About Citations

About Citations

You will get a courtesy notice 45 - 60 days after you get your citation (ticket). This notice tells you about your options. If you do not get a courtesy notice by the date written at the bottom of your ticket, you must contact the court by phone, in person, or by mail. See the  Traffic Courthouse locations page .

Before contacting the court, please check traffic records on the  Case Info website  . (You can not take care of your citation until it is in the Court's computer system.)

Your courtesy notice will have a due date. You must exercise your options by that date. If you do not get a courtesy notice by the date at the bottom of your ticket, you must contact the court by phone or in person. See the  Traffic Courthouse locations page .

Before contacting the court, please check the  Case Info website  to be sure your citation is in the Court's computer system.

You can forfeit (pay) bail. To do this, send your payment and a copy of the citation or the courtesy notice to the courthouse (see the  Traffic Courthouse locations page ), or  pay online on the  Traffic E-Payment website  . If you pay by mail, make your check or money order payable to the Clerk of Superior Court. When the Court receives your bail, your case will be closed. It will show up as a conviction on your DMV record.

Read more about paying for your ticket on the  Bail Forfeiture (Paying Fines) page .

Your courtesy notice says whether you can pay for the violation or if you have to show "proof of correction." This is also explained on your citation. If you show proof of correction and pay a dismissal fee, the court will dismiss the relevant charge.

You may also want to visit the  Traffic School page  on this website.

o correct a registration violation, you can do any of the following:

  • Show a valid Registration card for the cited vehicle. The card must be valid now, or must have been valid on the date of the violation.
  • Ask DMV or a police officer to sign-off your citation.
  • Show an "official" receipt from an identified junk dealer that proves the vehicle was reduced to scrap (not just sold)

Note: The Court cannot accept:

  • a DMV "Suspense Receipt", or
  • a DMV "Certificate of Non-operation"

For more information on the law, see  VC4000(a)  .

Show a valid "hard copy" of your California Driver’s License to the court, or ask DMV or a police officer to sign-off your citation. You must send the signed off citation to the Court along with a check for the dismissal fee. For more information on the law, see  CVC 12951(a)  .

Show a valid "hard copy" of your California Driver’s License to the Court, or ask DMV or a police officer to sign-off your citation. You must send the signed off citation to the Court along with a check for the dismissal fee. For more information on the law, see:  CVC 12500(a)  .

You can:

  • Get a police officer to sign-off your citation
  • Get an "official" receipt from an identified junk dealer.
  • For "Smog Devices", get a certified Smog Station to give you a certificate or sign-off. You must show the Smog Station’s certification number.

Note: For insurance violations, see the  "Insurance Violations"  section.

Your courtesy notice will say if you can go to traffic school. See the  "Traffic School"  section of this website.

Ask the clerk for a court date for an Arraignment Hearing. The Commissioner can explain your options. Or you can schedule (set) a Court Trial to contest the citation. See the  Traffic Hearings, Trials and Appeals section  of this website.

See more pages in this section about citations: