If you receive a notice of a traffic or parking infraction, you have a limited time to respond to the citation. A person who has been served with a notice of infraction must respond to the citation within 30 days of the date the citation is personally served or, if the citation is served by mail, within 33 days of the date the citation is mailed.

Failure to respond in a timely fashion, or failure to appear at a scheduled hearing can result in a finding of “Committed” to the infraction, which will then be reported to the Department of Licensing. A delinquent fee will be added to the fine amount and the ticket will be referred to collections. Failure to timely respond to a traffic violation may result in the violation appearing on your driving record, and it may result in suspension of your driver’s license privilege. 

OPTIONS TO RESPOND  

1. PAYMENT 

If you pay for the infraction(s), the infraction(s) will appear on your driving record as "Committed". Parking infractions do not appear on your driving record, but failure to respond may restrict your ability to renew your vehicle registration and tabs with the Department of Licensing.

Click here to make a payment

2. MITIGATION HEARING

You agree that you have committed the infraction, but you want a hearing to explain the circumstances. The court will send you a court date to appear. You may not subpoena witnesses to appear, but witnesses can attend voluntarily. You understand that this will go on your driving record if "traffic" is checked on the citation. The court may allow time payments or reduce the penalty where allowed by law.

3. CONTESTED HEARING

You want to contest (challenge) the infraction. You did not commit the infraction. The court will send you a court date to appear. The city must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you committed the infraction. You may require (subpoena) witnesses, including the officer who wrote the citation, to attend the hearing. The court will tell you how to request a witness's appearance. You understand that this will go on your driving record if "traffic" is checked on the citation and the court finds that you have committed the infraction.

4. DEFERRED FINDING

This option is discretionary with the court. You are allowed to defer one moving violation every seven years, and one non-moving violation every seven years in the State of Washington. If you hold a commercial driver’s license, you are not eligible for a deferred finding. You will be required to pay a $150.00 administrative fee and have no traffic violations within the deferral period. If you comply with the conditions, the charge(s) will be dismissed at the end of the deferral period and will not be reported to the Department of Licensing. 

If you fail to comply with any of the conditions of the deferred finding, the infraction will be removed from deferral status and a finding of “Committed” will be entered on the driving record and reported to the Department of Licensing. You will be required to pay the TOTAL PENALTY imposed on the original infraction IN ADDITION to the $150.00 administrative fee. If you fail to pay the $150.00 administrative fee, a $52.00 delinquent fee will also be imposed on the total penalty amount.

Agreed Deferral of Traffic Infraction

5. WRITTEN STATEMENT

By submitting a written statement for decision, you are promising to pay the penalty assessed by the    court, if any, and you agree to be bound by the court’s decision. There is no appeal from a court’s                decision on a written statement. Click the following link to print out the Infraction Hearing by Mail form        to request a decision based on your written statement. Make sure you submit your request for decision      on written statement before your response deadline.

To mitigate or contest an infraction via email