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Home » Divisions » Traffic » General Information » Appearances in Court » Failure to Appear - Warrant Information
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If you fail to appear as indicated on your citation or ordered by the court, a warrant may be issued for your arrest in addition to other penalties. Please see below for further information.
WARNING: Until an appearance is made in court or bail is posted, your warrant or Department of Motor Vehicles hold will remain active and you are subject to arrest by any law enforcement agency.
If you fail to appear you may be subject to:
- the ordering and issuance of a warrant for your arrest or the holding of the warrant until a future hearing date.
- an additional failure to appear charge, which may add an additional fine/fee or sentence in addition to the originating charge(s).
- if applicable, the forfeiture of any posted bail or bond.
- if applicable to the charge, a hold may be placed on your driver’s license by the Department of Motor Vehicles resulting in the inability to renew your license or registration and/or a suspension or revocation of your licensing privileges.
- a civil penalty of up to $300.00 pursuant to California Penal Code 1214.1 for failure to appear. Each additional failure to appear can result in additional $300.00 penalties for each non-appearance.
- a $15.00 automated warrant fee pursuant to California Vehicle Code 40508.5.
- referral to a collection agency including wage garnishments and levies.
- ordinarily, driver’s license holds are issued on juveniles for Vehicle Code violations; however, if the juvenile has reached the age of 18, the case may be processed for a warrant.
To appear on a traffic warrant, you must report to the Traffic Department by 8:00 a.m. at the Justice Center which ordered the warrant. Defendants appearing after 8:00 a.m. will be required to return the next business day unless the court otherwise allows. To post bail, contact the Justice Center which ordered the warrant. Click here for locations.
If your driver’s license or registration has been placed on hold by the court with the Department of Motor Vehicles, you may be able to pay the full bail amount to clear or release the hold. The court will customarily notify the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of your compliance to release the hold. You can also contact the court through the Automated Information and Payment Center, to review your case and initiate a hold release if applicable.
The Department of Motor Vehicles may be able to accept payment for traffic tickets in collection or in warrant status and release your hold. To contact the Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the status of your driver’s license, Click here for the DMV website.
To verify the status of your case, you may access the court’s online case or calendar information.