How to find and pay a traffic ticket

A traffic ticket ("citation") is handled by a court, not by the police officer who wrote it and not by the DMV. The single most useful thing to know is which court has your case — everything else follows from that.

Deadline

Usually printed on the ticket; often 21–30 days

Where to pay

The county or municipal court named on the ticket

If you ignore it

Late fees, a suspended licence, and a warrant in some states

Not sure it exists

Search the court's online portal by your licence number

1. Read the ticket

The citation lists the court name, the citation number, the violation code, and a date by which you must respond. On many tickets the fine amount is not printed — you have to look it up online or wait for a courtesy notice in the mail.

Note also whether the ticket requires you to appear in court rather than simply pay. Some violations must be answered in person, and treating one of those as a payable fine means missing a mandatory appearance.

2. Look the citation up online

Most courts publish a search page where you can enter the citation number, your driver's licence number, or your name and date of birth. It can take one to three weeks after the stop for a citation to appear in the system.

If nothing is found and your deadline is close, call the court clerk. Never assume a ticket disappeared because it is not online yet.

3. Choose how to respond

You normally have three options:

1. Pay the fine. This is an admission of guilt. The violation goes on your driving record and can raise your insurance premium for three to five years.
2. Take traffic school. Many states let you keep the violation off your public record by paying the fine plus a fee and completing an approved course, usually online. There are limits on how often you can do this — often once every 18 months.
3. Contest the ticket. You either appear in court or, in some states, submit a written declaration. If you lose, you pay the fine; you generally do not get a larger fine for having tried.

The insurance consequence is usually larger than the fine, which is what makes option 2 worth the extra fee where it is available. Contesting a ticket, or reducing what it costs you works through the choice in detail.

4. If you cannot afford the fine

Do not simply not pay. Almost every court can:

• put you on an instalment plan
• reduce the fine based on your income (ask for an "ability to pay" determination)
• convert the fine to community service
• give you more time, if you ask before the deadline

Ask the clerk before the deadline. Once the case goes to collections the options shrink and fees are added.

5. Interpreters are free

Courts receiving federal funds must provide language assistance at no cost. Request an interpreter when you receive the hearing date rather than on the day, and do not bring a family member to interpret in a hearing that affects your record.

6. Parking tickets are different

Parking citations are issued by a city or a parking authority, not by a court, and they are paid to that city. They do not add points to your licence, but unpaid ones can block your vehicle registration renewal and eventually lead to towing — see parking tickets, towing and the boot.

7. Camera tickets

Red-light and speed-camera notices arrive by post weeks after the event. The rules differ sharply by state: in some, the notice carries the full weight of a citation; in others, it is unenforceable unless served in person, and in many it carries no licence points at all. Check your state's rule rather than assuming either way — red-light and speed camera notices covers how, and how to tell a genuine notice from the fakes that copy the format.