Before Going to Court 

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In California, a traffic case gets started when a traffic ticket (a citation) is delivered to the court by a law enforcement agency, such as a local police department or the California Highway Patrol.

When the court receives the original citation, it opens a file for the case and generates and mails a courtesy notice to the person who was cited.   This courtesy notice will usually give information about:

• The amount of money due to the court for this ticket (called the “bail”);
• The deadline to respond to the court without additional penalties;
• Notice that the individual must appear in court in person (“Mandatory Appearance”), or that the citation can be resolved without ever appearing in court;
• Information regarding traffic violator school eligibility;
• Information regarding the requirements for clearing a correctible citation (sometimes called a “fix it” ticket).

NOTE: If you got a traffic ticket, it is your responsibility to get this information about deadlines or amounts due --whether or not you receive a courtesy notice in the mail.  If you do not receive a courtesy notice, contact the court by the “promise to appear” date on your citation, and ask a clerk to let you know what you need to do.

To find contact information for the court in your county, click here.

This section will help you understand:

• How to figure out what to do with your ticket
• Types of traffic tickets
• Ways to clear up tickets for an infraction
• How to decide if you want to go to court

Once you know the basics, you can learn what to do if you want to fight
the ticket:

• If you want to go to court and plead “not guilty to an infraction;”
• If you want to ask for a “trial by declaration.”
• If you want to plead “not guilty;” on a misdemeanor citation
• Preparing your court case
• Checklist for court on the hearing date
• What to expect in court

At any time, you can:

• Read answers for Frequently Asked Questions about traffic cases.
• Read some general information about How Courts Work, click here.
• Watch some videos with general information about how California's court system works, click here.

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