Los Angeles County Traffic Citation Lookup

How to Search Los Angeles County Traffic Court Records

The Traffic Division of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles runs the public citation lookup. The portal is reached at lacourt.ca.gov/onlineservices/traffic. The site is also branded as MyCitations and iCanHelp for ability-to-pay requests. The lookup covers open infractions, courtesy notices, paid citations, dismissed cases, and traffic-school referrals.

A user needs the citation number from the front of the ticket and either a driver license number, a date of birth, or a court-issued access code. The portal applies a reCAPTCHA bot check. The court's criminal name search does not return traffic infractions, so a name lookup must run through the Traffic Division for the assigned courthouse.

1. Find the citation number and the assigned courthouse printed on the front of the ticket.
2. Open the LA Court traffic portal at lacourt.ca.gov/onlineservices/traffic and enter the citation or notice number.
3. Add the driver license number, date of birth, or the access code from a court courtesy notice.
4. Pass the reCAPTCHA, then review the bail amount, court date, and traffic-school eligibility shown.
5. Pick a service: pay in full, request court trial, request traffic school, file a Trial by Written Declaration, or request a MyCitations reduction.

Which Courts Handle Traffic Cases in Los Angeles County

The LA Court courthouse browser shows traffic services at 17 courthouses across the county. Traffic infractions are not heard at Stanley Mosk Courthouse. The assigned courthouse depends on where the stop happened and on which agency issued the ticket. Agencies include the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the California Highway Patrol, and a long list of city police departments.

A driver should not guess the courthouse. The citation prints the assigned location. If the ticket is lost, the LA Court traffic portal will pair the citation number to the correct location.

For office and court locations of the Alternate Public Defender, see the official site. The full list of 17 traffic courthouses is built from the LA Court courthouse browser. A driver should double check the assigned site through the citation itself, since the same Vehicle Code section may be heard at different traffic courts based on the city of issuance.

Types of Traffic Cases on Record

Traffic court records cover a broad mix of cases. Most are infractions. Some are misdemeanors. A few route over to criminal calendars in full. Parking sits in a separate city-administered file and is not in the Superior Court system.

• Moving infractions. Speeding, red light, stop sign, lane change, unsafe turn, distracted driving.
• Equipment infractions. Lighting, registration, expired tags, window tint, missing plate.
• Non-moving and parking. Parking is handled by the city of issuance, not the Superior Court.
• Misdemeanor traffic offenses. Driving without a valid license, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, hit-and-run, exhibition of speed.
• DUI and felony DUI. Vehicle Code sections 23152 and 23153. These route to criminal calendars; see Los Angeles County criminal records.
• Commercial driver violations. CDL holders are barred from masking convictions through traffic school under 49 C.F.R. section 384.226.
• Failure to appear / failure to pay. Vehicle Code section 40508 actions and resulting holds.
• Photo enforcement. Red-light camera citations issued in cities that still run programs.

What Los Angeles County Traffic Court Records Show

A traffic court case file in Los Angeles County is field-rich. The case caption shows the driver's name and case number. The body shows the cited code section, the agency and badge, and the date and location of the stop. The file also tracks plea, disposition, payment status, and any DMV abstract sent under Vehicle Code section 1808.

The driver license number on the citation is not displayed in the public portion of the record beyond the case caption. Holds and hold-release entries are shown so a driver can confirm a DMV release before going to the DMV.

Searching by Citation Number vs by Name

The Traffic Division portal is built around citation-number lookup. A user types the citation or notice number printed on the ticket. The portal then asks for a driver license number or an access code from a courtesy notice. The portal also accepts a date of birth for identity check at some courthouses. The court's PAOS criminal name search will not return a traffic infraction because the criminal index excludes infractions by rule.

A driver who has lost the ticket has options. Call the Traffic Division line for the courthouse that serves the city of the stop. Use the LA Court courthouse directory for the phone number. Many drivers get a paper courtesy notice in the mail within a few weeks, and the notice prints both the citation number and a fresh access code. Photo-enforcement citations come with a courtesy notice by default.

Note: A name-only search of LA County traffic cases is not offered free online; call the assigned courthouse for help.

Paying or Contesting an LA County Traffic Ticket

Payment is accepted by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and electronic check on the LA Court traffic portal. The court also takes payment in person and by mail at the assigned courthouse. A driver who needs more time may request an installment plan or, for hardship, a MyCitations reduction. Online payment is the fastest path because it clears any DMV hold the same business day in most cases.

Contest options include a court trial in person, a Trial by Written Declaration on Judicial Council form TR-205, and a request for a Trial de Novo on form TR-220 after a written declaration verdict. A court trial requires a personal appearance at the assigned traffic courthouse. The arraignment is usually set first, and the trial date is later. A no-contest plea is treated as guilty for sentencing but may carry different civil-liability impact.

1. Locate the citation number and the assigned courthouse on the front of the ticket.
2. Visit the LA Court traffic portal at lacourt.ca.gov/onlineservices/traffic and enter the citation or notice number.
3. Review the bail amount, the option list (pay, traffic school, court trial, written declaration, MyCitations reduction), and the due date.
4. If paying, complete the online payment; if attending traffic school, pick that option and pay the school fee.
5. If contesting, choose a court trial (in-person arraignment) or file Judicial Council form TR-205 before the appearance date.
6. If hardship applies, file a MyCitations request for an ability-to-pay reduction or community service substitute.
7. If a Failure to Appear or DMV license hold appears, appear on calendar or pay the case to clear the hold under Vehicle Code section 40509.

Public Access Laws for Traffic Court Records

Public access to LA Superior Court traffic records is governed by court rules, not by the California Public Records Act. California Rule of Court 2.503 requires reasonable electronic access to trial-court records, including registers of actions, indexes, and calendars, unless sealed or made confidential by law. Court case files are not regular agency records under the CPRA at Government Code section 7920.000.

DMV records are governed by a different statute. Vehicle Code section 1808 governs DMV record access and the public availability of the driver record. Sealed traffic items under California Rule of Court 2.550 are not visible in the traffic portal. Juvenile traffic items are restricted under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 when juvenile court hears the matter.

Federal traffic incidents on federal property can route to the U.S. District Court, Central District of California rather than to the LA Superior Court.

Federal-court traffic matters are tracked through PACER and are not in the LA Superior Court portal.

Court Traffic Records vs State Driver Records (DMV H-6)

The court traffic record and the state driver record are two different files. The court keeps the case file: citation, plea, motions, disposition, fines, and holds. The California Department of Motor Vehicles keeps the driver record, also called the H-6 abstract, with conviction reporting, points, license status, and DUI flags. A driver who needs to fix a conviction goes to the court of conviction. A driver who needs to fix a license point or a suspension code goes to the DMV.

Driver license points are tracked by DMV under California Code of Regulations Title 13 sections 100.05 to 100.07, not by the Superior Court. Traffic school completion blocks the point from posting to the DMV abstract, but the case file at the court still exists. A court conviction may also be valid even if the DMV abstract has not yet posted, because of the standard reporting lag.

CDL and Commercial Driver Records

California adopted the federal CDL masking ban. A holder of a commercial driver license may not use traffic school to mask a moving violation. The rule lives at 49 C.F.R. section 384.226. The block applies even if the CDL holder was driving a personal vehicle at the time of the stop. The court must report the conviction to the DMV in the normal Veh. Code section 1803 channel, and the DMV then reports it to the federal Commercial Driver License Information System.

Commercial drivers face a stricter blood-alcohol threshold under Vehicle Code section 23152(d): 0.04 percent in a commercial vehicle, half of the 0.08 percent civilian threshold. Second-tier commercial offenses, such as railroad-crossing violations, out-of-service violations, and certain hazardous-materials violations, carry escalated penalties under Vehicle Code sections 15300 to 15325. Convictions feed the federal CDLIS file under 49 C.F.R. section 384.

DUI / DWI Cases

California uses DUI rather than DWI. Vehicle Code sections 23152 and 23153 govern misdemeanor and felony DUI. DUI cases do not run on the traffic infraction calendar. They are filed as criminal cases and appear in PAOS criminal defendant search (felonies from 1980, misdemeanors from 1988). DUI convictions also trigger DMV administrative actions under Vehicle Code sections 13352 and 13353, including license suspension or revocation, IID installation under section 23575.3, and SR-22 insurance proof.

For full Los Angeles County DUI case information, see Los Angeles County criminal records.

Deferred Adjudication and Defensive Driving Course

California does not use the Texas-style deferred adjudication structure for ordinary traffic infractions. The standard remedy is traffic school under Vehicle Code section 41501. A driver may attend a DMV-licensed traffic violator school once every 18 months for an eligible moving violation. The court typically holds the conviction confidential to insurance carriers under Vehicle Code section 1808.7 if the driver finishes the course on time. Completion does not erase the case file at the court. The file still exists and is still searchable through court systems.

CDL holders are not eligible. Traffic school is also not allowed for misdemeanors, alcohol or drug offenses, equipment violations, or non-moving violations. The administrative court fee is set by the court under Vehicle Code section 42007. A typical LA Court traffic-school fee runs in the $52 to $64 range plus the school tuition. The driver picks a school from the DMV's licensed list.

Sealing or Expunging Traffic Records

Traffic infractions are usually not eligible for full sealing under Penal Code section 851.91, because they are not criminal misdemeanors or felonies. Misdemeanor traffic offenses, such as driving on a suspended license under Vehicle Code section 14601, may qualify for relief under Penal Code section 1203.4 after the driver finishes probation. Section 1203.4 dismissal does not destroy the file.

DUI convictions can be reduced or dismissed under section 1203.4 after probation, but the DMV record under Vehicle Code section 13352 generally stays in place. Juvenile traffic dispositions are restricted under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 where juvenile court hears the matter. A petition for relief is filed in the court of conviction, not in a higher court.

Federal appellate review of California traffic sealing rulings is rare; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hears federal appeals from the Central District of California.

State traffic appeals stay in the LA Superior Court Appellate Division at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Fees for Traffic Record Copies

Fees for traffic record copies are set by state code and the LA Court fee schedule. Certified copies cost more than plain copies. The court's civil assessment for failure to appear or failure to pay was reduced under AB 199 in 2022 and is now capped at $100 per case, down from the older $300 cap. The DMV record carries a separate fee.

Note: Confirm the assigned courthouse from the citation, because the same Vehicle Code violation can be assigned to different traffic courts based on the city where it was issued.

Related Los Angeles County Record Searches

Drivers often need more than the citation file. For DUI and felony DUI, see Los Angeles County criminal records. For the full case-records picture across civil, family, probate, and small claims, see Los Angeles County court records. For the office that issues certified copies and answers in person, see the Clerk of the Superior Court. For the full court directory and judicial hierarchy, see the Los Angeles Superior Court page.