What is a DG10 conviction?
DG10 is the endorsement code for driving or attempting to drive with a specified controlled drug in your body above the legal limit. The limits cover illegal drugs at effectively zero-tolerance levels and several prescription medicines at thresholds above normal doses — so DG10s reach well beyond the stereotype. Conviction means a ban of at least 12 months, an unlimited fine, and up to six months in prison, plus the endorsement that follows you around afterwards.
Sister codes matter for your paperwork: DG40 covers being in charge of a vehicle over the limit, and DG60 causing death by careless driving over the limit. The drink-driving equivalent is a DR10 — insurers treat the two families almost identically.
How long does a DG10 stay on your licence?
Eleven years from the date of conviction — the same extended clock as drink-driving codes, and nearly three times the four-year life of most endorsements. That's the licence clock. The insurance clock is separate: insurers ask their own question, most commonly about the last five years, and you must answer whatever period the question specifies honestly — no more, no less. After a drug-driving ban the DVLA may also make medical enquiries before returning your licence, so build that lead time into your plans.
Drug driving insurance: who will cover you?
Realistically: not most mainstream brands, especially in the first few years. Drug and drink convictions sit in the small group of codes that trigger outright declines rather than loadings from household names. The market that says yes is the convicted-driver specialist panel — insurers who price DG10s as routine business, ask precise questions, and quote on your whole picture rather than auto-refusing on the code.
How much more is insurance after drug driving?
Expect the heaviest loadings in years one and two after the ban, when the conviction is fresh and you may also be rebuilding a no-claims bonus from zero. There's no honest single figure — age, car, postcode and the exact offence all move it — but the trajectory is reliable: meaningful drops each year, a step down once you pass the five-year mark most questions cover, and near-normal pricing long before the code finally leaves your licence at eleven years.
The levers that help are the same honest ones as any conviction: a small low-group car, telematics to prove how you drive now, annual payment, and shopping the specialist market every single renewal — more in cheap convicted-driver insurance.
Declaring a DG10 to insurers
Answer the question you're asked, exactly as worded, every time you're asked it. If the form says five years and your conviction is six years old, you can honestly answer no; if it says ever, you answer yes at year ten. Guessing generously in your own favour is non-disclosure — the insurer can void the policy and refuse claims, and a voided policy is a worse mark than the DG10 itself. The wording traps and how to handle them are in our declaring convictions guide.