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The Facts You Should Know About Texas Traffic Citations
In Texas, having unpaid traffic fines and violations can be cause for an unwanted arrest. It’s never a good idea to ignore a parking ticket, traffic fine or moving violation that has been issued by the law. When you receive a Texas traffic citation you will generally have 20 business days from the date the citation was issued to either pay the citation or contest the ticket. In some cases you may be able to request an extension of up to 30 days to pay your fine, but it’s generally best to deal with the ticket as soon as you can.
On your citation you will see several options available on how to handle the ticket. You must respond by the due date printed on the citation or you risk additional fines and even possibly jail time. Basically, you have 2 options to deal with traffic violations. The first is to simply pay the fine. That means you agree to the terms of the violation and plead guilty or no contest. You must pay the fine on or before the date marked on your ticket in order to avoid late fees.
Your second option is to contest and fight the violation if you feel you’re not guilty. In this case the ticket will be temporarily put on hold and you won’t be required to pay the fine until the court has determined whether or not you are guilty. Certain tickets can be decided through the court system without you having to show up in person. The decision will most likely be mailed or emailed to you with instructions on how to proceed. Other violations may require an appearance in court. If you go to court and the judge decides you’re guilty, you will be required to make the payment in full plus any late fees. If the court determines you are innocent then the incident goes away as if it never happened and you owe no money to the state.
Surcharges to Driving Records
Some citations will automatically incur surcharges for a length of time depending on the nature of the offense. Moving violations such as driving under the influence or driving without a license are examples of situations that will add surcharges to your driving record. Also, if you have previous moving violations or extensive past due fines a surcharge may be added in addition to the new fine because you are considered an at risk driver.
While traffic fines vary by county, driving record points are standard across the state. The state’s Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) regulates the point system. Texas uses two criteria to determine whether you’ll be hit with a surcharge. One is the Texas point system and the other is a history of prior driving convictions. The DRP authorizes the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to assess surcharges to citizens who are involved in traffic offenses that happened after September 1, 2003. If a surcharge is added to your driving record, you will be notified by mail of each surcharge. Individuals who have both points and convictions reported to their driving record will receive separate surcharges for each offense. It’s important to try and keep a clean driving record since these charges add up.
Driving surcharges in Texas are assessed annually, usually for 3 year increments, starting with the conviction date. The following surcharges are automatic upon conviction:
• Driving while intoxicated (DWI), first offense: $1,000
• DWI, two or more offenses: $1,500
• DWI with blood alcohol content of .16 or greater: $2,000
• No insurance: $250
• Driving with an invalid license: $250
• No driver license: $100
Insurance points are assessed for conviction-based violations as follows:
• 2 points for a conviction
• 3 points for a conviction that resulted in a crash
You will be assessed a point surcharge each year you have 6 or more points on your driving record. For each consecutive 12 month period that you do not receive points for a moving violation, 1 point will be deducted from the total. If you accumulate more than 6 points on your record, you must pay a $100 surcharge. Each additional point on top of the 6 points will cost you an extra $25 a year. The state of Texas reviews your driving record on a yearly basis to allow for corrections.
In additional to surcharges, a driver’s license may be suspended when an individual is convicted of
• 4 or more moving traffic violations within a 12-month period, or
• 7 or more moving traffic violations within a 24-month period.
Texas Citation Search
If you’d like to search traffic citations with the state, the Texas Highway Patrol Division, which is responsible for general police traffic supervision and criminal law enforcement on the highways of Texas offers an online search system to do that. It includes citations issued within the last 24 months. This is a useful tool if you want to check and see if a traffic fine was paid or if you have outstanding traffic fines. It’s easy and free to use, but you will need the DL# in order to look up a specific violation. You can also search highway patrol locations and trooper contact information from this link. There are drop down menus to search by county for either trooper information or addresses of local highway patrol offices with phone numbers.
Texas Highway Patrol Division
PO Box 4087 MSC 0500
Austin, TX 78773-0500
In Texas, having unpaid traffic fines and violations can be cause for an unwanted arrest. It’s never a good idea to ignore a parking ticket, traffic fine or moving violation that has been issued by the law. When you receive a Texas traffic citation you will generally have 20 business days from the date the citation was issued to either pay the citation or contest the ticket. In some cases you may be able to request an extension of up to 30 days to pay your fine, but it’s generally best to deal with the ticket as soon as you can.
On your citation you will see several options available on how to handle the ticket. You must respond by the due date printed on the citation or you risk additional fines and even possibly jail time. Basically, you have 2 options to deal with traffic violations. The first is to simply pay the fine. That means you agree to the terms of the violation and plead guilty or no contest. You must pay the fine on or before the date marked on your ticket in order to avoid late fees.
Your second option is to contest and fight the violation if you feel you’re not guilty. In this case the ticket will be temporarily put on hold and you won’t be required to pay the fine until the court has determined whether or not you are guilty. Certain tickets can be decided through the court system without you having to show up in person. The decision will most likely be mailed or emailed to you with instructions on how to proceed. Other violations may require an appearance in court. If you go to court and the judge decides you’re guilty, you will be required to make the payment in full plus any late fees. If the court determines you are innocent then the incident goes away as if it never happened and you owe no money to the state.
Surcharges to Driving Records
Some citations will automatically incur surcharges for a length of time depending on the nature of the offense. Moving violations such as driving under the influence or driving without a license are examples of situations that will add surcharges to your driving record. Also, if you have previous moving violations or extensive past due fines a surcharge may be added in addition to the new fine because you are considered an at risk driver.
While traffic fines vary by county, driving record points are standard across the state. The state’s Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) regulates the point system. Texas uses two criteria to determine whether you’ll be hit with a surcharge. One is the Texas point system and the other is a history of prior driving convictions. The DRP authorizes the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to assess surcharges to citizens who are involved in traffic offenses that happened after September 1, 2003. If a surcharge is added to your driving record, you will be notified by mail of each surcharge. Individuals who have both points and convictions reported to their driving record will receive separate surcharges for each offense. It’s important to try and keep a clean driving record since these charges add up.
Driving surcharges in Texas are assessed annually, usually for 3 year increments, starting with the conviction date. The following surcharges are automatic upon conviction:
• Driving while intoxicated (DWI), first offense: $1,000
• DWI, two or more offenses: $1,500
• DWI with blood alcohol content of .16 or greater: $2,000
• No insurance: $250
• Driving with an invalid license: $250
• No driver license: $100
Insurance points are assessed for conviction-based violations as follows:
• 2 points for a conviction
• 3 points for a conviction that resulted in a crash
You will be assessed a point surcharge each year you have 6 or more points on your driving record. For each consecutive 12 month period that you do not receive points for a moving violation, 1 point will be deducted from the total. If you accumulate more than 6 points on your record, you must pay a $100 surcharge. Each additional point on top of the 6 points will cost you an extra $25 a year. The state of Texas reviews your driving record on a yearly basis to allow for corrections.
In additional to surcharges, a driver’s license may be suspended when an individual is convicted of
• 4 or more moving traffic violations within a 12-month period, or
• 7 or more moving traffic violations within a 24-month period.
Texas Citation Search
If you’d like to search traffic citations with the state, the Texas Highway Patrol Division, which is responsible for general police traffic supervision and criminal law enforcement on the highways of Texas offers an online search system to do that. It includes citations issued within the last 24 months. This is a useful tool if you want to check and see if a traffic fine was paid or if you have outstanding traffic fines. It’s easy and free to use, but you will need the DL# in order to look up a specific violation. You can also search highway patrol locations and trooper contact information from this link. There are drop down menus to search by county for either trooper information or addresses of local highway patrol offices with phone numbers.
Texas Highway Patrol Division
PO Box 4087 MSC 0500
Austin, TX 78773-0500