A Shreveport traffic ticket gives you three choices before the appearance date printed on the citation: pay the fine and accept the conviction, ask the judge for the driving school program that keeps it off your record, or set a court date to fight the charge. Do nothing and the court can double what you owe, issue a warrant for your arrest, and suspend your license. Everything in Shreveport runs through Shreveport City Court at 1244 Texas Avenue, and the Criminal and Traffic Division handles it all at (318) 673-5830.1Shreveport, LA. Frequently Asked Questions
Find Your Ticket and Appearance Date
If you’ve misplaced the paper citation or want to confirm what the court has on file, Shreveport City Court runs an online search tool through its case management system. You can look up your case by name, citation number, driver’s license number, or license plate.2Shreveport City Court. Municipal Online Services – Search Violations Citation number or driver’s license pulls the cleanest result. A name search works but can return multiple records, so confirm the date and violation before you act on anything.
You can also call the Criminal and Traffic Division at (318) 673-5830 to check your court date or outstanding balance. That’s the same line you’ll use to schedule a hearing if you decide to contest.
Ask for Driving School First If You Qualify
For most drivers with a clean record, the driving school option under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 892.1 is the smartest move to consider before anything else. If the judge grants it, you plead guilty or no contest, and the court defers your sentence for 90 days while you complete an approved driver education course. When you turn in the certificate, the court sets aside the conviction and dismisses the charge.3Shreveport, LA. Driving School The violation never appears on your public driving record, and Louisiana law prohibits insurance companies from raising your premium based on a charge dismissed this way.4FindLaw. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art 892.1
You have to qualify, though, and eligibility is not automatic. The charge must be a misdemeanor traffic offense under Louisiana Title 32, and speeding 25 mph or more over the posted limit does not qualify. Your license or permit must be current. You cannot have used an Article 892.1 dismissal within the two years before the date of this offense. You must file a sworn affidavit stating you aren’t currently enrolled in another course under the same article and don’t have a pending completion that hasn’t been recorded. And you must request the benefit when your case is heard, either in person or in writing by mail postmarked on or before your appearance date.
One more limit matters if you got multiple tickets from the same stop: a completed course can dismiss only one charge.4FindLaw. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art 892.1
Paying the Fine
Paying is the quickest way out, but it counts as a guilty plea and goes on your driving record. The court reports the conviction to the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, where insurance companies and employers can see it when they pull your motor vehicle report.5Shreveport, LA. Criminal / Traffic Division If you have a clean record worth protecting, think twice before clicking pay.
Shreveport City Court takes payments three ways. The online portal lets you search for your citation, confirm the amount, and pay electronically; a convenience fee applies, and the digital receipt is your proof of resolution. In person, the violation bureau at 1244 Texas Avenue is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.6Shreveport, LA. Staff Directory City Courts You can also mail a check or money order with the citation number written on it. Under Louisiana law, a mailed payment postmarked on or before your appearance date counts as timely even if it lands a day or two late.7FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit 32 57
Fighting the Ticket in Court
If you believe the citation was wrong or you want to challenge the evidence, you have the right to appear before a judge. Call Shreveport City Court at (318) 673-5830 to schedule, and you’ll be offered a Monday or Friday morning hearing.8Municipal Online Payments. Shreveport City Court Municipal Online Services
At trial, you can cross-examine the officer who issued the citation and present your own evidence. Before your date, consider sending a written discovery request to the issuing agency for the officer’s notes, calibration records for any radar or speed-measuring device, and any video or photo evidence. If the prosecution can’t produce what it needs, that weakens the case against you. A no-show by the officer doesn’t guarantee dismissal, but it makes the city’s job harder.
What You’ll Actually Owe
The total on a Shreveport traffic ticket is almost always more than the fine printed on the citation, because court costs stack on top. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:57 sets a maximum fine of $175, up to 30 days in jail, or both for a first-time violation of the state motor vehicle code. A second or subsequent violation jumps to a maximum of $500 and up to 90 days.7FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit 32 57 Those are statutory ceilings; the actual fine depends on the specific violation and judicial discretion. Fines double automatically if you were speeding in an active construction zone with workers present or on a designated highway safety corridor.9Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:64 – General Speed Law Expect a routine speeding ticket to land somewhere between $150 and $250 once court costs are included.
Speed Camera Tickets
Shreveport also issues civil speed camera citations with a fine schedule set by city ordinance:
- 9–10 mph over the limit: $100 ($110 in a school zone)
- 11–20 mph over: $110 ($125–$135 in a school zone)
- 21–30 mph over: $130 ($150 in a school zone)
- 31+ mph over: $150
If you don’t pay within 30 days of the mailing date, the city adds a $30 late penalty. If it goes to collections, another 35% gets tacked onto whatever you still owe.10Shreveport, LA. Ordinance and Resolution Fact Sheet – City of Shreveport
What Happens If You Ignore It
This is where small problems become big ones. If you don’t respond by your appearance date, the court can impose an additional penalty up to the amount of the original fine for failure to appear or pay, which effectively doubles what you owe before anything else happens.7FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit 32 57 The court will also issue a bench warrant, so any future traffic stop in Louisiana turns into a trip to booking.
Your license will be suspended once any extension period expires with the ticket still unpaid.11Caddo Parish District Attorney. Traffic Division Getting it back means paying the underlying fine, clearing the warrant, and then paying a separate $87.50 reinstatement fee to the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.12Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles. Suspensions Driving on a suspended license is a new criminal charge with its own fines and potential jail time.
How a Conviction Follows You
Once you plead or are found guilty, the court reports the conviction to the Office of Motor Vehicles within 30 days for standard license holders.13Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:393 Louisiana tracks moving violations through a point system, and accumulating too many points within a set period triggers an administrative review that can suspend your driving privileges.
The insurance hit is often more expensive than the ticket. The Insurance Information Institute reports that auto insurance rates increase an average of at least 20% after a single speeding ticket, and that surcharge sticks around for roughly three years. On a $2,000 annual premium, that’s an extra $1,200 or more over the life of the increase. That math is the whole reason to ask about the Article 892.1 driving school dismissal if you qualify: no record, no insurer surcharge.
Employers in transportation, delivery, and sales routinely pull motor vehicle reports when hiring, and many review them annually for current drivers. A suspended license or recent conviction can cost you a job that requires driving.
CDL Holders Have Fewer Options
If you hold a commercial driver’s license, the driving school dismissal is not available to you. Federal regulation 49 CFR 384.226 prohibits Louisiana from masking, deferring, or diverting a CDL holder’s traffic conviction through any program that would keep it off the driving record, regardless of what vehicle you were driving when cited.14eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 Convictions are also reported faster: within 10 days for CDL holders, compared to 30 for standard licenses.13Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:393 Serious moving violations can trigger CDL disqualification ranging from 60 days to a lifetime ban depending on the offense and your history. If your paycheck depends on your CDL, contesting the ticket in court is usually the only real option, because even a long-shot defense beats a guaranteed conviction on your commercial record.