Pay Traffic Ticket in Massachusetts

SUMMARY: How to Pay a Massachusetts Traffic Ticket

If you have a civil traffic ticket, you can pay your fine online, by mail, or by phone. If you have a criminal traffic ticket, you MUST appear in court; you cannot simply pay a fine. Be sure to respond to a civil traffic ticket within 20 days and a criminal traffic ticket within 4 days.

For more information about paying your traffic ticket in Massachusetts, continue reading this page.

NOTE: If you plan to fight your traffic violation in court, see our page about Fighting Traffic Tickets.

Responding to Your MA Traffic Ticket

When you pay your traffic ticket fine, you're essentially pleading “guilty" to the offense.

A “guilty" plea means you agree to having committed the offense and your responsibility for paying all related ticket fines and court costs and fees, as well as completing any additional penalties such as traffic school.

Also, your fines and penalties will depend on the type of ticket you received (see Types of MA Traffic Tickets below).

CDL Drivers & Traffic Violations

As a commercial driver in Massachusetts, you must notify your employer within 30 days of a moving violation conviction. This applies no matter what kind of vehicle you were driving during the violation.

Also, CDL drivers might face must stiffer penalties. For example, depending on your driving record and the type of violation, you could face a CDL suspension (which will affect income) or even a lifetime CDL revocation (which will affect employment).

For more information about CDL drivers and traffic violations, refer to the state's Commercial Driver's License Manual.

How to Pay Your MA Traffic Ticket

How you pay your ticket depends on the violation:

  • Civil: You can pay online, by mail, or by phone within 20 days.
  • Criminal: You can pay your traffic ticket by mail or in person within 4 days.
    • Note that regardless of payment method, you must appear in court upon your scheduled court date.

Online

You can pay your traffic ticket fine online using the state's online service center for paying citations. It can take up to 10 days for your citation to show up in the system, so if you try to pay your ticket online and the ticket doesn't show up, try again at a later date; however, be sure to get the ticket paid before the deadline.

By Mail

To pay your Massachusetts traffic ticket by mail:

  • Sign and date the back of your traffic ticket.
  • Write a check or money order payable to “MassDOT" for the total fine amount.
    • Include the citation number and your MA driver's license number.
  • Mail your payment and citation in the pre-addressed envelope to:
Citation Processing Center
P.O. Box 55890
Boston, MA 02205

NOTE: You may want to keep a copy of your MA traffic ticket for your records.

By Phone

To pay a Massachusetts civil traffic ticket by phone, call the number associated with your area code below:

Your Area Code/RMV Contact Number:

  • 339, 617, 781, 857: (857) 368-8000.
  • All other area codes: (800) 858-3926.

You'll need to have your citation number and credit card handy.

Required Traffic School

Depending on your traffic offense, you might be required to attend a state-approved traffic school, often referred to as a Driver Attitudinal Retraining Course. Generally, completing this course doesn't dismiss your traffic ticket; it's a court requirement as part of your violation consequences.

Check Your Driving Record

Regardless of the type of violation you received and whether you decided to plead “guilty" or fight your ticket in court, it's a good idea to check your driving record to make sure:

Car Insurance Rates

Once you're convicted of a traffic violation in Massachusetts, your car insurance rates may increase.

Your auto insurance company may use the MA RMV's Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP) to calculate your increases, or use their own system.

The SDIP program applies credits and points to your driving record, which helps determine your insurance rates (meaning, it could help you avoid higher insurance rates), but if you're facing a rate increase, it makes sense to compare auto insurance quotes online to see if you can get a more affordable rate.

DMV.ORG BBB Business Review