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Everybody’s been there at one time or another. You’re busy with work, with your family, or with your friends. Then, next thing you know, you’ve forgotten about something important. Normally, it’s nothing you can’t redo. But if you forget about your ticket, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.
Since the traffic court process is different from one state to another, this article is going to focus on New York. That said, most of this information applies across the country, no matter where you are.
First Things First, Read the Ticket
To figure out what’s going on with your case, you’re going to need to know how to read a New York traffic ticket. New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) uses what they call a uniform traffic ticket. That means the ticket will look mostly the same no matter where you get it. The only exception is for city courts, like New York City’s Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB).
Somewhere on your ticket, there should be a court date. It might be in a box labeled “court date,” “appearance date,” “response date,” or something else. That date is when you were supposed to appear in court.
Next, make a note of the traffic ticket number (also called a citation number). For New York’s uniform traffic tickets, that’s the number in the top left of the ticket.
Once you have that, look around the ticket to see if there are any boxes for “traffic infraction” or “misdemeanor.” They might be abbreviated to something like “tr inf” or “misd,” like they are in New York.
What If I Lost My Traffic Ticket?
If you’ve lost your traffic ticket, the law still requires you to respond to it. That means tossing your ticket in the shredder is not grounds for a dismissal. In fact, usually people who lose their ticket lose their case because they don’t have the necessary information to prepare for court.
Fortunately, there are many ways to find a lost traffic ticket. You can call the court clerk, email the court staff, or check and see if there’s a search menu online. The New York DMV has one and so do many other jurisdictions, but some don’t.
These can also tell you if you have a traffic ticket that you don’t know about.
What Happens If Your Ticket is for a Traffic Infraction
If you’ve missed your court date, you won’t have another chance to fight your ticket. That most likely means that you will miss your case. Some courts like Nassau County Traffic Court in NY allow people to reschedule their court date under certain conditions. If you think you might miss your court date, either ask the court to reschedule or hire a traffic ticket lawyer to go for you.
If neither you nor your representative show up on your court date, the court will most likely find you guilty in absentia. That’s legalese for, “If you don’t show up, you lose your case.” But since the case went to court and you didn’t show up, the judge might also demand that you pay higher court costs.
If you don’t show up on your court date, you might have to pay even more than if you had just pleaded guilty in the first place.
What Happens If Your Ticket is for a Misdemeanor
If you forget about your ticket and it happens to be a misdemeanor traffic violation, you need to call a lawyer immediately. Misdemeanor traffic tickets are a kind of criminal traffic ticket. Missing a criminal court hearing can have severe penalties.
If you forget about your ticket and didn’t show up to court for a misdemeanor, New York’s criminal court system can issue a bench warrant. The court can also add more charges to the case against you. Failure to appear is considered a Violation, which is essentially the same as a Class B misdemeanor, but a little less awful.
What Happens if You Forget to Pay Your Ticket
If all you forget about your ticket is to pay it, then you’re a little better off than you would have been had you forgotten to go to court. That said, you’re still in hot water.
If it’s been around 100 days since the violation took place, the state will issue a judgement. That usually means the ticket will be sent to a collections agency and your credit score will be all but destroyed. If your total ticket value is more than $350, New York City might also confiscate your vehicle.
Other jurisdictions have similar rules, but the time the court is willing to wait is often different from place to place. A general rule of thumb is that you should pay no more than 30 days after getting your ticket. After 90 days, you can expect that ticket to go to collections.
If you’re still in that 100-day window, you can try to pay the ticket before it goes into judgement. That usually means a few late fees, maybe some court costs, and then you’re done.
If you’ve already forgotten to appear in court or to pay a ticket, contact the court as soon as possible. Granted, that can be a significant challenge if you’re not a lawyer. The WinIt app allows you to pay your traffic tickets with the touch of a button. To learn more about traffic tickets and the rules of the road, check out our blog and follow us on Facebook.
