What do I do when I get a traffic ticket?
You are required to appear in court for a misdemeanor violation. For all violations, your court date/time/place is written on the bottom of your notice to appear/ticket/citation. Misdemeanor or Infraction will be circled on the right side of your notice to appear/ticket/citation.

In all infraction cases, you must do one or more of the following for each violation:
*Pay the fine (bail).
*Appear in court.
*Contest the violation.
*Correct the violation (traffic cases, when applicable).
*Request the traffic school (traffic cases, when applicable).
*Request trial by written declaration (traffic cases).
If you do not do one of the above actions, a "failure to appear" charge will be filed against you in warrant form (Vehicle Code 40508(a)) and your driver's license may be withheld, suspended, or revoked.

If you do NOT contest the violation:

*Pay the fine amount (bail). - Contact the court at (530) 245-6789. You will not have to appear in court. You will be convicted of the violation and it will appear on your DMV record. A point may be charged to your DMV record and your insurance may be affected.

*Correctable violations - If the "Yes" box is checked on the front of your ticket, the violation is correctable. Once you correct the violation, have a law enforcement officer sign the back side of your ticket. Registration and driver license violations may also be corrected at the DMV office. The violation will be dismissed by the court after the PROOF OF CORRECTION and payment of a $25 transaction fee are presented to the court, by mail or in person, by the appearance date.

If you contest the violation, do one of the following:

*Court trial - Appear at the court on or before the appearance date to request a court trial. This will be a future date when an officer and any witness will be present. You will be required to submit the bail amount.

*Trial by written declaration (traffic infractions) - Appear at the court on or before the appearance date to request a trial by written declaration. You will be given forms to allow you to write a statement and to submit other evidence without appearing in court. An officer will also submit a statement. You will be required to submit the bail amount.

A courtesy notice may be mailed to the address on the citation, indicating the required bail (fine) instead of appearing in court. If you do not receive a notice, you are still required to comply with the items above by the appearance date on the front of your citation.

You may pay in person, by mail or by phone (530) 245-6789. Make checks or money orders payable to Clerk of the Court, 1500 Court Street, Redding. Write your citation number and driver license number on the check or money order. Shasta County Superior Court Website

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