TxDMV: Paying traffic ticket is necessary for every driver in Texas. It is because it becomes difficult to manage these tickets once the prescribed time is passed. If the ticket remains unpaid for long time, then the State of Texas may suspend your license or prevent the guilty from license renewal.
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Texas DMV Traffic Violations
In Texas, traffic violations are the most common offenses done by residents of Texas. There are different types of traffic violations that are grouped into two categories – Major and Minor.
Also Read: Pay your NJMCDirect Traffic Ticket Payment Online
Both types of violations have their own consequences based on its severity.
Here is a list of some minor and major violations along with their consequences:
| Major violations | ||
| Hit & run | Up to $5,000 | +5 years imprisonment (maximum) |
| Reckless driving | Up to $200 | +30 days imprisonment |
| Driving with no license | $200 | |
| Intoxication manslaughter | Up to $10,000 | +2-20 years imprisonment |
| Driving while intoxication | $2,000 (for 1st offense) | +3 days imprisonment and 90 days license suspension (minimum) |
| Minor violations | ||
| Speeding | $150 (based on municipality) | |
| No seat belt | $50-200 (based on the age of unbelted passenger) | |
| Violating signs of railroad crossing | $50-200 | |
| Vehicle parked in disabled space | Up to $500 | |
| Do not stop for school bus | $200-1,000 (for 1st offense) | +License suspension (for further offenses) |
How to respond to Texas Traffic Ticket?
Usually, you have to respond to the traffic ticket within 30 days from the date of issue. It is necessary to plea prior to the due date of ticket as mentioned.
Further, when you respond to the traffic ticket, you have three options as follows:
- Plead guilty and pay the ticket fine
- Admission of guilt
- Waive off the right to challenge the traffic ticket in court
- Car insurance rates may increase
- Driver’s license may suspend based on Texas driving record
- Plead not guilty and contest the ticket
- Request to relevant county court for a contested hearing
- Check the relevant check box on the ticket and mail it to the court
- Plead no contest and pay the ticket fine
- Acknowledging the evidence against the driver
- Accept the legal repercussions
- Not pleading guilty
- Safeguard the defendant from civil lawsuits in future dependent on the conviction from the original trial
Pay Texas DMV Traffic Ticket
Paying a traffic ticket clearly indicates that you have admitted a no contest or guilty plea. You have multiple options to pay the ticket in Texas. However, these options depend on traffic violations as well as where the ticket has been issued. So, to pay the ticket, the following options are available to residents:
- Through phone
- In person
- Online
- By mail
Note: In some cases, appearing in court is mandatory to settle your traffic ticket. If you are issued with a criminal violation or a minor then you need to appear in court. A criminal violation can be Driving While Intoxication (DWI) etc.
When a traffic ticket is issued and you simply make the ticket payment, it surely leads to the following consequences:
- Increase in insurance cost
- Points add up to the driver records
However, the department always recommends choosing “Defensive Driving Course” option. It is because it can dismiss the ticket and even help get an insurance discount.
Pay Through Mail
Prior to scheduled court date, you can pay full amount of fine either through money order or cheque. You need to mention traffic ticket number on cheque with complete payment. Mail address for ticket payment is:
| City | Municipal Courts |
| Houston | Municipal Courts, P.O. Box 4996, Houston, TX 77210-4996 |
| Dallas | Dallas Municipal Court 2014 Main Street Dallas, TX 75201 |
| Austin | Austin Municipal Court, P.O. Box 2135 Austin, TX 78768-2135 |
| Odessa | Municipal Court 201 North Grant Street Odessa, Texas 79760 |
| Temple | Municipal Court 401 N 3rd Street Temple, TX. 76501 |
| El Paso | Municipal Court 810 E Overland El Paso, TX 79901 |
| Fort Worth | Fort Worth Municipal Court 1000 Throckmorton St. Fort Worth, TX 76102-6382 |
| Post | 105 East Main Street Post, TX 79356 |
Pay through phone
In addition, you can pay ticket fine by phone with a Credit or Debit card. All Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards are accepted for the payment.
| City | Phone number |
| Temple | 254-298-5687 |
| Odessa | 432-335-3300 |
| El Paso | 915-212-0232 |
| Fort Worth | 682-999-3681 |
| Austin | 512-974-4800 |
| Houston | 713-837-0311 |
Pay in Person
If you opt to pay the ticket fine in person, then you need to visit Municipal Courts of Texas. Moreover, you can get details of Municipal Courts on the Texas Government website.
You can pay ticket fine at the Municipal Court by check, cashier check, cash, credit card or money order. You need to mention date of birth, driver’s license number and ticket number on the payment.
TxDMV Traffic Ticket Payment Online
Being the easiest method, you can pay your fine online also. Texas government website offers a secure way of paying ticket fine issued against traffic violation.
- In order to pay for tickets online, you need to visit the website first. This website should be the government website of your city in Texas. As for instance, if your city is Austin, then the website should be https://alpha.austin.gov/.
- Then, you should choose the option “Pay ticket online”. After that, provide your ticket information including the following:
- License number
- Ticket/Citation number
- Personal information (Name, date of birth and address, etc)
- Payment information
- The state of Texas allows you to pay using Visa, MasterCard, or other credit cards. However, the state government charges a little amount of about $5 for online payments.
If you do not find your ticket on system, then you should wait for some days. But, you are not advised to ignore the period provided by the court to pay the ticket. It means that you should pay the ticket fine within the prescribed time.
How to check traffic tickets in Texas?
You can check any citation or traffic ticket issued within 24 months to you by Texas Highway Patrol. You need to provide your correct driving license information to check.
- To check the Texas traffic ticket, you should first visit the Texas Department of Public Safety website.
- Now provide the following information correctly:
- Driving License number or ID
- Date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY)
- First name
- Middle name (optional)
- Last name
- At last, click on “Search” and you will get your traffic ticket information.
How to fight Texas Traffic Ticket?
Fighting your ticket involves simple steps to proceed. It requires hiring an attorney/lawyer to fight the ticket. You can expect primarily the dismissal of ticket by fighting. However, in some cases, you can get reduced ticket fine rather than dismissal.
To proceed, you need to plea for “Not guilty and contest the ticket” at the municipal court. You can plead not guilty in the Texas Municipal Court using following methods:
- In person
- Through mail
- Online
After that, you will get a court date for hearing. Make sure you attend all the court hearings in order to avoid serious repercussions.
You can hire an attorney/lawyer online to fight your ticket. For this, you need to visit the website and follow these steps:
- Provide a photo of your traffic ticket issued
- Give correct answers to some questions
This is your main part in the process. After that, you will get an experienced lawyer as per your suitability. Hiring a lawyer to fight your ticket does not require physical appearance in court.
Consequences of Fighting Texas Traffic Ticket
In case you win the case:
- Dismissal of ticket and associated charges
- Elimination of penalties or fines
- No impact on insurance rates
- No points added to your driving record
In case you lose the case:
- Fines
- Community service
- Suspension of license
- Traffic school
- Imprisonment
- Additional points of driving record
How to Calculate Traffic Ticket Savings in Texas?
Fighting your ticket can help you save hundreds of dollars. However, it is not known to everyone how much amount can be saved. For this, you can calculate traffic ticket savings in Texas in simple steps.
You need to enter information of traffic violation, ticket fine amount and monthly payment of car insurance. After that, you get details of savings amount on Texas traffic ticket.
| For example, if your Traffic violation is Reckless Driving Ticket fine is $200 Monthly car insurance payment is $90 Then you can save up to $848 by fighting your ticket. |
Defensive Driving Course
DDC can help you settle most of the minor traffic violations. Furthermore, you can take this course either in a classroom or through online. However, you need to fulfill the following conditions in order to become eligible for this course:
- Must have a non-commercial driver’s license
- Not has been taken a DDC for a different violation recently
- No DDC in the last 12 months
However, the following violations do not allow you to become eligible for defensive driving course:
- Violations of construction zone
- Speeding 25+ mph more than the posted speed limit
- Passing a school bus
- Hit & run (or leaving the accident scene)
- No insurance of vehicle
Traffic ticket leads to add up points on your driving record. However, when you complete this course, you can remove some points from your driving record. Nonetheless, it completely depends on the type of traffic violation.
Find your Lost Traffic Ticket
In case you have lost the traffic ticket, you do not need to worry now. You can search the lost traffic ticket but it completely depends on the issuer of the ticket.
Contact to the Presiding Traffic Court
You can contact the presiding traffic court when the ticket is issued by the officer of either a local police department or a sheriff’s department.
Online Search
You can search your traffic ticket online when it is issued by the TX Highway Patrol. You can find lost ticket on this link: https://www.dps.texas.gov/HIGHWAYPATROL/CITATIONS/
Interesting facts about Texas Traffic Tickets
- The legal limit of blood alcohol concentration in Texas is 0.08.
- The world’s fastest speeding ticket was issued in Texas, the USA in May 2003. The car was speeding at 242 mph in a 75 mph zone.
- There are over 196,165,666 licensed drivers in the USA. Out of this, 13,498,071 licensed drivers are in Texas.
- The most common reasons for traffic ticket issues are:
- Crossing speed limit
- Driving uninsured vehicle
- Violating yield and stop signs
- Failed to provide inspection certificate
- Overtaking an authorized emergency vehicle
Most and Least Ticketed Vehicles in Texas are:
| Most ticketed vehicles | Rate |
| Hummer H2/H3 | 463% |
| Scion tC | 460% |
| Scion XB | 403% |
| Mercedes Benz CLK63 AMG | 397% |
| Toyota Solara Coupe | 306% |
| Least ticketed vehicles | Rate |
| Jaguar XJ sedan | 11% |
| Chevrolet Suburban | 16% |
| Chevrolet Tahoe | 21% |
| Chevrolet C/K- 3500/2500 pickup | 28% |
| Buick Park Avenue | 32% |
In conclusion, traffic tickets should never be ignored in order to keep your driving record positive. You should pay ticket fine within the time prescribed by the court. Additionally, court allows you to hire an attorney to fight your ticket.
You can also check:
- How to Pay Traffic Ticket in Michigan
- Maryland Traffic Ticket Payment
- New York Motor Vehicle Trafifc Ticket Payment
- Florida Traffic Ticket Payment
- How to Pay Motor Vehicle Traffic Ticket Fines in NJMCDirect
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
When should I hire an attorney? What does an attorney do?
1) To fight the traffic ticket: In such a case, charges may decrease based on your budget.
2) For Out-of-state tickets: If the traffic ticket is issued in another state or in a country/state far away from you, a lawyer can help stand for you in court on the appearance date.
The traffic ticket lawyer represents you in court on appearance date, makes negotiations with the prosecutor for reducing charges, or handles all paperwork.
What are the consequences of a traffic ticket in Texas?
1) Ticket fines/penalties
2) Increment in insurance premium
3) Suspension of license
4) Attending a traffic school course
What are moving and non-moving violations?
What happens if one does not pay or respond traffic ticket within the prescribed time?
1) License suspension
2) Additional fines
3) Arrest warrant