Traffic School

Approximately two weeks prior to your appearance date, you may receive a courtesy notice from the court in the mail. This notice will tell you if you may be eligible to attend traffic school.  Traffic school eligibility shall be determined by California Rules of Court, rule 4.104. If you are eligible and decide not to attend traffic school, your driving record and automobile insurance may be adversely affected.  For drivers with a non-commercial driver license, one conviction in any 18-month period may be held confidential and not show on your driving record if you complete traffic school.  For drivers with a commercial driver license, driving a non-commercial vehicle, one conviction in any 18-month period will show on your driving record without a violation point if you complete traffic school.

Do not attend traffic school unless your courtesy notice tells you that you may be eligible to attend.  

A person charged with an infraction who is eligible and wishes to have the case proceed as a misdemeanor (See Pen. Code §§17(d)(1), 19.8) must make a court appearance before attending traffic school to make that election. By attending traffic school without appearing in court to make that election, the person waives the right to proceed as a misdemeanor.

NOTE: You will be granted a one-time 90 day continuance to complete traffic school. Traffic schools are now required to electronically notify the court of traffic school completion. Paper certificates may only be issued to drivers with out-of-state licenses, who will then be responsible for notifying the court with the signed original certificate. California licensed drivers should rely on the schools to notify the court.

• Online: Request Traffic School to pay court fees and receive a one-time 90-day continuance to complete traffic school. To arrange an installment payment plan, you will need to pay at least 10% of the total fee due and then agree to make payments each month. Traffic school must be completed within 90 days.
• Mail: Send the court fees to the court location on your ticket/courtesy notice and receive a one-time 90 day continuance to complete traffic school, allow three to six weeks for a response.
• Express Drop Box: Place the court fees in the express drop box and receive a one-time 90-day continuance to complete traffic school, allow three to six weeks for a response.
• Telephone: Call the court location on your ticket/courtesy notice to pay your fees and receive a one-time 90-day continuance to complete traffic school. Phone hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
• Appear at the counter*: Pay court fees in full and receive a one-time 90-day continuance to complete traffic school; You can also arrange an installment payment plan. You will need to pay at least 10% of the total fee due and then agree to make  payments each month. Traffic school must be completed within 90 days. Allow three to four hours for this process. Business Office appointments may be scheduled online or by calling the location in which your ticket is filed. Appointments are not required to appear in the business office. To save time in line, appointments are recommended.

You MUST provide the following information to the traffic school when enrolling. IF ANY OF THE INFORMATION BELOW IS MISSING, INACCURATE OR DOES NOT MATCH, COMPLETION OF TRAFFIC SCHOOL MAY NOT BE CREDITED TO YOUR CASE.

1. Full name
2. Date of birth
3. Driver license number
4. Case number or citation number
5. Court Code (depending on where the ticket was filed)
   
   1. Central Traffic (Kearny Mesa): 37480
   2. East County: 37440
   3. North County: 37465
   4. South County: 37485

The list of traffic schools is maintained by the California DMV and is available from their Occupational License Lookup tool. You can choose to take online classes or in-person classes in your area.