Louisiana Traffic Ticket Forgiveness: Article 894 and Diversion

Louisiana traffic ticket forgiveness runs through two main routes: a deferred sentence under Article 894 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and pretrial diversion programs offered by local district attorneys. Both can keep a conviction off the driving record the Office of Motor Vehicles maintains, which is what insurers and your license status actually turn on. The right route depends on the violation, your history, and whether you hold a commercial license.

Why it matters: Louisiana does not use a points system. The OMV simply counts moving violation convictions, and three within any 12-month period trigger a license suspension and possible habitual offender designation. One ticket is an insurance problem. Two is a warning. Three is a walking problem.

Article 894 Deferred Sentence

Article 894 lets a judge accept your guilty or no-contest plea on a misdemeanor traffic charge, suspend the sentence, and put you on unsupervised probation instead of entering a final conviction.¹ Finish the probation without a new conviction or pending charge, and the court sets aside the plea and dismisses the case.

Probation runs up to two years, though the judge can set something shorter.¹ A new ticket during that window gives the judge grounds to revoke the deferral and enter the original conviction.

One important wrinkle: your plea is reported to the OMV the moment you enter it, even though the sentence is deferred.² The conviction only comes off your record once the court signs the later dismissal order. So Article 894 is a two-step process, not an instant fix.

How Often You Can Use It

The statute sets a hard limit for DWI (once every 10 years) but no fixed waiting period for ordinary moving violations.¹ In practice, many Louisiana courts follow a once-every-five-years convention for speeding and similar tickets. Because this is court custom rather than statute, flexibility varies by judge and parish.

What It Costs

You still pay the original fine. On top of that, the statute requires a $50 court cost paid to the OMV for updating your records.¹ Individual courts tack on their own filing and processing fees, so the extra typically lands somewhere between $50 and $200 above the base fine. Call the clerk of court before you file to get the exact figure for your parish.

Filing the Motion After Probation Ends

Once your probation period passes without incident, you file a Motion to Set Aside Conviction and Dismiss Prosecution. The form is the one laid out in Article 987 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and most clerks keep blanks on hand.³ Fill in your citation number, driver’s license number, judicial district, and case number exactly as they appear on the ticket.

Submit the motion to the clerk in the parish where you were cited, by mail or in person. Some courts rule on the paperwork alone; others want a brief appearance. If the judge grants the motion, they sign the order dismissing the prosecution and setting aside your plea.

Give it 30 to 60 days after the signed order before you check your driving record through the OMV’s online portal. If the dismissal has gone through, the conviction should be gone.

Pretrial Diversion Through the DA

Many Louisiana district attorneys run pretrial diversion programs that work differently. Before your court date, you agree to complete a certified traffic safety course and pay an administrative fee to the DA’s office. In exchange, the prosecutor drops the charge. The case never produces a conviction, nothing gets reported to the OMV, and your record stays untouched.

The appeal of diversion is simplicity. No probation to wait out. No motion to file later. No plea sitting on your record in the meantime. The tradeoff is cost and timing: diversion fees commonly run over $100 on top of the driving course, and you usually have 30 to 90 days to finish the course and submit proof. Miss the deadline and the ticket is processed as a standard conviction. The chance is gone.

Not every violation qualifies, and not every parish offers diversion. Call the DA’s office in the parish where you were cited to find out what is available for your specific charge.

CDL Holders Are Shut Out of Both

If you hold a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit, neither Article 894 nor pretrial diversion is available to you. Federal regulations prohibit states from masking, deferring, or diverting any traffic violation conviction for CDL holders, regardless of what vehicle you were driving when cited.⁴ The only carve-outs are parking tickets, weight violations, and vehicle defect violations.

This is federal law overriding Louisiana procedure. A Louisiana judge cannot grant a CDL holder an Article 894 deferral on a moving violation, and a Louisiana prosecutor cannot offer diversion. Every moving violation conviction lands on your CDLIS record and stays there. If you drive commercially for a living, your realistic options are contesting the ticket at trial or negotiating the charge down before you ever enter a plea.

DWI Follows Different Rules

Article 894 covers a first-offense DWI, but with tighter limits than a speeding ticket. You can only receive a DWI dismissal under Article 894 once in any 10-year period, and the OMV keeps records of Article 894 DWI pleas for exactly that purpose.¹

A second DWI inside that 10-year window can still qualify, but only if you successfully completed a DWI court or sobriety court program and met every condition imposed.¹ That path involves months of supervised treatment and strict compliance. If you are facing a second DWI, get a lawyer.

Documentation is heavier too. When you petition for a DWI set-aside, the clerk must send the OMV a certified copy of your plea record along with your fingerprints, date of birth, Social Security number, and driver’s license number.¹ Ask the clerk exactly what they need before you file.

Ignoring the Ticket Is the Most Expensive Choice

Fail to pay or appear, and the OMV will suspend your license. Reinstatement costs $100 for a Louisiana court violation, $87.50 for Shreveport City Court, and $60 for out-of-state court violations, all on top of the original fine.⁵ You cannot reinstate until you provide proof of compliance: a paid receipt, a final disposition, or documentation of a new court date.

Driving on that suspended license is a separate criminal offense in Louisiana, carrying its own fines and possible jail time, and it resets your clock on getting your driving privileges back. If you have old unpaid tickets and cannot pay all at once, the OMV offers an installment plan. Call 225-925-6146 and select option 3 to speak with an agent, who sets up the account before you can access the online payment portal.

Expungement Is a Separate Step

An Article 894 dismissal clears the conviction from your OMV driving record. It does not automatically clear the arrest from court files. To scrub the arrest itself so it does not show up on a background check, file a separate expungement under Article 976 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.⁶

Because the Article 894 dismissal ended the case without a conviction, you qualify to file. The clerk notifies the district attorney and other parties, who have 60 days to object. If nobody objects, the court can grant the expungement and seal the record. For a routine speeding ticket, most people skip this step because employers and insurers typically look at the OMV driving record, not court arrest files. If your work involves background checks that dig into court records, it is worth the extra motion.

1
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:393
3
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 987
4
eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions
5
Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles. Suspensions
6
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 976