HOW TO HANDLE YOUR CITATION

Traffic Citations

How long do I have to take care of my citation?

You were notified by the officer that you have not less than five (5), and no more than fourteen (14) days to appear on your citation.  You MUST contact the court to either pay your citation or schedule an appointment to see the judge within that time.  Some charges require a mandatory appearance before the judge.  If that is necessary, you will be notified by mail (or email) of that arraignment date. 

On charges that do not require an appearance, you still have the right to see the judge or you can resolve the citation by paying the fine online, by phone, by mail, or in person.

Please notify the court if your address is different than the address on your citation.  The court would also request that you call them with a phone number and email address if hearings are desired.

Why do I have to wait five (5) days to contact the court?

You are welcome to contact the court at any time.  However, it generally takes at lest five (5) business days for the court to receive the information on your citation.  General questions may be answered prior to that citation being received by the court.  However, specific information regarding your citation cannot be answered until the citation has been received by the court.

What options do I have on my citation?

If the charge(s) do not require a court appearance, you may:

  • Pay the citation online, by phone, by mail, or in person within fourteen (14) days to close the case.

       ***  If using this alternative to appearing in court, you must understand that:

  1.  You have waived your right to your day in court.
  2.  The bail you post will be applied to your case.
  3. Your case will be recorded as a conviction.
  4. The Driver’s License Division will be notified of the conviction when it is required by statute.
  • You may also schedule an appointment to see the judge, either to contest the charge(s) or make other requests. You may represent yourself or hire an attorney for this hearing.

***Remember – If you intend to enter a NOT GUILTY plea, you must appear before the court.

Upon appearing in court, you may:

  • Enter a plea of GUILTY. If you enter a plea of guilty, you may make a statement prior to being sentenced by the Court.  You must then pay the fine imposed by the Court.
  • Enter a plea of NOT GUILTY. A date and time for pretrial conference OR trial will be set and formal notice will be mailed (or emailed) to you.  You MAY be required to post bail until the next hearing.  If you lose your case, you must be prepared to pay the fine imposed by the Court.
  • Enter a plea of NO CONTEST. By entering this plea, you are not admitting guilt.  You are indicating that you do not want further hearings and you will pay the fine imposed by the Court.  You may make a statement prior to being sentenced. This still results in a conviction on your record.

If the charge(s) DO require a court appearance:

  • You will be notified of your arraignment date by mail (or email). A warrant may be issued if you do not appear for this hearing.
  • If you need to have the hearing rescheduled, please notify the court as soon as possible. This request needs to be made at least one day prior to the scheduled hearing date. 
  • If you have an attorney, he/she can request a continuance in your behalf.

Failure to make your payments as ordered by the Court can result in additional penalties being imposed.  Please include your case number and name on your payments to make sure that your payment is credited to the correct case.

Insurance Citations

How do I prove that I had insurance on the day my citation was issued:

A violation of No Proof of Insurance can be dismissed if verification of insurance is presented to the court with the following required information:

  • The letter MUST be on Insurance Agency letterhead.
  • The name of the insured is listed. If the name of the insured is different than the person who received the citation, the letter MUST include an explanation indicating that the driver had permission of the owner and is covered under that policy.
  • Vehicle description (MUST match the vehicle listed on the citation).
  • Proof that the coverage was in effect on the date and time that the citation was issued.
  • The agent’s signature.
  • The citation or case number.

This letter may be faxed to the court at (435) 623-5937. If the letter is faxed, you should call the court to verify that the letter was received.  The court will contact you as to the Judge’s decision on dismissing the charge after review of the letter.

PLEASE NOTE – An insurance card or a declaration of benefits is NOT sufficient proof of valid insurance.

What if I did not have insurance on the day of my citation?

You will need to appear before the judge for arraignment.  You may represent yourself, hire an attorney, or apply for a public defender to represent you on this charge.  Please bring proof of current valid insurance to court at the time of arraignment if you have secured insurance since the citation was issued.