Missed Your Traffic Ticket Deadline — What to Do Now

What Happens When You Miss a Traffic Ticket Deadline

When you receive a traffic ticket in California, the ticket shows the date by which you must respond. The court also mails a reminder, called a courtesy notice, that lists the amount owed and your due date. It may take 30 days or longer to arrive; if it does not come, contact the court. If you do not pay the fine, request a court date, or submit a Trial by Written Declaration by that deadline, the court may treat your case as a failure to appear (FTA).

A failure to appear can bring several consequences. The court may add a civil assessment of up to $100 to your original fine under Penal Code section 1214.1, and it may charge you with failure to appear under Vehicle Code section 40508. The California Courts self-help guide also says that if you ignore your ticket, the court may add the violation to your DMV record. That happens through a conviction on the ticket, which courts report to the DMV for most Vehicle Code violations (Vehicle Code section 1803).

A missed court date on a traffic ticket is no longer reported to the DMV for a license suspension. AB 2746 (Stats. 2022, ch. 800) repealed Vehicle Code sections 40509 and 40509.5, the sections that let courts report a failure to appear to the DMV, as of January 1, 2023. AB 103 (Stats. 2017, ch. 17) had already ended license suspensions for failing to pay a traffic fine in 2017. A failure-to-appear notice that a court sent the DMV before 2023 is handled differently; see the section on older holds below.

Immediate Steps to Take After Missing Your Deadline

If you realize you have missed your traffic ticket deadline, contact the court as soon as you can. A missed deadline can add the consequences described above, but you can still resolve the case.

1. Locate your original citation or any courtesy notice you received. If you cannot find them, contact the court directly using the county traffic court phone number.
2. Call or visit the court clerk to check the current status of your case. The clerk can tell you the total amount owed (including any civil assessment) and whether a failure to appear has been entered.
3. Ask the court about your options. You can still pay, ask about a payment plan, or, if the charge has not been decided, schedule a court hearing on it without paying the civil assessment first (Penal Code section 1214.1(b)(2)).
4. If you cannot afford the total amount, request an ability-to-pay determination under California Rule of Court 4.335. The court may allow installment payments or community service, or reduce the fine.
5. If a court reported a failure to appear on this ticket to the DMV before 2023, ask the court to send the DMV its certificate that the case is resolved, then check your driving record with the DMV to confirm it is cleared.

Can You Still Contest the Ticket After Missing the Deadline?

It depends on where your case stands. If the charge has not been decided, you can still schedule a court hearing on it, and the court cannot require you to pay a civil assessment first (Penal Code section 1214.1(b)(2)). Vehicle Code section 40903 also lets a court treat a missed appearance as a choice of Trial by Written Declaration and decide the charge on the citation and other written evidence, so ask the clerk whether your case has already been decided. A request for a Trial by Written Declaration must be filed by the appearance date on your ticket or by an extended due date the court gave you (California Rules of Court, rule 4.210).

If you missed the date for a good reason, such as being sick, contact the court right away. You can ask the court to vacate or reduce a civil assessment without first paying bail, fines or the assessment, and the court must vacate it if you show good cause within the time stated in the court’s notice (Penal Code section 1214.1(b)(1); California Rules of Court, rule 4.106).

Learn how to request a continuance to extend your traffic ticket deadline. How to Request a Continuance →

How a Missed Deadline Affects Your Fine Amount

The financial impact of missing your deadline can be substantial. California courts can impose a civil assessment of up to $100 on top of the original bail amount when you fail to appear. If the unpaid amount is referred to the Franchise Tax Board for collection, the amount referred can include an administrative fee (Revenue and Taxation Code section 19280). A standard speeding ticket (1 to 15 mph over) totals $234 under the Judicial Council’s 2026 bail schedule, and that amount can grow with a civil assessment and any collection fees.

• Original base fine plus state and county penalty assessments, a 20% surcharge, and court fees ($234 in total for a $35 base fine under the Judicial Council’s 2026 bail schedule).
• Civil assessment of up to $100 added by the court for failure to appear (Penal Code section 1214.1).
• Possible collection fees if the unpaid amount is referred to the Franchise Tax Board or a private collection agency.
• Possible higher auto insurance rates if a conviction adds a point to your DMV record.

Clearing an Older Failure-to-Appear Hold

Since January 1, 2023, courts no longer send the DMV a failure-to-appear notice for a missed court date on a traffic ticket. If a court sent one before then, that notice can still keep a license suspended until your driving record no longer shows it (Vehicle Code section 13365), and it can stop the DMV from renewing your license or the registration of a vehicle you own until the court sends a certificate that the case is resolved (Vehicle Code sections 12808 and 4760.1). To clear it, resolve the underlying case with the court.

Under AB 2746, any suspension still based on one of those older notices ends on January 1, 2027 (Stats. 2022, ch. 800, sec. 27), and starting that day the DMV must remove most of those older notices from its records (Vehicle Code section 12808, as it reads from January 1, 2027). Until then, ask the court for written proof that your case is resolved, and check your driving record with the DMV to confirm the notice is cleared.

Review the full breakdown of California traffic ticket fines and penalties. California Traffic Ticket Fines in 2026 →