How to Mail a Traffic Ticket In Less Than 5 Minutes

Each year, around 40 million of the 195 million licensed drivers in the U.S. get a traffic citation, and traffic stops are the most common type of interaction that most people have with police.

Most counties and municipalities in the country allow drivers who have been ticketed to avoid court by paying the traffic ticket early. While mailing a traffic ticket saves the driver the time and hassle of going to court to fight the ticket, there are certain circumstances when simply paying the ticket isn't the best course of action.

No matter where you received the traffic ticket, DoNotPay can assist. We’ve helped fight unjust tickets in:

Las Vegas
California
New York
Los Angeles

Read on to learn and how DoNotPay can help you dispute the citation if you have been wrongly accused.

Two Types of Traffic Tickets

Most states issue two different types of traffic tickets, those for moving violations and those for non-moving violations. Here is a brief look at each.

Moving Violation

Moving violations involve violations of the state, county, or city traffic laws that occur when the vehicle is in motion, such as driving over the posted speed limit or running a red light. Moving violations often carry higher penalties due to the risk of causing injuries or property damage to others. Often, if the offense is a felony, or results in bodily injury, the driver will not have the opportunity to mail the fine, but rather will have to answer to the charge in court.

Non-moving Violation

Non-moving violations feature violations of pertinent traffic laws that are present even when the vehicle is not in motion, such as parking where prohibited or having a broken taillight. Individuals often opt to pay non-moving violation citations by mail without even realizing that many of these tickets can be disputed.

Actions You Can Take Pertaining to Your Ticket by Mail

As noted, most non-moving violations can be disposed of by . Additionally, you can request an appeal of a parking ticket by mail by following the instructions on the citation for doing so.

In order to mail your traffic ticket, you should follow the instructions listed on the ticket. Pay careful attention to the payment types accepted, the address where the payment should be mailed, and any information (such as the ticket number) that you must provide along with payment.

Many agencies also accept in-person or online payments, and sometimes discounts are provided if you pay the fine within a certain period of time.

What You Can’t Do by Mail

If you wish to dispute a moving violation, chances are you are going to have to have either:

Go to court and enter a not guilty plea. The law enforcement agency that issued you the ticket will have to produce evidence to prove that you committed the violation.

Hire an attorney who can go to court on your behalf. Your lawyer can attempt to either get the case thrown out due to lack of evidence or improper procedures or negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutor whereby you plead guilty for a lesser offense in exchange for a lower fine or fewer points off your driver's license. Often, this deal carries the requirement that the driver also attends traffic school.

The reason you can pay the ticket by mail but you can't dispute it is that by paying the fine, you are pleading guilty to the offense and no further action needs to be taken by law enforcement.

However, if you're disputing the ticket with a not guilty plea, the agency who issued the ticket must be present in court to produce evidence to show you committed the offense, which will result in additional court costs that you could be responsible for if you lose the case.

What Happens If You Don't Pay Your Ticket?

While paying a ticket or fighting one are both time and effort-consuming actions, simply ignoring the ticket is not a good option. If you fail to pay a traffic ticket in time, you could face consequences such as:

Late fees in addition to the fines and costs imposed by the citation.
Collections actions were taken by the agency that issued the ticket.
A suspension of your driver's license, in some cases.
A warrant is being issued for your arrest.

The Problems With Mailing a Traffic Ticket

The problems with avoiding the time and trouble of disputing a traffic ticket by simply mailing in the check include the reality that you're pleading guilty to the offense by paying the fine. As a result of this guilty plea, you are allowing points to be assessed against your driver's license and putting yourself at risk of facing a license suspension and increased insurance premiums, as well as producing an entry on your driving record that can be seen by potential employers and others requesting your driver history.

How DoNotPay Can Help You Appeal Your Ticket in 120 Seconds

Gizmodo wrote about how DoNotPay successfully handled more than 160,000 traffic tickets. To get started on yours, simply follow these steps:

Log-in to DoNotPay and go to the Ticket Disputes category. Select the correct product based on your traffic ticket.
Upload a photo of your citation.
Provide us with some details on why you believe the citation issued is a mistake.
Select whether or not you want the letter mailed to the traffic ticket issuer on your behalf!
That's it! You'll receive an appeal letter that contains state vehicle codes to boost your case.