Paying or Contesting a Traffic Ticket in North Carolina

Every ticket has a court date. For 'waivable' offenses (such as minor speeding and equipment violations), the driver can pay the fine and court costs before the court date online (credit/debit card), in person at the courthouse in the county where charged, or by mail; paying is treated as a finding of guilt or responsibility and is reported to the DMV. Some cases can be reduced or dismissed online by the District Attorney's office through Citation Services. Otherwise, the driver may appear in district court and request a trial. If the driver does not appear, a Failure to Appear is issued after 20 days and the DMV suspends the license indefinitely until the case is resolved.

Unpaid or unanswered citations are handled by the court in the county where the citation was issued. If you fail to appear or fail to pay, NCDMV suspends your driving privileges indefinitely until you comply with the case; contact the court in the county where you received the citation or where you failed to pay, then contact NCDMV about reinstating.

A driver with 7 or more points (or 4 points within three years after reinstatement) may be offered a DMV driver improvement clinic; completing it deducts three points, only once in any five-year period. Court deferral or reduction programs (such as driving school in exchange for a reduced charge) vary by district and are handled with the prosecutor.

Grounds include 12 points in three years, excessive speeding (see speeding points), failure to appear or resolve a ticket (indefinite suspension after 20 days), impaired driving convictions (one-year revocation for a first conviction), a 30-day civil revocation upon a DWI charge with a test of 0.08 or more or a refusal, and chemical test refusal (12 months).