CU80 — Using a Mobile Phone While Driving

Six points and £200 — and for new drivers, a revoked licence. If the ticket is flawed, this is the one to challenge.

CU80 covers breach of the requirements as to control of the vehicle — overwhelmingly, using a handheld mobile phone or device at the wheel. Since 2022 the law bans virtually any handheld use: calls, texts, photos, scrolling a playlist, even while stationary in traffic.

The penalty is severe: £200 and 6 points at fixed-penalty level, with no course option in most forces. Six points revokes a new driver’s licence outright and puts any driver halfway to a totting ban — so where the evidence is thin (was the phone actually in hand? was the vehicle being ‘driven’?), a CU80 is often worth contesting properly.

Why CU80 hits harder than speeding

  1. £200 fixed penalty and 6 points — double the speeding penalty on both counts.
  2. New drivers: 6 points inside the 2-year probation revokes the licence — back to a provisional and retests.
  3. Six points is halfway to a 12-point totting disqualification.
  4. Handheld use is banned even when stationary at lights or in queues.
  5. Exceptions are narrow: genuine 999 emergencies, contactless payment at drive-throughs, and properly secured hands-free use.

The officer says I was holding my phone but I wasn’t — what now?

CU80 cases frequently rest on an officer’s observation alone. If the account is mistaken — you were holding something else, or the phone was cradle-mounted — those are genuine defences. Get the evidence assessed before responding.

Can I do a course instead of taking 6 points?

For CU80, generally no — most forces don’t offer an educational course for phone offences. That makes the accept-or-challenge decision more consequential than for a speeding ticket.

I passed my test last year — do I really lose my licence?

If 6 points land within 2 years of passing, DVLA revokes the licence automatically; you go back to a provisional and must pass theory and practical again. It’s the strongest reason to have a CU80 checked rather than accepted by default.

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