What to do if you get a Traffic Citation in Sacramento County, CA

You have a few options, but attending traffic school is by far the best option of them all because your ticket will be masked from your driving record and your insurance rates won't increase. Plus, with Traffic School by Improv's Edutainment approach, you will laugh while you learn!

Complete a DMV-approved Traffic Violator School Course

If you have not taken traffic school within the past 18 months, your best choice is to request to attend a California Approved Traffic School to get your traffic ticket dismissed. You will be required to pay the entire ticket fine amount as well as a $61.00 non-refundable administrative fee.

When you pay the fine, make sure you select the option to attend a Sacramento County traffic school. We recommend taking CA Traffic School Online as it is the most convenient option available.

You can complete the course in increments or all in one sitting-it's all up to you! Regardless, you can work on it 24/7 on your computer from the comfort of your own home in Sacramento County.

To request traffic school, you may:

  1. Appear in person at the Carol Miller Justice Center, Room 100, Window 11 or 12, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

  2. Call the automated system at (916) 875-7778. You will also be required to pay your fine by credit card.

  3. Go online to https://www.epay-it.com/sac/. You can request traffic school after paying the citation fine by credit card.

  4. Complete and sign the Traffic School Request form and return it to the court with a check for the fine amount plus $61 on or prior to the due date indicated at the bottom of your ticket.

Mail the request to:

Sacramento Superior Court
Attention: Traffic Violator School
301 Bicentennial Circle, Room 100
Sacramento, CA 95826



What to do after Completing Traffic School

Online Traffic School:

Your traffic school course completion will be electronically transmitted to the Sacramento County court and to the CA DMV on your behalf, so no need to turn in any certificates to the court. However, the online traffic school will provide you with a completion receipt as proof of your completion for your records.

Classroom Traffic School Course in Riverside County:

You will be given a certificate of completion by the traffic school upon successful completion of the course. You must either mail it to the address listed on your traffic ticket or deliver it in person to the Clerk of the Court in the traffic department of the Sacramento County court handling your ticket.

If you are not eligible to attend traffic school, you have the following two choices:

  1. Pay your citation. In order to avoid surcharges being added to your traffic ticket fine, make sure to pay before the due date listed on the courtesy notice from the court. By paying your traffic citation, you are admitting guilt for the traffic violation and demerit points will be reflected on your driving record for three years which will result in an increase in your auto insurance rates. Therefore, taking a traffic school course is a better choice, as the points from the traffic violation will be masked from your driving record and you will avoid having to pay higher insurance rates.

  2. Appear in court. If you feel you are not guilty of the violation, you may challenge your ticket by pleading not guilty in court and present the facts to the Judge. You can either appear in court on the date and time noted on the bottom of your ticket or submit a Written Trial by Declaration along with a check for the ticket fine amount and any evidence or other facts you would like to have the judicial officer consider and you will receive a decision by mail.

If you are found innocent of the violation by the judge or judicial officer, your traffic citation will be dismissed and the bail amount you paid will be refunded to you by the Sacramento County traffic court.

If you are found guilty, you would have nothing to lose by asking for permission to attend traffic school so you can at least get your ticket dismissed and avoid getting stuck with higher insurance rates.