The silicon valley of the United States, California is also home to the California Highway Patrol – the largest state police force in the country. Featuring over 10,000 sworn police officers and more than 2,000 civilian employees, the organization primarily safeguards all California highways, streets, and roads (including outside city limits) and acts as a law enforcement agency anywhere within the state.
Formed in 1929, the California Highway Patrol’s mission has been to protect life and property, assist the public, create public trust, and ultimately train, recruit, and develop some of the best law enforcement professionals in the world. It is also responsible for carrying out our search and rescue processes, commercial vehicle enforcement, accident investigations, and emergency responses. With that being said if you have recently been fined by the California Highway Patrol authorities and want to clear the pending dues without any delay, then our comprehensive guide can help you do so effortlessly.
Here are the Steps to Pay Online
According to the California Highway Patrol, once a traffic citation is issued, the case immediately falls under the jurisdiction of the traffic court specified at the bottom of the citation ticket/form. Thus, the payment process must be directed through the online website of that specific court. To pay your traffic citation today, follow the required steps presented below.
- Begin your payment process by first heading over to the “Self-Help” website for California courts here.
- On the landing page, scroll down to the section”Where To Pay Your Ticket”.
- From the drop-down menu, select the city or region for the traffic court that has been mentioned in your traffic ticket/citation. For instance, if the traffic court stated in your citation ticket is “Ventura,” then select “Ventura” and click on “Go”.
- You will then be redirected to the official website of the Court of Ventura (or any other court based on your selection), where you will be able to pay the traffic fine. For that, you need to state your name, citation number, case number, and any other essential information. Also, online payment options include debit or credit cards.
- After successfully paying your traffic fine, ensure that you take a printout of the confirmation page so that you can use it for future reference.
Other Ways to Pay
In addition to paying your traffic fine/citation online, you can also pay the same by visiting the respective traffic court (as mentioned in the citation ticket) personally and settling the dues. To do that, follow the suggested steps laid out below.
- Start your search by first heading over to the “Pay Traffic Ticket” section of the official California Government website here.
- Proceed to click on “Launch Service,” and you will be redirected to a different web page.
- In the next step, you will have to enter your requisite California city name or ZIP code for the stated traffic court. For instance, if the stated traffic court in your citation ticket is “Nevada,” then you have to either enter “Nevada” or the state’s ZIP code. Alternatively, you can also click on “View All Courts” to get a full list of the traffic courts available at your disposal.
- Once you have found your preferred traffic court, ensure that you note down its location and contact information.
- After that, simply head over there with your citation ticket/form and pay the relevant fine on the spot.
Keep in mind that, besides paying your traffic citation, you can also contest the ticket at a trial at the same traffic court of issue. However, ignoring the ticket can lead to hefty fines (an additional $100 or more) along with the possibility of getting your driver’s license suspended.
Different Types of Offenses or Penalties
To learn more about the variety of offenses or penalties that come under the jurisdiction of the California Highway Patrol, be sure to go through the following list carefully.
Juvenile Tickets: Juvenile tickets are ideally given out to juvenile drivers who are held responsible for local municipal code and vehicle code infractions involving the operation or driving of a motor vehicle.
Parking Violation Tickets: While parking citations are not considered to be criminal offenses, they still attract civil penalties. Contesting parking tickets requires the fined individual to contact the agency that issued the ticket.
Red Light Camera Violation Tickets: Individuals who jump red lights at traffic intersections – either knowingly or unknowingly – ultimately risking the lives of other traffic and pedestrians – will be subjected to a red light camera fine.
Registration/License Violation Tickets: Drivers operating a motor vehicle without proper vehicle registration and driver’s licenses will be subjected to such citations.
Insurance Violation Tickets: Individuals operating a motor vehicle (or when involved in an accident) without having any proof of financial responsibility, such as vehicle insurance, will be charged with an insurance violation ticket.
Out-of-County/Out-of-State Resident Tickets: These types of tickets are handed over to out-of-county or out-of-state residents who are accused of traffic violations.
For any further assistance, you can get in touch with the authorities at California Highway Patrol by calling 911 (for emergencies) or 1-800-TELL-CHP (for non-emergencies). Additionally, you can also look for your nearest area office here.
