CU80 : breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone

Checked 17 July 2026 · How we check our figures

What it means

CU80 reads wider than its reputation: the table says breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, and the phone is only the leading example. The 3 to 6 spread is historic in practice, since the phone route has carried a flat 6 since 2017, and 6 is the loaded number: half the totting distance in one entry, and the whole distance inside the first two years of a licence, where revocation follows without a courtroom. The mechanics live in the mobile phone guide.

Points and how long it stays

3 to 6 points.

On the licence for 4 years from the date of the offence.

The CU codes are the vehicle's own offences: brakes, tyres and steering under s. 41A RTA 1988 (CU10, CU30, CU40), dangerous condition and dangerous loads under s. 40A (CU20, CU50), and the control-of-vehicle code CU80 alongside. All carry 3 points on the 4-year offence clock, CU80 alone ranging to 6. The arithmetic multiplies before it settles: each defective item is its own offence, so four worn tyres are four charges, though for offences from the same occasion the court normally endorses only the highest points, s. 28 RTOA 1988, unless it decides otherwise. An MOT certificate does not answer any of it, it speaks to the test day, not the roadside. And where a defect is minor, the stop can end in a vehicle defect rectification notice, proof of repair in place of a penalty (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22). The points arithmetic sits in the penalty points calculator at /fines/penalty-points.

The usual route

The fixed penalty for the hand-held phone case is 200 pounds and 6 points (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-17).

If it goes to court

In court the fine runs to 1,000 pounds with a discretionary ban (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-17); the money mechanics sit in the fine bands guide.

Authority

gov.uk, Penalty points (endorsements), checked 2026-07-17

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