Paying Your Traffic Ticket

Have you received a traffic citation? Different than a mere parking violation, traffic citations often involve court appearances. In North Carolina, certain offenses are considered waivable, where you can plead guilty, pay a fine, and waive your court appearance. Others are non-waivable and appearing in court is mandatory.

Where to Pay a Fine

In our state, different courts may handle your traffic tickets. Depending on the county where the violation took place, you might appear in a traffic court, or court may be held in a state district courthouse. The vehicle code that you allegedly violated, as well as the name and location of the court, will be listed on your citation. If you are unsure of where to go, you can look up the particular court on the official North Carolina Court System Web site.

The payment and contact information will also usually be printed on the citation itself for your convenience.

Whom Do I Pay?

When you pay fines and court costs, you will pay them to the court clerk of the court that handles your case. You do not pay the fines to the Division of Motor Vehicles.

The court and DMV do share information, however, and if your violation is part of the points system, you will receive points against your driver license. This can lead to different points on your insurance policy as well. If you choose to contest the charges and have a lawyer represent you, naturally you will have to pay attorney fees on top of whatever charge the court applies.

Attending Traffic School for Better Driving and Points Reduction

Sometimes, the court or a driver license hearing officer will allow you or mandate you to attend traffic school. In NC, if you accumulate seven points on your license, you might have to attend traffic school. North Carolina calls traffic school Driver Improvement Clinics and they will cost you $50 to attend.

Upon completing the course and meeting with a driver license hearing officer, three points will be taken off of your driving record. You can attend a Driver Improvement Clinic once every five years in order to deduct points from your record.

The DMV has provided a schedule of Driver Improvement Clinics throughout the state.

For related ticket information, see Traffic Schools, Defensive Driving, Suspended Licenses, and Traffic Tickets on this site.