What We Do for For-Hire Drivers
When you bring us a ticket or a TLC summons, here is the kind of work we do:
- Review the stop and the paperwork for defects — the officer's notes, the radar or pacing basis for a speed charge, and whether the elements of the violation were actually met.
- Appear for you at the Traffic Violations Bureau and at OATH so you are not losing a shift to sit in a hearing room.
- Cross-examine the issuing officer at a TVB hearing, where the officer must testify and the case can be dismissed if they do not appear or cannot establish the charge.
- Work to reduce points by addressing the charge that posts to both your DMV and TLC records, with your livelihood front of mind.
- Respond to defaults and holds and move to reopen where the rules allow it.
We cannot promise a particular result — no honest lawyer can, and New York's ethics rules forbid it. What we can tell you is that for a working driver, how you respond to a ticket is a decision about your income, not just a fine, and it deserves real attention before you plead.
If a moving violation or a TLC summons is threatening your license, call The Law Office of Anthony Sharnov, PC at 917-476-7666 or request a free consultation. We will look at exactly what you received, explain how it hits both your DMV and TLC records, and lay out your options.
