Traffic Division

• View a traffic ticket case flowchart.
• Case Information
• Traffic Payments
• Traffic School Information

Please include the following information when contacting the court via email:

• Case Number
• Citation Number
• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Driver's License number

Access the Judicial Council's page on Traffic & Ticket Basics .

Arraignment—First Appearance in Court

Traffic Court Arraignment hearings occur by appointment only.  For more information or to schedule an appointment please click here.

Please review all of the options listed on the linked page, as some matters may be resolved without a court appearance.

1. Adult Traffic cases - Monday and Tuesday by appointment only.
2. Juvenile Traffic cases - Wednesday afternoon by appointment only. Juveniles must have a parent or guardian with them in order for them to appear in Court. If the juvenile has turned 18 since their violation date and wants to continue as a juvenile case, they must have a parent/guardian with them. Otherwise, they can appear at the adult timeframe and proceed as an adult case.
3. Failure To Appear cases - Wednesday morning and afternoon by appointment only. Please note, these sessions should be for cases that have a DMV hold placed on the driver's license.

Please plan to arrive early to complete the check-in process. Defendants are required to watch a video or read through the arraignment script prior to arraignment. Links to the video and script are listed below.

• Online Traffic Arraignment Video - English
• Traffic Arraignment Script (English)
• Online Traffic Arraignment Video - Spanish
• Traffic Arraignment Script (Spanish)

If You Are Unable To Make Your Court Appearance

If you are unable to appear in Court, you must contact the Modesto Traffic Division on or prior to your Court date.

A 30-day extension may be granted as long as you are eligible, and the request is submitted on or before the "Appear By" date or at least three (3) days prior to your scheduled appointment.

Payment Information

• The Budget Act of 2022 reduces civil assessment from a max of $300 to max of $100 effective July 1, 2022, and eliminates civil assessment debt prior to this date.  If you are paying your traffic case in full, please exclude any balance for civil assessment as of June 30, 2022.  If you need assistance regarding your amount due, please contact the Clerk’s Office.
• Payments are accepted in at the clerk's office, by Drop Box, by mail, or online
• When requesting a Trial By Written Declaration, Defendants are required to post bail in advance by check, cashiers check, charge, or in person.
• Payment plans allow those enrolled to pay tickets in monthly installments over a 12 month period. To enroll, Defendants must complete the payment plan which can be accessed on the forms page.

Please Do:

• Include case number on any payments made by check
• Allow two (2) days for your payment to process when paying online

Please Do NOT:

• Pay online if requesting a Court Trial or Trial by Written Declaration.
• Send cash through the mail or the Drop Box

Paying your Traffic Ticket Online 

Click on the button below to access Public Portal to pay your tickets online.

Online Traffic Ticket Payment

Proof of Correction (POC)

• Violations for which proof of correction (POC) can be shown, may be reduced if correction is provided to the Court by the due date.
• POC fees are $25.00 for each violation that requires correction. An additional $10.00 administrative fee may also be required.
• Please note that the sign-off of the proof of correction must be done on the back of the original citation. If the original ticket is lost, a certified copy fcan be obtained from the Court (at a cost) or from the agency that issued the citation. An agency copy must have a controlled document stamp or other identifying mark of authenticity from the agency.

If Your Case Is Not Listed Online

It may be possible that your citation has not yet been filed by the agency, as they have up to one year to file the citation with the Court. If your court date is approaching, and you cannot locate your name on the online portal, contact the Traffic Court Clerk's Office to confirm whether the citation has been filed or not. If it hasn't been filed, you can contact the law enforcement agency that cited you for additional information, especially if your address changes. Any notices sent from the law enforcement agency or from the Court will be sent to the address listed on your citation, so if you have an address change it is important to contact the court and the law enforcement agency to ensure that you receive notices timely.

The Traffic Court Clerk's office will send you a Traffic Court Reminder Notice to your address on the citation as soon as your citation is filed with the Court. Because you signed a citation, or a "Promise To Appear" in Court, you are responsible for continuing to check to see if you have a case on file, in the event the agency files it at any point during the year after you were cited (date of violation).