Traffic School

California Licensed Drivers

Please read the following paragraph carefully:

DMV will block one traffic school dismissal on violations received prior to “7-1-11” and block one traffic school confidential conviction on violations received “7-1-11” and after from the insurance company’s access every 18 months from violation date to violation date. Pursuant to Rule 4.104 of the California Rules of Court as of 7-1-11, and Vehicle Code 42005(c) and (d), as of 9-20-05, any person with a class A, B or commercial class C driver’s license as well as any person cited while driving a commercial vehicle is prohibited from completing traffic school. Effective 1-1-13, violations issued 1-1-13, any person who holds a Class A, B or commercial Class C driver's license may attend traffic violators school for an offense while operating a non-commercial vehicle.

Non-California Licensed Drivers

Because our court does not have the ability to log into any other state’s DMV system, and because attending traffic school usually costs you more than the bail rather than less, we urge you to contact your state’s DMV to determine whether or not attending traffic school on a California citation will give you the results you are seeking - usually that the insurance company not have access to the record, and that DMV not assess the driving record a point.

Standard Policy for All Drivers

Eligibility:

You cannot attend traffic school unless you have been approved by the court clerk or a judicial officer. The eligibility is determined as follows: You have a valid driver's license; you have not attended traffic school for a citation issued within the past 18 months of the present citation (violation date to violation date); you have not failed to appear under Vehicle Code section 40508(a), unless the failure-to-appear charge has been adjudicated and all fees and fines paid; you are charged only with infractions that do not have a point count of more than one point under Vehicle Code section 12810; you were not cited for any charge involving alcohol or drug use or possession; and you were not charged with exceeding a speed limit by more than 25 miles per hour.

Not Eligible:

If you are not eligible to attend traffic school, the clerk cannot grant you permission to attend, and if you are not eligible and you send in the bail and non-refundable fee, the bail and fee will be forfeited, the case closed, and the conviction sent to the DMV.

Pay the Traffic Violator School (TVS) Fee:

If you meet these requirements and wish to attend traffic school, you are required to pay the bail plus the non-refundable traffic school fee of $49.00 pursuant to Vehicle Code 42007.1, and an additional DMV Fee of $3.00 pursuant to Vehicle Code 11208 for monitoring traffic violator’s school (TVS), for a total of $52.00, prior to the clerk sending you a traffic school permission letter.

If you were also cited for fix-it violations on the citation and you are eligible for the $25.00 proof of correction fee on those violations, please send the signed off citation and $25.00 per correctable violation fee with the request for TVS and required TVS bail and fee. The clerk has limited authority to accept proofs of correction.

Please note that no partial payments or community service in lieu of bail are permitted in conjunction with a traffic school dismissal or confidential conviction.

If you want to attend traffic school and to pay your full bail plus the non-refundable traffic school fee, please click the Pay Now button at the top of this page and follow the instructions. If there is no option for traffic school and you would like further explanation as to why, please contact the Superior Court. If you do not want to proceed online, follow the instructions below.

Request Permission:

Send the court the bail amount indicated in the Traffic School Option plus the TVS fee stated above with one check. If you do not have a courtesy bail notice but have contacted the court to determine the amount of the bail, you may send us a note to request traffic school and include the bail and TVS fee with one check. You may also pay your bail and fee in person between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at any court office. When the court receives the request and full amount due, the clerk will continue the case 60 days and send a permission letter with further instructions.

Types Of Schools: Classroom program, Internet and home-study courses

Please note: traffic schools are private businesses and charge an enrollment fee.

A list of California DMV approved classroom, internet and home study courses can be found on DMV's website. The Court will be notified when you have successfully completed the classroom, internet or home-study course. It is your responsibility to contact the Court to ensure that the Court receives the notification by the due date.

If the Court does not receive the notification of completion by the due date, the bail and traffic school fee will be forfeited, the violation reported to DMV as a conviction with points assessed on the driving record, and the insurance may be adversely affected.

California courts are under no obligation to send bail notices. However, most courts, including ours, send one courtesy bail notice to the address written on the citation. The notice indicates the original bail amount, without proof of correction(s), if applicable. If the court receives no response from this bail notice, or if the continuance date lapses, you may be found guilty in absentia.  You will be notified of this ruling and have 20 days to pay, provide proof of corrections, or request an appearance date.  If no response to this notice, your case will then be referred to a collection agency.

If the case has been turned over to collections see Trial in Absentia and Collections.