A Las Vegas traffic ticket runs from about $75 for minor speeding to nearly $1,000 for the most extreme violations, and every fine carries mandatory court assessments on top. You have 90 days from the date your citation appears online to pay it or request a contested hearing, and the court that handles your case depends on exactly where the officer stopped you.1Las Vegas Justice Court. 2023 Changes To Traffic Violations
Which Court Has Your Ticket
Las Vegas runs two separate court systems for traffic citations, and they don’t share portals or deadlines. A stop inside City of Las Vegas limits routes to Las Vegas Municipal Court. A stop in unincorporated Clark County or outside city limits routes to Las Vegas Justice Court. Citations written by Nevada State Police on a state highway or interstate usually land in the Justice Court system.2Las Vegas Justice Court. Traffic Citations
The court name is printed at the top of your paper citation. Check it first. Calling or paying the wrong court wastes time you don’t have much of.
Looking Up Your Citation Online
Both courts offer online case search. The fastest way in is your citation number, which is printed on the ticket the officer handed you; you can also search by full legal name and date of birth. Justice Court citations are searchable through the traffic division of the Las Vegas Justice Court website.2Las Vegas Justice Court. Traffic Citations Municipal Court citations are searchable through the Municipal Court portal.3Las Vegas Municipal Court. Las Vegas Municipal Court Once your case comes up, you’ll see your current balance, your response deadline, and any additional fees the court has added.
What You’ll Actually Pay
The listed fine is only part of the total. Every conviction also carries mandatory court assessments (administrative, construction, specialty court, and genetic marker testing assessments required by state law), which often add $100 or more to whatever the base fine is.4City of Las Vegas. Revised Fine and Bail Schedule
Base fines from the Las Vegas Municipal Court schedule for first offenses:
- Speeding 1–10 mph over the limit: $75
- Speeding 11–20 mph over: $100
- Speeding 21–30 mph over: $200
- Speeding 31–40 mph over: $620
- Speeding 41+ mph over: $998 bail amount
- Running a red light: $300
Second and third offenses cost more and may require a traffic safety course. Justice Court uses a slightly different schedule, so pull up your actual balance online rather than assume these numbers match your case.
Paying the Ticket
You have 90 calendar days from the date the citation appears online to pay or contest.1Las Vegas Justice Court. 2023 Changes To Traffic Violations Paying is an admission that you committed the violation, and the conviction goes on your driving record with the associated demerit points.
Online payment through the court’s website is the most direct route and accepts major credit cards. Justice Court also accepts money orders or cashier’s checks by mail (no personal checks), and both courts take in-person payments at courthouse clerk windows during business hours. Include your name and citation number with any mailed payment, and keep the confirmation number or receipt.2Las Vegas Justice Court. Traffic Citations
Contesting the Ticket
To fight the ticket, request a contested hearing before your 90-day deadline. For Justice Court civil infractions, that means completing a Civil Infraction Response form in person at the Justice Court Customer Service Division and posting a bond of $150 or the total civil penalty amount, whichever is less. The court then sets your hearing date.2Las Vegas Justice Court. Traffic Citations
Before the hearing, request discovery from the prosecuting agency, including the officer’s notes and any evidence the state plans to use. This is the single most important preparation step. If the agency ignores the request, you can file a motion asking the judge to compel production.
At the hearing, the citing officer typically has to appear and testify. If the officer doesn’t show, many judges dismiss the case. If you lose, your bond is applied to the fine. If you win, it’s refunded.
Points on Your License
Nevada’s DMV assigns demerit points to every moving violation conviction, and the totals decide whether your license gets suspended. Values for the violations Las Vegas drivers see most often:5Nevada Legislature. Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 483 – Drivers Licenses
- Speeding 1–10 mph over: 1 point
- Failure to yield right-of-way: 4 points
- Following too closely: 4 points
- Changing lanes improperly: 4 points
- Running a red light: 4 points
- Careless driving: 6 points
- Reckless driving: 8 points
Points stay on your record for 12 months from the date of conviction, not the date of the offense.6Legal Information Institute. Nevada Administrative Code 483.500 – Use of Demerit Points Accumulate 12 or more within a 12-month window and the DMV suspends your license for six months. A second 12-point accumulation within three years triggers a one-year suspension. A third within five years brings another one-year suspension with no restricted license option.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 483.475 – Demerit Points
Traffic School to Reduce Points
If you’ve accumulated between three and eleven demerit points, a DMV-approved traffic safety course removes three points. The school reports completion directly to the DMV.8Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Demerit Point System
Two catches. You can only use traffic school for point reduction once every 12 months.9Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Traffic Safety Schools And if the course is required as part of a plea bargain, it gives you zero point credit; it only counts when taken voluntarily. Approved online courses generally cost under $50.
What Happens If You Ignore It
Miss the 90-day deadline and the court enters a finding against you and assesses the full penalty.10City of Las Vegas. Traffic Infractions After a grace period, a bench warrant issues for your arrest.
Nevada law requires courts to provide a 30-day grace period after a failure to appear or failure to pay before issuing a warrant, and for failure to pay the court must also offer a community service alternative before the warrant can issue.11Justia Law. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 484A – Traffic Laws Once a warrant is active, a warrant fee and late fee are added, and the total can easily double or triple a fine that started at $75.
The court can also notify the DMV, which suspends your license until the court issues a clearance letter confirming the case is resolved. Clearing the warrant typically means appearing in court or contacting the court to arrange payment plus the warrant fee.
If You Don’t Live in Nevada
A large share of Las Vegas tickets go to visitors, and flying home doesn’t make the citation disappear. Nevada has been a member of the Driver License Compact since 1961, so a Nevada conviction gets reported to your home state’s DMV, which treats the offense as if you committed it locally.12The Council of State Governments. Driver License Compact That can mean points on your home record, higher insurance rates, and, if you let the ticket go to warrant status, a refusal to renew your home-state license until Nevada is cleared. Paying or contesting through the court’s online portal is almost always simpler than dealing with a suspended license months later.
If You Hold a CDL
A CDL holder in Las Vegas has fewer options than an ordinary driver. Federal regulations bar any state from masking, deferring judgment on, or diverting a traffic conviction so that it doesn’t appear on a CDL holder’s record, and Nevada has adopted the federal rule.13eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 The common strategy of pleading a moving violation down to a non-moving one, or entering a diversion program, is off the table.
The restriction applies to any traffic violation in any vehicle, not just in a commercial truck. A speeding ticket in your personal car on the Strip goes on your CDL record. The only carve-outs are parking, vehicle weight, and vehicle defect violations. If you have a defensible case, contest it at a hearing; if the evidence is against you, pay and manage the points, because there is no plea-bargain shortcut available.