Should I pay my traffic ticket, take traffic school, or ask for a hearing in Palm Beach or Broward?

Most Florida traffic tickets are civil infractions, not crimes, and the choice you make in the first 30 days decides whether points land on your license. How Mr. Mead handles civil tickets, including appearing for clients in many cases, is on our traffic tickets page. This page lays out the options the Palm Beach and Broward clerks offer and what each one costs you.

If your ticket says you must appear in court, it may be a criminal citation instead, which is handled as described on our criminal traffic citations page. A criminal citation leads to a court date, and what happens there is explained in whether you have to go to your arraignment.

How does a civil ticket move, step by step?

1. The officer files the citation. In Palm Beach County most citations reach the Clerk's system within 5 days, so a ticket may not show online at first. Broward warns it can take several weeks.
2. You choose within 30 calendar days. The law gives 30 days from the date the citation was issued to pay or enter a payment plan (s. 318.14(4)(a)). Both clerks set the same window for every option.
3. Paying closes the case. A person who pays "shall be deemed to have admitted the infraction and to have waived his or her right to a hearing" (s. 318.14(4)(b)). The clerk reports it to the state within 10 days, and the points are entered (s. 318.14(7)(a), (8)).
4. Traffic school withholds adjudication. You pay the reduced fine when you elect, then complete a state-approved basic driver improvement course within 90 days. Adjudication is withheld and no points are assessed (s. 318.14(9)).
5. A hearing puts the state to its proof. The infraction must be "proved beyond a reasonable doubt" (s. 318.14(6)). If it is not, no costs or penalties are imposed and anything paid is returned (s. 318.14(5)).
6. Doing nothing suspends the license. The clerk notifies the state within 10 days of the failure, and the suspension takes effect 20 days after the order is issued (s. 318.15(1)(a)).

What are the options in each county?

What does each choice cost?

The base civil penalty comes from s. 318.18. Most moving violations are $60 (s. 318.18(3)(a)). Speeding runs from a warning at 1 to 5 mph over, to $25 at 6 to 9 mph, $100 at 10 to 14, $150 at 15 to 19, $175 at 20 to 29 and $250 at 30 mph or more, and it doubles in a school zone (s. 318.18(3)(b), (c)). Court costs and surcharges listed in the statute are added, so the amount on your notice is higher than the base figure (s. 318.121).

Traffic school cuts the s. 318.18(3) penalty by 18 percent (s. 318.14(9)), but you also pay the school, and in Broward the $7.00 affidavit fee. Electing school and then not finishing is the worst outcome: you are adjudicated guilty, pay back the discount plus a processing fee of up to $18, and get the points (s. 318.15(1)(b)). A hearing costs time, but if the officer cannot prove the ticket, you pay nothing. If the official finds you committed it, the penalty can be up to $500, or $1,000 in a school or construction zone speeding case, and the official can order driver improvement school (s. 318.14(5)).

Points are where the real cost often lies. Most moving violations carry 3 points and speeding more than 15 mph over carries 4 (s. 322.27(3)(d)). Twelve points in 12 months can mean a suspension; the thresholds are set out in how many points lead to a suspension in Florida.

What changes the answer?

• Your traffic school history. You may elect school only once in 12 months and no more than eight times in your lifetime (s. 318.14(9)). The Broward Clerk's page still says five lifetime elections, and an FLHSMV retention note also mentions five; the statute, which FLHSMV says took effect July 1, 2024, says eight.
• A commercial license. Drivers who hold a CDL or commercial learner's permit cannot use school to avoid points (s. 318.14(9)), and FLHSMV says this applies even in a personal car.
• The kind of ticket. Speeding 30 mph or more over, a crash causing death or serious bodily injury, and certain school bus and load violations require a mandatory hearing, so paying by mail is not an option (s. 318.19). Speeding 50 mph or more over can also be charged as the crime of dangerous excessive speeding (s. 316.1922). Which citations are crimes at all is explained in whether a Florida traffic ticket is criminal or civil.
• Proof tickets. Tickets for not having a license, registration or insurance card can be dismissed for a $10 fee if you show the clerk a valid document issued before the ticket, within 30 days (s. 318.18(2)(b); Palm Beach Clerk).
• Camera tickets. Red light and school zone camera violations carry no points (s. 322.27(3)(d)5.c., 6.); the Palm Beach Clerk notes school camera citations get only a fine reduction if you elect school.
• Your points total. If one more conviction would push you over a suspension threshold, a plea that withholds adjudication or a hearing matters more. A withhold "is not a conviction" (s. 318.14(11)), a rule also explained in what a withhold of adjudication is.

A worked example

For example, a hypothetical Boca Raton driver is ticketed for going 47 in a 35 zone on Glades Road. The base penalty for 12 mph over is $100, and a conviction would add 3 points. She already has 9 points from the past year. Paying would bring her to 12 points in 12 months and open the door to a suspension of up to 30 days. She last elected traffic school three years ago, so she can elect again: she pays the reduced penalty with the Palm Beach Clerk, completes a state-approved basic course, and the school files her completion electronically. Adjudication is withheld and no points are added. If she had elected school eight months earlier, she could not elect again; a no-contest plea asking for a withhold, or a hearing, would then be the options to weigh. This illustration is not a prediction for any case.

Common mistakes people make

• Paying out of habit without checking the points total, which is the same as admitting the infraction.
• Electing school and then not finishing within 90 days, which brings the points, a processing fee and the full fine.
• Electing school a second time within 12 months, when you are not eligible.
• Missing the 30-day window, which adds late fees and starts a suspension; reinstating after a suspension for an unresolved ticket costs a $60 fee at FLHSMV in addition to the ticket. Driving after that suspension can lead to the charge described in whether driving on a suspended license is a crime.
• Trying to pay a ticket that requires a mandatory hearing, or a criminal citation; the Palm Beach Clerk does not take online payment for either, and a court date is required.
• Ignoring a pretrial hearing date after pleading not guilty.

What to do this week

1. Read the citation: check the county, the amount, and whether it says a court appearance is mandatory.
2. Mark day 30 from the issue date on your calendar.
3. Check your points and school eligibility with the FLHSMV Driver License Check.
4. If it is a proof ticket, take your valid license, registration or insurance card to the clerk with the $10 fee.
5. Decide between paying, school, a no-contest plea or a hearing, and file it in writing with the clerk.
6. If you choose a hearing in Palm Beach County, check your notice to see whether it is in person or by Zoom; south county cases are often heard at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.

Frequently asked questions

Does paying a ticket online count as pleading guilty?

Paying is treated as admitting the infraction and waiving a hearing (s. 318.14(4)(b)). The admission cannot be used as evidence in any other proceeding.

Who will be at a Palm Beach traffic pretrial hearing?

The Palm Beach Clerk says you speak with a hearing officer, and "no witnesses or law enforcement officers will be present." If the case is not resolved, a trial date is set.

What if I cannot attend my traffic hearing?

In Palm Beach County you may file a notarized Affidavit of Defense with a $7 payment, unless the appearance is mandatory. In Broward you must ask the Clerk, in person or by mail, using the Defendant's Request Form.

I missed the 30 days. Is it too late for a hearing?

You may request a hearing within 180 days of the violation, even if your license was suspended, and late fees still apply (s. 318.15(1)(c)). In Palm Beach County a late request needs the $16 late fee and the $7 compliance letter fee.

I live in another state. Does school help me?

Broward advises out-of-state drivers to ask their home licensing agency whether it will add points anyway. Florida can also record another state's conviction as if it happened here (s. 322.27(3)(e)).

Which Palm Beach offices take traffic payments?

The Main Courthouse in West Palm Beach (room 2.2300), the North County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens, the West County Courthouse in Belle Glade and the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach (room 150), weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. More about the local courts is on our Palm Beach County page. Broward's courthouses are described on our Broward County page.

How can Mr. Mead help?

Mr. Mead has defended drivers in South Florida for more than three decades, and in many traffic cases he can appear on your behalf so you do not have to miss work. He can review your points, your school history and the citation before the 30 days run out. The office is in Boca Raton, Spanish and Portuguese are spoken, and you can call 24 hours.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If you have a ticket in Palm Beach or Broward, a confidential call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

Request a Call Back