Traffic Court

Traffic Division hears cases in which a person is charged with a traffic offense.

• Many traffic offenses can be prepaid.
• For those cases, the court appearance can be waived; that is the defendant may choose to pay his/her fine and court costs in person or by mail prior to the court date and does not need to appear in court.

The following charges require a mandatory court appearance and are NOT prepayable:

• Driving under the influence
• Driving with a suspended or revoked license
• Reckless driving
• Reckless driving to wit speeding
• Hit and run
• Texting while driving

NOTE: For a listing of prepayable traffic offenses go to www.courts.state.va.us

For more serious traffic offenses

• Court appearance may not be waived
  • Must be in court on your assigned court date
• Prepayment of the fine is not an option

Some examples of these offenses include

• no insurance
• DUI/refusals
• suspended permit
• no permit
• reckless driving
• altered or improper use of decals/tags
• littering
• speeding in a work zone
• habitual offender
• any drug violation

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

• If you are convicted of certain traffic violations, DMV will assess points against your driver's license.
  • This is an administrative action by DMV and is in addition to any sentence imposed by the Judge.
• After conviction, DMV determines the amount of demerit points to be assessed according to the severity of the offense.

NOTE: The Judge does not have the authority to adjust or reduce points.

For more information on points, you can contact DMV.