Paying or Contesting a Traffic Ticket in California

The court mails a courtesy (reminder) notice explaining the due date, the amount, and options, which can take 30 days or longer; if it does not arrive, contact the court in the county where the ticket was issued. Options are to pay the ticket (a guilty or no-contest result, sometimes called forfeiting bail), take traffic school if eligible, correct a fix-it ticket with a signed certificate of correction, ask the court for a lower fine or payment plan, or plead not guilty and ask for a trial. Online payments are made on the county court's website. Missing the due date can bring added fees; contact the court promptly if there was a good reason.

Traffic tickets are paid to the court in the county where you got the ticket, usually online through that court's website, by mail or in person (use the county lookup on the self-help traffic page, or Find My Court). The court mails a reminder or courtesy notice with the amount due (bail), the due date and your options, including traffic school eligibility; it can take 30 days or longer, and if it does not arrive, contact the court. The court will never text, call or email you to ask for payment.

A court may order or permit a noncommercial Class C or M driver to attend a licensed traffic violator school after paying the fee or bail or pleading guilty or no contest. When the driver finishes by the deadline, the point stays on the record but is hidden from insurance companies, and the conviction does not count toward negligent-operator status. Traffic school is not allowed for violations in a commercial vehicle, DUI, hit-and-run, reckless driving, and certain other serious offenses. The court's courtesy notice says whether a ticket is eligible; a driver can still ask for traffic school after choosing a trial, and the judge decides.

Suspensions include NOTS point suspensions (a one-year probation with a six-month suspension; a violation of probation adds six months, and a third violation of probation brings a one-year revocation), failure to appear in court on a traffic ticket while on NOTS probation, being in a collision without proper insurance (up to four years, regardless of fault), failing to file a required collision report, and DUI or test refusal. After a DUI-related suspension, reinstatement requires a $125 reissue fee and proof of insurance (SR-22).