Lost Traffic Ticket in Louisiana

Online Traffic Ticket Search

At this time, neither the OMV nor the Louisiana court system provides a statewide online traffic ticket search option.

Determine Where You Got Your LA Traffic Ticket

The OMV cannot look up lost traffic tickets; the only access to traffic tickets the OMV has is suspension- and revocation-related information, and violation information that should appear on your driving record.

So, you must refer to the court handling your ticket.

You’re ahead of the game if you remember where you were when you received the ticket (or, which type of officer gave you the ticket).

If you can’t remember, you’ll need to go through a process of elimination.

Three kinds of officers can issue traffic citations―city police, parish policy, and state police―and the court handling your ticket depends on which officer gave you the ticket.

Try to remember where you were when you received the ticket, or what kind of officer issued the ticket. Even remember landmarks or the officer’s uniform can help. Once you have an idea, you can begin contacting courts and asking if they have your Louisiana ticket information.

Fortunately, there are fewer courts than there are law enforcement agencies. Contact the city court if you determine a city officer ticketed you, and the district court if you determine it was a parish or state officer.

NOTE: It can take a few days for the officer to report the ticket to the court, and for the court to record the information, so you might want to wait three to five days from the date you received the ticket before contacting the court.

Visit the County Website

The Louisiana Supreme Court website provides a complete list of city and district (or parish) courts.

Start with calling the court you know (or think) is handling your ticket. Most courts can provide all the ticket information you need over the phone if you give your full name and date of birth; however, if you need a tangible copy of your ticket, ask the court about picking one up (and whether there’s a fee).

If you opt to just get the information over the phone, be sure to ask about:

• The total traffic ticket fine and court costs.
• The court date. You must pay your ticket by, or appear in court on, this date.
• Whether your court allows driver improvement school for LA traffic ticket dismissal. This will help you determine whether you want to plead guilty or not guilty.

Determine How You Will Plead

Louisiana allows drivers to plead in one of three ways:

• Guilty.
• No contest.
• Not guilty.

For some drivers, pleading guilty or no contest is the easiest route. They can pay their tickets (some cities and parishes even offer online payment) and go on about their days. The violations will show up on their driving records, but this might not be too much cause for concern if it doesn’t put them at risk for suspension or revocation.

For other drivers―such as those who believe they’re not guilty or who committed justifiable offenses―pleading not guilty is the best option.

Refer to Paying Your Traffic Ticket and Fighting Your Traffic Ticket for more details about each option.