California Traffic School Eligibility

Eligibility Requirements

Mask the Ticket

Your ticket will be masked if you take traffic school for a moving violation. This means your ticket will be held confidential. Most importantly, insurance companies will not have access to this information.

Am I Eligible?

You typically take traffic violator school after you get a ticket. You are eligible for traffic violator school if:

  1. You have a valid driver license.
  2. You got a ticket for a moving violation.
  3. You have not taken traffic school in the last 18 months.
  4. You have paid all fees.

You Must Have a Valid License

In most cases you must have a regular (Class C) driver license. You can check which class you have by looking at the upper right corner of your driver license. Drivers with out-of-state licenses are eligible as long as they meet the rest of the requirements.

You may be eligible to take a Traffic Violator course if you hold a Commercial driver license so long as:

  1. You received the ticket on or after January 1, 2013
  2. You were not driving a commercial vehicle when you received the ticket
  3. You have received a referral from your court to attend Traffic Violator School

Note: The court may not order that the record of conviction be kept confidential. However, the conviction shall not be added to a violation point count for purposes of determining whether a driver is presumed to be a negligent operator under Section 12810.5.

You Got a Ticket for a Moving Violation

You must have received a ticket for a moving violation that is assigned only one point. Examples of moving violations include speeding, failing to stop at a stop sign, or failing to yield the right of way. You are not eligible to take traffic school for violations that are assigned two or more points (e.g., reckless driving).

You Have Not Taken Traffic School in the Last 18 Months

You can only take traffic violator school once every 18 months. The time period is measured from violation date to violation date. In other words the clock starts clicking from the day you got your last ticket.

You Have Paid All Fees

You must pay fees and bail to the court in order to be eligible. In addition, you must plead guilty to the infraction. You cannot take traffic school if you have already been convicted of the violation. This means you must request traffic school at the time you plead guilty and submit your fees.