Paying or Contesting a Traffic Ticket in Hawaii

Respond within 21 days of the citation issue date. Options: admit and pay (by mail, in person at any district court, online through eTraffic, or by phone at 800-679-5949); deny and either request a hearing or submit a written statement; or admit but explain mitigating circumstances at a hearing or in writing. If you disagree with the judge's decision after a hearing or written statement, you may request a trial de novo or appeal within 30 days. If you do not respond within 21 days, the court may enter a default judgment; unpaid judgments go to collections after 90 or 180 days, and not paying a default judgment within 30 days places a 'stopper' on the driver's license record. A driver who cannot pay can ask the court to consider ability to pay, including community service.

Respond to a moving citation within 21 days of the issue date, or the court may enter a default judgment. Pay online through eTraffic, by phone at 800-679-5949, by mail to the District Court on the island where you were cited (use the preprinted envelope if you have one), or in person at any district court, by Visa or MasterCard, check or money order (no cash; $25 charge for dishonored payments). Unpaid default judgments go to a collection agency after 90 days ($500 or less) or 180 days (over $500), and failing to pay within 30 days can result in a driver's license stopper.

Hawaii courts may require a driver found to have committed a traffic violation to attend a driver retraining course, in addition to other penalties, and penalties for traffic infractions can include attendance at a driving school. No program was found that lets a driver dismiss a ticket by taking a course.

Suspension or revocation results from court sentences and administrative actions rather than points, including OVUII (impaired driving) and test refusal, excessive speeding (30 days for a first offense), and underage drinking and driving (180 days). Not paying a default judgment on a traffic citation within 30 days places a stopper on the driver's license record. Moving violations and convictions appear on the person's traffic abstract.