ByIf I Pay My Traffic Ticket, Do I Still Have to Go to Court?
Getting a traffic ticket can be a real bummer, especially since they cost up to $1,000 per offense. Luckily, you have the opportunity to contest a traffic ticket by scheduling and showing up to a court hearing with the county if you believe the ticket was wrongly issued. If you instead accept the charges that came with your traffic ticket, you might be wondering, ""
Most of the time, you don't have to go to court if you plead guilty and pay your fine. However, if you believe your traffic ticket was wrongly issued, we recommend contesting it even without a lawyer with the help of DoNotPay!
We have helped overturn traffic tickets in NYC, Las Vegas, and cities in California such as San Diego and Los Angeles. Read on to learn more about how you can use DoNotPay to be rid of your traffic ticket problems quicker.
Common Types of Traffic Tickets
There are several types of traffic tickets you can be issued, and each county may have its own set of policies. These regulations can have a different impact on the traffic ticket that you received. Some of the most common types of traffic tickets across the board include:
- Red light ticket
- Speeding ticket
- Distracted or reckless driving ticket
- Cell Phone use while driving ticket
- Driving without a valid driver's license
- Driving without valid insurance
- Illegal U-turns
- Seat belt violation ticket
If you decide to pay the traffic ticket, . However, if you choose to pay in person, you can go to the courthouse any day before the date on your ticket. Otherwise, you can check the other payment options available.
Challenging a Traffic Ticket on Your Own
If you believe you were issued a traffic ticket in error, you can try contesting your traffic ticket on your own. In most counties, there are three ways you can challenge your traffic ticket:
| Online | By using the county's online traffic ticket portal. You can usually opt to plead guilty or not guilty on the same portal, and enter your reason for challenging the ticket right in the system. |
| By mail | By sending a written statement of your intent to contest the traffic ticket. Be sure to include your name, ticket number, and reasons for challenging the ticket. |
| In-person | By visiting a county clerk's office in the county where the ticket was issued. |
- Not every county is guaranteed to offer the above options for contesting a traffic ticket, so research the guidelines for challenging a traffic ticket in the county where the traffic ticket was issued before proceeding.
- Most people who want to challenge a traffic ticket struggle to list compelling reasons why they shouldn't be charged.
If you'd rather not go through the troubles of figuring out how to challenge a traffic ticket on your own and you want someone else to advocate on your behalf, DoNotPay is here to help!
Contesting a Traffic Ticket Quickly and Easily With DoNotPay
The Business Insider wrote about how DoNotPay successfully challenged 160,000 traffic tickets and saved users more than $4 million worth of fines. That’s a lot of unfair tickets brought to justice!
Ready to challenge the traffic ticket you received? Just follow these simple 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.
Once you submit your request, you can kick back and relax while we handle everything from here. Getting a traffic ticket can be stressful, but our goal is to make the very best case on your behalf to increase the odds that your challenge will be successful. We also want to help you save time and money.
How Else Can DoNotPay Help Me?
DoNotPay is the world's first AI Consumer Champion and we have already helped thousands of people just like you get more done in less time. Besides helping you fight traffic tickets and avoid fees, we can also assist you with:
- Filing an insurance claim
- Seatbelt ticket dispute
- Scheduling a DMV appointment
- Car lease negotiation
- Car registration renewal
- Challenging a parking ticket
- And so much more!
If your to-do list has you feeling overwhelmed and stressed, to see which items we can check off for you!