Traffic School

If you attend and complete a licensed traffic school program and submit a completion certificate to the court within the time allowed; effective July 1, 2011, the DMV will hold the conviction confidential and it will not show on your driving record. 

If you are eligible and do not attend Traffic School your automobile insurance may be adversely affected pursuant to 42007(f) CVC. 

Eligibility 

You may choose to attend Traffic Violator School for certain vehicle violations. To be eligible for the Traffic Violator School Program, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• You must pay the bail amount and a State Mandated Traffic School administrative fee before signing up for Traffic School. This is in addition to the amount charged by the Traffic School you select. 
• You have a valid commercial, or non-commercial driver’s license at the time you were cited. (As of September 13, 2012, holders of commercial driver’s licenses, who are driving a non-commercial vehicle at the time of the violation, are eligible to attend traffic violator school.) 
• You are not currently attending, and have not attended, a traffic school program within the last 18 months. California Vehicle Code Section 1808.7 mandates that only one citation in an eighteen (18) month period be held confidential from public view on your driving record. The eighteen (18) month period is calculated from violation date to violation date, not classroom attendance date. 
• Your citation must be for a moving violation, is not a misdemeanor, and you were not driving a commercial vehicle 
• Violation does not require a mandatory appearance in court. 
• Your citation does not involve alcohol or drugs. 
• Your citation is not for Vehicle Code sections 22406.5 or 21655.5. 
• If your case involves a failure to appear, warrant, or civil assessment, the failure to appear, warrant, or civil assessment charge must be adjudicated or paid in full before you can attend traffic violator school. 
• Excess speed of 25mph and above are not traffic school eligible. 
• NOTE: Effective as of July 1, 2011, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) shall hold only one traffic school conviction within an 18-month period confidential. This also applies to non-point count violations, which are not used to determine negligent operator by DMV. If you have attended another traffic school within eighteen months, DMV will not hold your attendance on this citation confidential.

Your traffic citation will be continued for ninety (90) days from date of payment to allow attendance and completion of the Traffic School Program.

However, in order to accomplish this, you must:

1. Pay a non-refundable Administration Fee, plus the violation bail to the Court. Make your check payable to “Clerk of the Court” and include your citation or case number on your payment.
2. Select a school from the California Traffic Safety Institute list.
3. Contact the school of your choice within two weeks, pay the registration fee and register for the class.
4. Successfully complete the course of instruction.
5. Have the school complete the "Certificate of Completion"
6. When you have completed the course, the school will issue you a receipt and the school will electronically file the Certificate of Completion to the court.

All of the above requirements are your responsibility and must be completed before ninety (90) days. Do not wait to sign up for the school or you may discover that the classes are full and you cannot complete classes and return the "Certificate of Completion" to the Court by the 90th day.

Failure to Complete 

Failure to submit proof of completion by the due date will result in your bail being forfeited, the violation being reported to DMV as a conviction, and a point count on your driving record. 

Extensions
To extend your Traffic School Completion Due Date or to Confirm the court’s receipt of your Traffic School Certificate of Completion, look up your ticket here.

Confirm court's receipt of Traffic School Certificate of Completion:

You may check online to see if the court received your Certificate of Completion at this link. Wait five to seven business days after completion of traffic school to give the court time to process the certificate.