Paying or Contesting a Traffic Ticket in Georgia

Traffic citations are handled by the court listed on the citation. Failing to appear in court or respond to a citation leads to a DDS failure-to-appear suspension; it can be avoided by resolving the citation with the court before the suspension's effective date.

Traffic citations are resolved with the court handling the citation. If a driver fails to appear in court or respond to a citation, the Department of Driver Services (DDS) suspends the license 28 calendar days after receiving notice; resolving the citation with the court before that date means no fees are due to DDS. Most Georgia courts send releases to DDS electronically.

Two options use a DDS-certified defensive driving (driver improvement) course. Points reduction: after completing the course, a driver can submit the original certificate to DDS to reduce points by up to 7, once every 5 years; this does not undo a points suspension already imposed. Zero-point order: if the course is completed after the violation and before the case is resolved, the court can report the conviction with no points assessed, once every 5 years. The conviction still posts to the record, and neither option avoids a mandatory suspension.

DDS suspends licenses for refusal of a chemical test, failure to appear or respond to a citation, non-payment of child support, non-payment of the Super Speeder fee, safety responsibility, and medical reasons, and must suspend after convictions such as DUI, vehicular homicide or serious injury by vehicle, fleeing police, hit and run, racing, driving uninsured, and driving while suspended. Drivers under 21 are also suspended for reckless or aggressive driving, speeding 24 mph or more over, passing a stopped school bus and any 4-point offense. Reinstatement fees are generally $210 ($200 online or by mail), or $310/$300 for some repeat suspensions.