Can You Reduce a California Traffic Ticket Fine After Paying?

Is It Possible to Reduce a Fine After Paying?

Once you have paid a California traffic ticket, your options are limited. Paying the bail counts as a conviction, and the court treats the case as closed. A few narrow options remain, and none of them is guaranteed.

Under Vehicle Code section 13103, a forfeiture of bail is a conviction of the offense, the same as a guilty plea or a guilty verdict. That is why paying a ticket and contesting it are different paths: once the bail is forfeited, the conviction goes to the DMV.

Traffic School After Paying

If you have paid, ask the court whether traffic school is still open to you. Under Vehicle Code section 41501, after bail is forfeited or after a guilty or no contest plea, the court may let an eligible driver complete a licensed traffic violator school, and the conviction is then held confidential (Vehicle Code 1808.7). Traffic school does not lower the fine, but no point is counted for a confidential conviction.

• Only one conviction in any 18-month period can be kept confidential this way (Vehicle Code 41501 and 1808.7).
• It is not available for the offenses listed in Vehicle Code 12810(a) to (e), such as reckless driving (Vehicle Code 41501(b)). The conviction is also not kept confidential for commercial driver's license holders, violations in a commercial vehicle, or a violation worth more than one point (Vehicle Code 1808.7(b)).
• Ask the court whether you are eligible; the court decides whether to allow traffic school (Vehicle Code 41501).
• The court collects the full bail plus a $49 fee, a DMV fee for monitoring traffic schools, and any traffic assistance program fee the court has set (Vehicle Code 42007.1). The school charges separately for the course.
• Finish the course by the deadline the court gives you. A confidential conviction is not disclosed to anyone except a court (Vehicle Code 1808.7(a)).

Financial Hardship After Payment

The court's ability-to-pay process is for amounts you still owe. Under Government Code 68645.2, a court can reduce or waive the total due on an infraction, set up a payment plan, or allow community service, and every court takes these requests online through MyCitations. If you have already paid in full, there is usually no balance left for the court to reduce.

If you think something went wrong with your payment, such as paying more than the amount due, contact the court clerk. Each court sets its own procedure for refund requests.

Still owe on a ticket? See how to ask the court for a lower amount. Can't Afford Your Traffic Ticket? California Ability to Pay Options →

Trial de Novo After Trial by Written Declaration

If you contested the ticket by Trial by Written Declaration (TBWD) and disagree with the decision, most courts let you request a Trial de Novo, a new trial in court (Vehicle Code 40902(d)). Courts that offer online trial by declaration through MyCitations do not allow a Trial de Novo after any trial by written declaration (Government Code 68645.4); instead, you can appeal a conviction to the appellate division of the superior court (Penal Code 1466).

Most courts require you to deposit the bail when you file your declaration (Vehicle Code 40902(b)), so you will usually have paid already; courts that offer online trial by declaration through MyCitations generally cannot require bail in advance (Government Code 68645.4). If you are found not guilty or the charge is dismissed, the bail is refunded (Vehicle Code 40902(b)).

Learn about Trial by Written Declaration and how it works. What Is Trial by Written Declaration? →

Correctable Violations and Proof of Correction

If your ticket was for a correctable violation (a "fix-it ticket"), such as a broken taillight or a missing front license plate, the court dismisses the violation when you show proof of correction by your appearance date (Vehicle Code 40522), and the clerk collects a $25 transaction fee for each violation (Vehicle Code 40611).

Paying the bail instead is a conviction (Vehicle Code 13103). If you paid before showing proof of correction, contact the court clerk to ask whether anything can still be done; courts set their own procedures.

What About Insurance Rate Increases?

How much a conviction affects your insurance rate depends on your insurer. Under Proposition 103, one violation point in the previous three years does not by itself disqualify a driver from the Good Driver Discount, but more than one does, including a single two-point conviction such as for reckless driving, hit-and-run, DUI or driving over 100 mph (Insurance Code 1861.025). The DMV discloses most convictions for 3 years from the violation date (Vehicle Code 1808).

If you have already paid and traffic school is not available, ask your insurer how it rates the conviction and how far back it looks.

Read more about how California traffic tickets affect your insurance. Traffic Tickets and Insurance in California →

Have not paid yet and need more time before your due date? See how to ask the court for a continuance. Request a Continuance for Your Traffic Ticket →