You need to get the 10 points in one season. All points are zeroised every year on 30th November in preparation for the following season. 

If you look at the relevant rules it appears that (6.2.2) to become a 3rd cat you need at least 10 points whilst holding a 4th cat licence. Unlike promotion to 2nd or higher cats there is no requirement that they be gained 'during one season'. So it looks as though the rule makers intended that your last season points apply. However I understand that that is not how BC interpret this rule. It is easy to see why there is a lot of confusion over this. 

Technical Regulation 6.2.2 is quite clear that you need 10 points to upgrade to a 3rd cat licence. It also does not put any time limit on how long you take to upgrade (unlike all the other upgrades) - it can take 10 years if that's how long it takes to get 10 points... I have not heard any contradictory stories from BC that you have to get such points in one season. As a BC Commissaire I have always advised that you can take as long as you like to get those 10 points. If anyone has actual evidence that BC are not adhering to their own regs then please let us know and I will take it up with them. There is no room for any other interpretation as suggested. 

Greg Rorke 706093 Loads of examples of this being misinterpreted in SW region. I didn't realise this was the rule (despite reading it !) . This should really be addressed in the rankings as this is where most people look. I've just looked at the last 3 years in the SW region and found a few who should be 3rds ,I'm sure they would like to be moved up.

With the greatest of respect Rule 6.2.2 doesn't refer to 'how' & over what period you achieve those 10 pts, it just states that in order to hold a 3rd cat licence you have to have 10pts which is not quite the same. My experience is that everyone I have ever raced with has had to gain their points in one season to achieve 3rd status. Mine were always zeroed on Nov 30 & I had the conversation with commissaires at the Hillingdon winter series who stated that pts have to be accrued in one season.

Worry less about getting points and more about learning to race and handle a bike. Racing is getting very dangerous because peoples priorities are all wrong. 

The last comment is a little sanctimonious. No one on this thread has been discussing getting points at any cost. The originator simply wants to know what the rules are. Every sport has rules and in fairness to participants they need to be applied consistently. The responses to this thread reveal that the rules are interpreted in different ways by different people and, thought this is a thread on the BCF site, the governing body has not seen fit to offer any clarification. I have acquired 8 points this year and 10 in the last 3 years. It would be quite useful to know whether I should be entering 4th cat races to get an additional 2 points by the end of the season; or whether that would, in a sense, be cheating, because I am a 3rd cat already and no longer eligible to ride 4th cat events. I don’t mind which the answer is (in very many ways I would like to remain a 4th cat for quite a while longer) but I want to play by the same rules as everybody else (and will not therefore seek an individual ruling in place of a clear statement that applies to all). Since most people seem to take the view that the points need to be acquired in one season, and BCF have not contradicted that, I shall be continuing to ride 4th cat events. I am not going to ask BC for an individual ruling. I would be embarrassed to claim 3rd cat status in circumstances where others had not.