Driving Ban Solicitors
Specialist Driving Ban Solicitors for Drivers in England and Wales — expert help with totting-up bans, exceptional hardship and disqualifications, from £25/month.
Losing your licence is different from every other motoring penalty. A fine stings and points fade — but a ban can cost you your job, your business, and the school run in one stroke. And for most Drivers facing one, the outcome is decided by what they do in the weeks before the hearing, not on the day itself.
DriveProtect has been putting specialist Driving Ban Solicitors in Drivers’ corners since 2009. If your licence is at risk right now, call 01843 232 791. If we’re on the phone, leave a message and we’ll come straight back to you.
How Drivers End Up Banned
Totting up — 12 points in 3 years. The most common route to a ban, and the one that catches careful, ordinary Drivers. Reach 12 points within three years and the Court must normally disqualify you for at least six months. Most totting-up cases are built from everyday speeding offences — three points here, three points there.
An instant ban for one offence. For serious speeding — broadly 30mph or more over the limit — Magistrates can disqualify you on the spot, typically for 7 to 56 days, instead of giving points. At those speeds, walking into Court unrepresented is a gamble with your licence.
Mandatory bans. Drink driving, drug driving and dangerous driving carry an automatic ban of at least 12 months on conviction. Here the argument is usually about the evidence and the procedures Police followed — strict rules that, when broken, can change the outcome entirely.
New Drivers — revoked at just 6 points. If you passed your test less than two years ago, 6 points doesn’t mean a ban — it means DVLA revokes your licence and you go back to learner status, retests and all. Two ordinary offences are enough. We cover this in detail in revoked driving licence — what to do next.
Exceptional Hardship — The Argument That Can Keep You Driving
Here’s what most Drivers on 9 points don’t know: a totting-up ban is not automatic. The Court has the power not to disqualify you — or to ban you for less than six months — if losing your licence would cause “exceptional hardship”.
What tends to count: losing your job or your business; employees who’d lose theirs with it; family members who depend on you driving — care duties, medical appointments, children with no other way to school. The strongest arguments are about the hardship to other people, not just you.
What doesn’t count: inconvenience. Longer commutes, expensive taxis, awkward logistics — Courts hear that every week and disqualify anyway. The difference between “hardship” and “exceptional hardship” is precisely where a specialist earns their keep.
Preparation is everything. A successful argument is built from evidence — employment letters, accounts, medical documents, witness statements — assembled before the hearing and presented by someone who does this for a living. Two things to know going in: if you succeed, the points stay on your licence (you just keep driving), and you can’t use the same grounds again within three years. You usually get one shot at it.
Does it work? One of our Members was clocked at 110mph and facing a 56-day ban. With the right barrister and a properly prepared argument, he walked out with a 7-day ban, no points — and his business intact.
One Membership, Three Layers of Protection
1. Free specialist advice on any driving offence. Whatever has put your licence at risk, Members can put it to a specialist Road Traffic Solicitor by phone — paid for by DriveProtect. If you’re on 6 or 9 points, that call is worth making before the next letter arrives, not after.
2. Full Court cover for speeding charges. Most totting-up bans are triggered by a speeding offence — and for speeding, Membership covers representation at Court by our retained specialists, with a low fixed excess instead of open-ended fees.
3. Heavily discounted specialists for everything else. For offences outside standard cover — drink driving and the like — Members use the same specialist Solicitors at heavily discounted rates. No searching, no guesswork about who’s genuinely good.
Is Your Licence on the Line Right Now?
Don’t reply to anything — and don’t plead anything — until a specialist Road Traffic Solicitor has seen your paperwork. That’s exactly what DriveProtect Membership is for.
- £25/month Membership — compare that to £2,000+ for a typical case going direct. One Driver who went direct paid £12,000.
- Access to retained specialist Solicitors who argue exceptional hardship cases every week.
- No hourly rates from DriveProtect — a fixed court excess if representation is needed.
Tell us what happened and we’ll quickly tell you your options:
What Happens After You Get In Touch
1. Get in touch. Send the form above or call 01843 232 791 — whichever is easier.
2. Speak to a real person. Lou from our Member team calls you back, same day wherever possible.
3. Specialist review. Your paperwork goes straight to the specialist Solicitor for review.
4. Clear advice before you reply. You’ll know exactly where you stand — and what to say — before anything goes back in the post.
Going Direct vs DriveProtect
Most Drivers only ever face a ban once — which is exactly why hiring a solicitor directly is so hard to get right, and so easy to overpay for.
Going direct to a solicitor
- Usually expensive — hourly rates start around £250/hour and go much higher
- An exceptional hardship case typically costs £1,500–£2,000+ in fees
- Costs can escalate quickly once a case heads to Court
- You may not recover your costs even if you win
- Hard to know who genuinely specialises in licence-saving cases
DriveProtect
- One joining fee + £25/month
- Access to our retained specialist Solicitors
- No hourly rates from DriveProtect
- A fixed court excess if representation is needed
- Built specifically for speeding and road traffic cases
Results From Real Members
Facing a 56-day ban after being clocked at 110 mph, I thought my business was finished. Thanks to DriveProtect and their brilliant barrister, I walked away with a 7-day ban, no points, and my livelihood intact.
— Paul Sanderson 7-day ban, no pointsFacing up to 9 speeding points, I thought I was in serious trouble. DriveProtect’s lawyer had all charges withdrawn—zero points, no fines, no ban. What felt like a disaster turned into a complete turnaround.
— Emmanuel P. Gaisie Zero points, no banAn NIP issued to my company seemed like big trouble. DriveProtect’s expert lawyers had the case withdrawn, saving us from penalties. Even better, we were covered personally despite the policy not being in the company’s name.
— David Hall Case withdrawnDriving Ban FAQs
Is a ban automatic once I reach 12 points?
No. The Court must normally disqualify for six months, but a properly prepared exceptional hardship argument can reduce the ban or avoid it altogether. What is automatic is the Court hearing — you can’t deal with a totting-up case by post.
What counts as exceptional hardship?
Genuine, serious consequences — usually to people other than you: staff who’d lose jobs, dependants who’d lose care or schooling, a business that would fold. Inconvenience and expense don’t qualify. The strength is in the evidence, which is why preparation with a specialist matters so much.
If I avoid the ban, do the points disappear?
No — the points stay on your licence; you simply aren’t disqualified. That also means one more offence puts you straight back in front of the Court, and you can’t rely on the same hardship grounds again within three years. Treat a successful argument as your warning shot.
I passed my test recently — what happens at 6 points?
Within two years of passing, 6 points means DVLA revokes your licence — you’re back to a provisional, and both tests must be retaken. It’s not a Court ban, so the exceptional hardship route doesn’t apply; the fight is about the offences themselves, before the points land. See what to do if your licence is revoked.
How much does a driving ban solicitor cost?
Going direct, an exceptional hardship case typically costs £1,500–£2,000+, with hourly rates from around £250. DriveProtect Membership is £25/month, with free specialist phone advice on any offence and fixed, known costs where representation is needed. Full breakdown: what a speeding ticket lawyer costs.