How do I know how much my fine is? Why doesn’t it list an amount on the ticket I received?

Often, an officer will hand you a ticket that doesn’t have an exact fine amount listed. That’s because determining how much your fine will be is pretty complicated - take a look at California’s Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule to get an idea of what’s involved.

Your base fine is determined by what your violation was and where it was committed, but additional penalties and surcharges are tacked on to every fine, and additional fees may apply if you have related prior convictions or you pay your fine late.

Check your ticket for instructions on how to look up what your fine amount is. You can also contact your court online, by phone, or in-person to find out.

My violation is marked “non-correctable.” Does that mean I can’t take traffic school?

A correctable violation, commonly known as a “fix-it” ticket, can be issued for things like a broken taillight or an expired license or registration. You may be able to get your fix-it ticket dismissed by showing proof of having corrected the issue to the court and paying a dismissal fee. You can’t take traffic school for these types of tickets, since they’re not moving violations.

If your ticket is marked “non-correctable,” you may be able to take traffic school to have it dismissed. To find out, contact your court to pay your fine and request traffic school. Then, enroll in any traffic school course approved by the California DMV, and complete it before the due date the court gives you.

I forgot to change my address on my driver's license, so the officer wrote down my old address on the ticket. What do I do?

You are responsible for paying your fine amount whether or not you receive a courtesy notice in the mail, so your first step is to contact the court. They can update your address in their records so that any courtesy notices are sent to the correct address.

Then, make sure you change your address with the DMV. You can submit your address change online. Since the DMV doesn’t give you a new license when you change your address, they suggest carrying your new address with your license, written or typed on a small piece of paper with the date and your signature.

After I take traffic school, how do I know if the court dismissed my ticket?

If you take your course with us, you’ll receive an automatic email notification once your court has reviewed your certificate of completion. If any problems are preventing the court from accepting your certificate, for example, if you did not pay your fine or request traffic school, these will be indicated in the notification. You’ll need to correct these with the court before they will dismiss your ticket.

To confirm that the court has dismissed the ticket and updated its records, you’ll need to contact the court directly. Your court may have an automated case lookup system that you can access online or by phone, or you can speak to a clerk by phone or at the courthouse.

Keep in mind that while your completion certificate is submitted electronically immediately after you complete the course, it takes time for someone at the court to process the certificate and update the court’s records. If your court is very busy, this can take up to about two weeks. But don’t worry - the court will look at the date you completed the course to verify that you completed it on time.