Let App WinIt fight your ticket.

If you don’t pay a ticket, you could be in for a bumpy ride. Whether you’ve gotten a parking ticket or a traffic ticket, the law requires you to either pay it or beat it. That’s true regardless of the reason for the ticket. Whether you got a ticket for having a sticker on your windshield or for driving 200 miles per hour through a school zone, you still have to pay the ticket.

Failure to pay a ticket is a separate charge from the original ticket with separate penalties. That means you can be held accountable for two violations rather than just the original ticket. To make matters worse, failure to pay a ticket is often considered a misdemeanor.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay a Speeding Ticket?

If you don’t pay a speeding ticket, you can be charged with failure to pay. In many jurisdictions, failure to pay is a misdemeanor offense. Let’s take New York as an example.

If you fail to pay a speeding ticket in New York, you can have your license suspended. That suspension can then lead to your insurance provider increasing the cost of your premiums, which can cost hundreds of dollars each year. You will also have to pay late fees on your ticket, increasing the total cost even further.

But that’s not the worst of it. In addition to all of these penalties, it’s possible that you could wind up going to jail and coming out with a criminal record.

Can I Be Arrested For Not Paying a Speeding Ticket?

In many jurisdictions, failure to pay a speeding ticket is considered a misdemeanor offense. That means you can be arrested for it. Whether you can afford to pay the fine or you refuse to, the law will treat you the same way: As a criminal. 

Once you’ve been arrested, if you are convicted, you will come away with a criminal record.

Failure to pay a ticket can have serious consequences, but the consequences of ignoring a ticket in the first place can often make things even worse. If you outright ignore your traffic ticket, the court may issue a warrant for your arrest. This is called a bench warrant. Bench warrants are designed to enable the judge to force people to go to court.

In other words, you either choose to go to court or the judge chooses to make you go to court.

How Long Can My License Be Suspended If I Don’t Pay a Ticket?

In many places, failure to pay a ticket can result in the indefinite suspension of your driver license. For as long as the ticket goes unpaid, you will have your driver license suspended. In other words, if you never pay your ticket, you will never get your license back.

There are two kinds of suspensions: definite and indefinite. Definite suspensions last a set period of time, such as 30 days or 6 months. Indefinite suspensions last forever or until you satisfy whatever conditions the judge sets out for you. 

In the case of an unpaid ticket, the indefinite suspension of your driver license can often only be lifted by paying the entire outstanding balance. That may include the fines, surcharges, late fees, collection fees, and other costs.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay a Ticket From a Different State?

Now you know what can happen if you don’t pay a ticket in your home state. In other states, many of those same penalties apply. Of course, each state’s laws are different and the penalties will vary depending on which state in which the ticket was issued.

For the most part, if you get a ticket in another state and then do not pay it, that other state will suspend your license to drive in that state. If you are not a licensed driver in that state, the DMV there might still suspend your privilege to drive through it. For commuters, this can be particularly troublesome.

Can an Unpaid Ticket Be Sent To Collections?

Unpaid tickets can be and often are sent to collections. The greater the balance on your ticket and the longer you go without paying it, the more likely the state is to send it to collections. Of course, which state the ticket belongs to also affects how long you have to pay the ticket before it is sent to collections.

From then on out, you will have to deal with debt collectors calling your phone, attorneys fees increasing the amount you owe, and potential legal action. It is even possible for debt collectors to put a garnishment on your wages, which allows them to take a bit of money out of your paycheck without your permission.

Can an Unpaid Ticket Affect My Credit Score?

If an unpaid ticket is sent to collections, you can expect your credit score to drop significantly. That could prevent you from obtaining loans for school, childcare, health, or other things. It can even prevent you from getting a mortgage for a new home.

Fighting a Ticket Is Better Than Ignoring It

Ignoring a ticket can get you arrested. Refusing to pay it can get you sent to jail. Fighting it can save you hundreds of dollars, prevent insurance increases, keep your record clean, and more. The choice comes down to jail or a lawyer.

Hiring a lawyer to fight your ticket is far better than ignoring it or refusing to pay the balance on it. Traffic ticket lawyers have expert knowledge of traffic court procedures and can use that knowledge to increase your chances of getting a favorable outcome in your case. Oftentimes, that means getting your ticket dismissed so that you don’t have to pay the state a penny.

So what are you waiting for? Download the WinIt app and get started fighting your tickets today.