Paying Your Traffic Ticket

Fines for traffic tickets are paid directly to the court that imposes them, not to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or the Utah Highway Patrol. Unlike a parking ticket, the amount of the fine for a traffic ticket usually won't appear on the ticket itself. Instead, the court with jurisdiction in the location you received the ticket will send you a notice in the mail indicating the bail amount and giving information about where to go should you wish to contest the citation.

You can find a list of Utah courts and jurisdictions online.

Some jurisdictions establish traffic safety schools to help you reduce the amount of the fine (or have the ticket dropped) and learn better driving skills at the same time. You will usually still pay a bail amount, plus the enrollment fee for the school, so it could cost you more than paying the fine alone. However, taking a defensive driving course can erase 50 points from your driving record and potentially prevent a boost in your insurance premiums or worse, a suspended license.

Check with the court overseeing your traffic ticket for information about traffic schools in its jurisdiction. If you live far from where you received the ticket, attending a traffic school in that area might not be feasible for you.

Traffic tickets not requiring a court appearance will oblige you to not only forfeit a bail amount but also to pay administrative surcharges based on a percentage of the fine. For more information, download the State of Utah Uniform Fine/Bail-Forfeiture Schedule.

The short list of sample bail amounts and surcharges below will give you an idea of how these fines can transform a seemingly minor offense into a very expensive mistake:

• Speeding (1-10 MPH over the limit): $50 bail

• Speeding (11-15 MPH over the limit): $75 bail

• Speeding (16-20 MPH over the limit): $125 bail

• Speeding (21-25 MPH over the limit): $200 bail

• Speeding (31+ MPH over the limit): mandatory court appearance plus additional $10 per mile over the speed limit and $400 bail

• Speeding in a school zone, first offense (0-9 MPH over the limit): $67.50 bail

• Speeding in a school zone, first offense (10-19 MPH over the limit): $168.75 bail

• No registration in vehicle: $40

• No insurance: mandatory court appearance and $400 bail

• No valid license: $40 bail

Moving violations require a $32 surcharge on top of the bail amount; add a $10 traffic surcharge to that total in Salt Lake County.

Find Legal Help

Sometimes a traffic ticket can turn into a legal mess if you wait too long to pay it, or don't believe you deserved it in the first place. In these cases, hiring an attorney who handles traffic tickets may be a smart choice.