If you have pulled your driving record and found a row of abbreviations reading VIOL/DT CONV/DT SEC/VIOL DKT/NO DISP COURT VEH/LIC, these are not a code or a charge. They are the column headings of a table on your driving record abstract. Each one labels a column, and the entries underneath belong to individual violations.
Here is what each column means.
| Heading | Stands for | What appears in that column |
|---|---|---|
| VIOL/DT | Violation Date | The date the offense is alleged to have happened, not the date you were charged or appeared in court. |
| CONV/DT | Conviction Date | The date a court entered a conviction. Often blank if the case was dismissed or is still open. |
| SEC/VIOL | Section Violated | The specific section of the vehicle code you were cited under, such as a speed or equipment statute. |
| DKT/NO | Docket Number | The court’s file reference for the case. This is the number to quote when contacting the court. |
| DISP | Disposition | How the case ended, or that it has not ended yet. |
| COURT | Court | Which court handled the matter. |
| VEH/LIC | Vehicle / License | The vehicle or license class involved, which matters if you hold a commercial license. |
The common misreading
Most confusion comes from splitting the string in the wrong places. Read as running text, “VIOL/DT CONV/DT” looks like it might mean “violation, date of conviction,” and “DKT/NO DISP” looks like “no disposition.”
Neither is right. Every heading follows the same pattern of a field name, a slash, and an abbreviation: VIOL/DT is Violation Date, CONV/DT is Conviction Date, DKT/NO is Docket Number. Once you see the pattern, the whole row reads as a table header rather than a sentence.
Reading your own record
Underneath the headings, each row is one violation. Working left to right tells you when it happened, whether it resulted in a conviction, what you were cited under, and where the case sits now.
A blank CONV/DT is significant. It usually means no conviction has been entered, either because the case was dismissed or because it is still open. It is not the same as the violation being removed from your record.
What the DISP column is telling you
Disposition values vary between states, but the common ones fall into a few groups:
- Convicted or guilty: the case is closed and the violation stands against your record.
- Dismissed: the case ended without a conviction.
- Pending, open, or no disposition: the court has not finalized the matter. This is the one worth acting on, because an unresolved case can lead to a failure to appear and a license suspension.
- Bail forfeiture: in some states, paying the fine is recorded this way and counts as a conviction.
The exact wording differs by state, so check the abbreviation key that came with your abstract. Most DMVs publish one.
Where these records come from
This column layout appears on driving record abstracts issued by state motor vehicle departments. The format and the exact abbreviations are set by each state, so a record from one state will not always match another. The seven headings above are the ones most commonly seen together.
If something looks wrong
If a row shows a violation you do not recognize, a conviction you did not expect, or a case still showing open that you believed was settled, the docket number in the DKT/NO column is your starting point. Contact the court named in the COURT column and quote it. Errors on driving records do happen, and they are corrected through the court or the DMV that issued the record, not by the DMV’s customer service line alone.
This article explains what the abbreviations on a driving record mean. It is not legal advice. If a violation on your record affects your license, your insurance, or your employment, speak to a traffic attorney licensed in the state that issued the record.
