Failure To Appear, Pay or Comply

Failure to resolve your traffic/minor offense ticket by the due date (or appear-by date) may result in the issuance of a warrant, new charges, or the imposition of a $100 civil assessment penalty added to the original bail pursuant to Penal Code §1214.1, and referral to a collection agency. In addition, you may be subject to wage garnishments, tax refund intercept, and bank levies through the Franchise Tax Board Court Ordered Debt Collection Program (see Cases in Collection).

Each subsequent failure to comply with a court order may result in an additional $100 civil assessment or issuance of a warrant.

For payment relief options, see the Payment Options and Financial Hardship Information page.

If you have failed to appear on a traffic/minor offense case and a warrant has been issued, you may be able to pay the total bail or an appearance in court may be necessary. Warrants cannot be settled over the phone or online. Bail is not required to appear in court. Contact the appropriate court location for further information.

Failure to resolve your traffic/minor offense ticket by the due date (or appear-by date) may result in the issuance of a warrant, new charges, or the imposition of a $100 civil assessment penalty added to the original bail amount pursuant to Penal Code §1214.1, and referral to a collection agency. In addition, you may be subject to wage garnishments, tax refund intercept, and bank levies through the Franchise Tax Board Court Ordered Debt Collection Program.

• If your license is suspended, once full payment is received, or you appear in court and satisfy the order of the court, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will be notified.
• Driving with a suspended license is a misdemeanor offense and may result in the vehicle driven at the time the offense is committed being impounded for a period of 30 days.

Once your traffic/minor offense ticket has been referred to the court's collection agency, please address all correspondence, payments, and questions to the following agency (unless you want to make a courtroom appearance based on financial hardship):

For payment relief options, see the Payment Options and Financial Hardship Information page.

If the case is not resolved within six months of being assigned to the collection agency, the case will be forwarded to the State of California Franchise Tax Board for collection and you may be subject to wage garnishments and bank levies through the Franchise Tax Board Court Ordered Debt Collection Program. All correspondence and payments are to be made directly to the Franchise Tax Board.

Franchise Tax Board
Court Ordered Debt Collection Program
P. O. Box 1328
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-1328
(916) 845-4064

If your driver license has been suspended for failure to appear or failure to pay a fine, once full payment is received or you appear in court and satisfy the order of the court, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will be notified. Bail is not required to appear in court.

California Department of Motor Vehicles has field offices that will accept payment for traffic tickets in collections or in warrant status and release the license suspension, if applicable. If your license has been suspended for failure to appear or pay a fine imposed by the court, you must pay the fine and civil assessment in full, or appear in court and satisfy the order of the court, before the release of your suspension can be issued.