California Good Driver Discount: who qualifies and how much it saves (2026)

How much the Good Driver Discount saves

At least 20%. Every insurer must set its rates so a good driver pays at least 20% less than the lowest rate available to a comparable driver who is not a good driver. The discount is applied after the full premium is built, including any policy fees. The law sets a floor, not a cap.

Sources: Insurance Code 1861.02(b)(2) ("at least 20 percent below the rate the insured would otherwise have been charged for the same coverage") and 10 CCR 2632.12(a). Because each insurer starts from its own approved rates, the dollar value of the discount differs from company to company.

Who qualifies: the tests in the Insurance Code

You qualify if, for the past three years, you have been licensed, have no more than one violation point and have not been principally at fault in an accident that injured or killed someone, and if you have no DUI-related conviction in the past ten years. A narrow rule on dismissed tickets also applies.

How violation points are counted

Most moving violations add one point. DUI, reckless driving, hit-and-run and driving on a suspended license add two. For the Good Driver test, an accident you were principally at fault for that damaged only property also counts as one point. One point keeps you eligible; a second disqualifies you until one is more than three years old.

• Points count by conviction date, within three years before the policy's effective or renewal date (10 CCR 2632.13.1(b)(1)).
• Convictions made confidential are not counted. The first traffic violator school conviction in any 18 months is confidential and carries no point, except for commercial license holders, violations in a commercial vehicle, or violations worth more than one point (Vehicle Code 1808.7).
• Violations in other states count as if they happened in California (10 CCR 2632.13.1(b)(2)).
• Only one conviction per arrest or citation counts (Vehicle Code 12810(j)).

Licensed in another state or another country

Years licensed anywhere count toward the three-year test. If your record relies on a license from outside the United States or Canada, the law presumes you qualify once you have held a U.S. or Canadian license for at least 18 months and met the other tests during that time. An insurer can rebut that presumption.

Sources: 10 CCR 2632.13.1(a) (licensed "in any jurisdiction") and Insurance Code 1861.025(d) (18-month presumption). Bring proof of your earlier license when you ask for quotes.

The DUI rule: ten years, not three

A DUI-related conviction blocks the Good Driver Discount for ten years, far longer than the three-year window for points and accidents. The look-back runs from the later of January 1, 1999 or ten years before you apply or renew, and covers Vehicle Code 23140, 23152 and 23153, felony DUI under 23550 or 23566, and Penal Code 191.5 and 192.5(a).

Source: Insurance Code 1861.025(c). A DUI also adds two points under Vehicle Code 12810(b). See car insurance after a DUI in California.

Your rights under Proposition 103

If you qualify, you can buy a Good Driver policy from the insurer of your choice, and that insurer cannot refuse to sell it to you. If another driver in your household is the reason you do not qualify, you can buy a Good Driver policy that excludes that person. No prior insurance cannot, by itself, block the discount.

• Must-sell rule: Insurance Code 1861.02(b)(1).
• Household driver exclusion: 10 CCR 2632.12(b).
• No-prior-insurance rule: Insurance Code 1861.02(c).
• Motorcycles are the exception: an insurer may refuse a Good Driver motorcycle policy unless every named insured has held a motorcycle license for three years (Insurance Code 1861.02(d)).

Check your driving record before you shop

Print your own California driver record from DMV for $2 online or $5 by mail. It lists convictions for three, seven or ten years, departmental actions and accidents, which are the items the Good Driver test looks at. If something is wrong, DMV takes corrections on form DL 207.

Source: DMV driver record request. Check the conviction dates: a point more than three years old at your renewal date no longer counts.

If an insurer did not apply the discount

Ask which test you failed and which record date the insurer used. If a point will pass the three-year mark before your next renewal, ask to be re-rated at that renewal. For an unresolved problem, the California Department of Insurance takes calls at 1-800-927-4357.

The three-year window is measured from the policy's effective or renewal date (10 CCR 2632.13.1). Department of Insurance phone number as listed by the DMV.

Good Driver Discount vs. the low-cost program’s good-driver price

California Low Cost Auto (CLCA) uses its own good-record rule and prices drivers continuously licensed three years about 35% below newer drivers in every county: $448 instead of $694 in Los Angeles County. That is CLCA's own schedule, separate from the Proposition 103 discount in the regular market.

CLCA's good record means no more than one at-fault property-damage accident or one point in three years, no at-fault injury or death accident in three years, and no felony or misdemeanor Vehicle Code conviction (CLCA FAQ; rate calculator, October 9, 2026). See CLCA prices in every county.

Another discount California law requires: drivers 55 and older

If you are 55 or older and the principal driver, finishing a DMV-approved mature driver improvement course earns an insurer-set percentage off your liability premium for three years. Retake the course every three years to keep it. The law requires the discount but does not fix its size.

Source: Insurance Code 11628.3. For more ways to lower a premium on a tight budget, see low-income car insurance in California.

Why California has no safe-driving app discount

California's safe-driving discount is this one, set by law. Insurers can't price you on how you drive through an app or plug-in device: the state's rating rules let an insurer use a device only to verify the miles you drive, and not to collect or store where the car goes. A device can lower your price through verified low mileage, not through braking or speed scores.

• An insurer "shall only use a technological device to collect information for determining actual miles driven" and "shall not use a technological device to collect or store information about the location of the insured vehicle", except for emergency road, theft, map or travel services (10 CCR 2632.5(c)(2)(F)).
• If an insurer also offers estimated mileage, joining a verified-mileage program is voluntary. Any discount for it must rest on demonstrated cost savings or accuracy, and insurers may offer pay-per-mile pricing (10 CCR 2632.5(c)(2)(F)).
• Annual miles driven is the second of the three mandatory rating factors, after your driving safety record (Insurance Code 1861.02(a)).

California Good Driver Discount: frequently asked questions