Who handles traffic tickets in California?

What are our picks for you?

Each card below lists what the firm publishes about itself. Picks are not rankings, and nothing here compares firms or promises a result.

What does a traffic ticket lawyer do?

A traffic ticket lawyer deals with the court on your behalf. That can mean looking up your case, requesting traffic school, filing a trial by written declaration, preparing for a court trial, or contacting the court about a missed date. What a firm actually does for you depends on your ticket and on the fee agreement.

Ticket Crushers, A Law Corporation, for example, lists these among the matters it handles: speeding tickets, driving over 100 mph, red light and red light camera tickets, commercial driver citations, failure-to-appear notices and negligent operator hearings. Other firms list their own services on their own sites.

What does it cost?

Fee structures vary by firm, and each firm publishes its own. Ticket Crushers states, in its own words, that its flat fee starts as low as $149 for many infractions and includes every required court appearance. Another firm may bill differently, so ask each one.

Questions to ask any firm about fees:

• Is the fee flat, and what does it cover?
• Does it include every court appearance?
• What happens if the ticket needs a trial?
• Are court fines and traffic school fees extra?

You still pay the court's bail or fine on top of a lawyer's fee. See the ticket cost calculator for the schedule amounts.

Which other California firms handle traffic tickets?

The cards below list other California firms that handle traffic tickets. They appear alphabetically with the same short fields. The list is not exhaustive, and the order says nothing about quality.

How do you choose a traffic ticket lawyer?

Use this neutral checklist.

1. Check the license. Search the attorney on the State Bar of California site, calbar.ca.gov, and confirm the license is active.
2. Confirm the court. Make sure the firm handles tickets in the county named on your citation.
3. Read the fee terms. Ask what is included, in writing.
4. Ask who appears. Learn whether an attorney, not a staff member, will appear if you do not attend.
5. Ask about the process. A firm should explain the routes: pay, traffic school, trial or written declaration.
6. Watch the due date. Hire before the date on your citation, and keep confirmations.

What should you have ready before you call a firm?

Have your citation or courtesy notice in front of you, with the code section, the court, the due date and any mandatory appearance noted. Know your license class, and say so if you hold a commercial license. Write down any points already on your record and the date of your last traffic school, if you have one. A firm can only advise on what it can see, and these details decide whether traffic school is still open.

For the options a lawyer would choose among, read traffic school or fighting the ticket, find your court in the traffic courts index, or return to the guide home page.