Lost Traffic Ticket in New York

New York Online Traffic Ticket Search

Unless your ticket reads “Traffic Violations Bureau” on the bottom, the chances that you can look it up online are slim; most local courts (on county, city, town, and village levels) handle lost tickets in person, or can provide the information over the telephone (see below). Keep in mind, even if you don't have a TVB ticket, you can still pay your traffic ticket online in some NY counties.

If your ticket does read “Traffic Violations Bureau” at the bottom, you can request a substitute traffic ticket via the TVB’s website.

Note that only tickets issued in the following TVB jurisdictions are eligible:

• New York City
• Buffalo
• Rochester
• Babylon
• Brookhaven
• Huntington
• Islip
• Smithtown

To begin the process, visit the TVB Substitute Traffic Ticket page and follow the instructions.

Determine Where You Got Your NY Traffic Ticket

Tickets that aren’t under the TVB’s jurisdiction are handled by county, city, town, or village jurisdictions. If you know exactly where you received the ticket, proceed to the next section on visiting the appropriate NY county website.

If you’re not sure, try to narrow your options as much as possible. For example, can you at least remember the county? If so, you can contact that county’s courthouse for help determining where in the county you were and which court you should contact.

When all else fails, you can contact the DMV. The citation may be in its system, but if not, a representative can try to help you figure out where you were when you received the ticket.

Visit the County Website

New York State provides a list of courthouses online.

Generally, all you’ll find here is the court’s address and contact information; however, this is enough for you to contact the court and find out your options regarding a lost traffic ticket.

You can request a copy of the citation from the court; however, most courts will let you know this usually isn’t necessary. A clerk can provide you with any of the information you need, including how to obtain a replacement plea form. Plea options, time frames, exact fines―the clerk can provide you with all this information.

Determine How You Will Plead

You can plead:

• Guilty or no contest.
• Not guilty.

Pleading guilty or no contest generally means paying the fine and going on about your business (unless the ticket puts enough points on your license to suspend it, or your auto insurance company wants to increase your rates―then you might have some extra steps).

Pleading guilty is an entirely different―and usually much more involved―process.

Learn more about each of these options in our Paying Your Traffic Ticket and Fighting Your Traffic Ticket sections.