Paying Your Traffic Ticket

In Virginia, most traffic tickets are paid to the General District Court. In some cases, where the driver is a juvenile, they may be handled by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

For many violations, you have the option of pleading guilty, waiving your right to trial, and prepaying your fines and court costs without a court appearance. You may do this online, in person, or through the mail.

Usually, prepayment is due within 15 days of committing the offense. If you choose to pay, your payment must be received by the trial date listed on your summons.

How to Pay Your Ticket

Online: To prepay a ticket online by credit card, first select the jurisdiction where you were charged with the offense. Then look up your case information and follow the online instructions.

By mail or in person: Look up the court in the jurisdiction where you were charged with the offense. The listing will provide the name of the court clerk as well as the phone number and address of the court.

If the police officer didn't give you a schedule of fines when you were issued the ticket, you may call the court clerk to find out what you owe. Give the specific offense you are charged with and, if applicable, the law section number. You can write down any special instructions to follow.

The district courts accept personal checks and credit cards. If you are paying by credit card, confirm with the court which type of credit cards are accepted.

Then sign and date the Waiver of Trial section on your summons. If you are under the age of 18, you must also complete the procedure, "If Accused is a Juvenile."

Finally, you can deliver the ticket and payment in person to the court clerk, or you can mail it in. However, mail it at your own risk―it needs to be received before the trial date indicated on the ticket.

How to Fight Your Ticket

If you choose to plead "not guilty" and fight your ticket, simply appear at the proper courthouse location on the date and time of your trial. Your court date is shown on the ticket. Depending on the nature of the ticket, you may choose to hire an attorney for legal advice and representation.

At the judge's discretion, you can be tried without appearing in court. In that case, a notice will be sent to your residence with your verdict and any fees and costs involved.

Failure to either prepay or appear in court can result in a warrant against you for a new charge: failure to appear. Then you will have to answer in court for that charge as well as the original traffic ticket.

Appealing a Conviction

If you are not happy with the verdict you receive from traffic court, you have 10 days from your date of conviction to appeal your case to the circuit court. Upon filing the appeal, you will receive a refund of any fines or costs paid to the court and your case papers will be forwarded to the circuit court.

If you do not appeal, the court will notify the DMV of your conviction. The DMV can then assign points against your driving record. This is in addition to any penalty or sentence you receive from the judge.