What to Do When You Get a Speeding Ticket in California

If you just got a speeding ticket in California, you have three choices to make before the due date printed on the citation: pay the fine, request traffic school, or contest the ticket. Each path has a different cost and a different effect on your driving record and insurance, but the one thing you cannot do is nothing. Missing that due date triggers civil assessments, a DMV hold, and potential collections activity on top of whatever you already owed.¹

What You Actually Owe

The base fine printed on your ticket is only part of the bill. For going 1 to 15 mph over the limit, the base fine is typically $35. For 16 to 25 mph over, it jumps to $70. Speeds 26 mph or more over the limit carry a base fine of up to $100.²

Then California adds penalty assessments, a 20% state surcharge, a court operations fee, and a conviction assessment on top. A $35 base fine ends up costing roughly $226, and a $70 base fine lands well above $400.² Keep that real number in mind when you weigh your options, because comparing a $35 base fine against a $52 traffic school fee makes traffic school look expensive. Comparing a $226 total against the same traffic school fee plus a point on your record tells the real story.

Paying the Ticket

Paying is the simplest path and the one most people take without thinking it through. When you pay, you are pleading guilty. The violation goes on your public driving record, one point is added, and that point stays visible for three years.³

Your insurance company will see the conviction at your next renewal. A single speeding ticket in California raises full-coverage premiums by roughly 39% on average, around $100 more per month for a typical driver, and that increase generally lasts three to five years. Over that period, the extra premium dwarfs the fine. That is why, if you qualify, traffic school almost always comes out ahead financially.

Requesting Traffic School

Traffic school lets you pay the ticket while keeping the conviction off your public record. Under Vehicle Code 42005, the court has discretion to let you attend a state-approved course, and completion prevents the conviction from appearing where insurers can see it.⁴

You have to meet several requirements to be eligible:

You have not completed traffic school for another ticket within the past 18 months.
You were not going more than 25 mph over the posted speed.
You do not hold a commercial driver’s license, and the violation did not occur in a commercial vehicle.
The charge is not reckless driving, DUI, or hit-and-run.⁵

If you qualify, you pay the full bail amount (the total fine with surcharges), a state-mandated administrative fee of $52,⁶ and the course itself, which runs about $20 to $50 depending on the provider. You are paying more up front than if you simply paid the ticket, but you avoid the point and the multi-year insurance increase.

Contesting by Written Declaration

If you think the ticket was wrong, Vehicle Code 40902 gives every driver charged with an infraction the right to a trial by written declaration, meaning you fight the ticket in writing without ever appearing in court.⁷

You submit the request before your due date, pay the full bail amount upfront (refunded if you win), write a statement explaining your defense, and attach any evidence like photos, diagrams, or witness statements. The officer who cited you gets a chance to submit their own written account. A judge reviews both and mails you the decision.⁸

Defenses that work best in writing tend to focus on things the officer would struggle to rebut on paper: poor sightlines, missing or obscured signage, or conditions where the posted limit was actually unsafe to follow. California’s basic speed law under Vehicle Code 22350 ties legality to what is reasonable for conditions, not just the posted number.⁹

Losing the written declaration is not the end. You have 20 calendar days from the date the court mails the decision to file a Request for New Trial (form TR-220), and the court must schedule an in-person hearing within 45 days.¹⁰ That in-person trial is a fresh start, and officers frequently fail to appear, which results in a dismissal. The written declaration is essentially a free first attempt.

What Happens If You Ignore It

Miss your due date without taking any action and the court adds a $100 civil assessment under Penal Code 1214.1.¹¹ That fee can be imposed for both failure to appear and failure to pay, meaning up to $200 in civil assessments can stack onto your case, and it can be sent to collections.¹²

The court also reports the failure to appear to the DMV, which places a hold on your record under Vehicle Code 40509.5. That hold prevents you from renewing your license. California no longer suspends licenses simply because a driver cannot afford to pay a traffic fine, but failing to respond to the court at all is treated differently and still carries real license consequences.¹

If you missed your due date for a legitimate reason like illness or a family emergency, contact the court as soon as possible. Courts have discretion to cancel the late fees when the delay was justified.¹

If You Cannot Afford the Fine

California courts recognize that a $230 to $490 fine is a real hardship for many drivers. You can request an ability-to-pay determination, and the court may lower the fine, set up a payment plan, give you more time, or let you do community service instead.¹³

The easiest way to make this request is through the MyCitations online portal, where you upload proof of your financial situation and receive the court’s decision by email. If you prefer paper, fill out form TR-320 and mail it or bring it to the court clerk.¹³ Making the request also keeps you from triggering the failure-to-appear penalties that make everything worse.

When the Standard Playbook Does Not Apply

Speeds Over 100 MPH

California treats triple-digit speeds as a separate category under Vehicle Code 22348(b). A first conviction carries a fine of up to $500 plus the usual surcharges, and the court can suspend your license for up to 30 days. A second conviction within three years raises the maximum fine to $750 and triggers a mandatory DMV suspension. A third within five years can mean a fine up to $1,000 and suspension for up to a year.¹⁴ These violations add two points to your driving record instead of one, and traffic school is not available for two-point violations, so there is no way to keep this off your insurer’s radar.

Commercial Driver’s License Holders

If you hold a CDL, any speeding conviction of 15 mph or more over the limit is classified as a serious traffic violation under federal rules. Two serious traffic violations within three years result in a 60-day CDL disqualification; three within three years means 120 days.¹⁵ Even a ticket in your personal car counts. California traffic school is not available to CDL holders,⁵ so if you drive commercially, contesting the ticket is almost always worth the effort.

1
Judicial Branch of California. Traffic Tickets in California
2
Superior Court of California County of Orange. How Is Your Fine Determined
3
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Negligence
4
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 41501a
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Superior Court of California | County of Placer. Traffic Violator School Program 42005 CVC
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Superior Court of California | County of San Francisco. Traffic School
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Superior Court of California | County of San Mateo. Trial by Written Declaration
8
Superior Court of California | County of Solano. TR-200 Instructions to Defendant – Trial by Written Declaration Traffic
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California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22350
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Judicial Branch of California. Rule 4.210 Traffic Court – Trial by Written Declaration
11
Superior Court of California | County of Orange. Failure to Appear / Failure to Pay
12
Superior Court of California | County of Santa Clara. FTA/FTP Failure to Appear or Pay Violations
13
Judicial Branch of California. If You Cannot Afford to Pay Your Traffic Ticket
14
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22348
15
U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). If a CDL Holder Was Convicted of One Excessive Speeding 15 or More Miles Over the Speed Limit Violation in a CMV