Citation Transfer

The court understands that many defendants live far from the court and that it is extremely difficult for them to appear in court to plead their cases. For that reason, most cases (infractions) can be resolved through the mail and many options are available as outlined below:

• Sending the bail and/or proof of correction on fix-it items to close the case
• For California licensed drivers, attending traffic school to keep the violation from adding points to the DMV record and masking the violation from the insurance company
• Trial by Declaration
• Entering a not guilty plea and setting a Court Trial date through the mail

California courts are under no obligation to send bail notices. However, most courts, including ours, send one courtesy bail notice and two additional notices to the address written on the citation. The first notice indicates the original bail amount, without proof of correction(s), if applicable. If the court receives no response from the first bail notice, or if the continuance date lapses, the computer system generates a second notice that warns the case is getting ready to go into “Failure to Appear” status, which will increase the amount due by $200.00 if action is not taken by the date provided on the notice. If the court receives no response to the second notice, or if the continuance date lapses, the computer system generates a third notice that warns the case is getting ready to be referred to a collection agency, which will increase the amount due by up to $100.00 if action is not taken.

If the case has been turned over to collections see Failure to Appear, FTA and Collections.