Frequently Asked Questions - Traffic

According to T.C.A. §7-3-502, failure to satisfy your citation by the compliance date will result in a default judgment which will increase the amount you owe and can result in a civil fine/penalty, court costs, litigation taxes to the Metro Government; the issuance of an execution and garnishment to collect the fine/penalty, costs and taxes; and the issuance of a bench warrant for your arrest for contempt of court, with a penalty of up to five (5) days in jail and/or a fine of up to ten (10) dollars. In addition, the clerk’s office is required to report the failure to comply to the Department of Safety which can result in the suspension of your driver’s license and T.C.A. 20-12-144 allows the clerk's office to retain the services of a collection agency if any portion of the fine or costs have not been paid within six (6) months of the date of default. Please contact the Traffic Warrant Division for payment information.

Pursuant to T.C.A. §8-21-401, the Clerk’s Office is required to collect a case initiation fee of $44.00.

Effective July 1, 2011 and pursuant to T.C.A. §38-6-103, the Clerk’s office is required to collect $13.75 on each violation paid prior to the compliance date. In accordance with the statute, the fees shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the Court to the State Treasurer for deposit into a fund for use by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The only violation that allows a driver to show proof and not pay the nullification fee is when the driver/person is cited for an Insurance violation and he/she has proof of valid insurance at the time of the stop – such as an insurance card with his/her name on it. If “Insurance” is the only violation marked on the ticket, the $44.00 Administrative Court Cost fee is waived also.

The amount due for a particular ticket depends on whether you were cited for a moving, non-moving or seatbelt violation. If you were cited for a non-moving violation, you may be eligible for the nullification program. The nullification program allows you to pay a reduced fee rather than the full fine amount if you can show proof of compliance. When you are ready to pay, use our Traffic Citation Pricing Wizard if you want to go to school, court or nullify one or more violations. If you just want to pay, you can jump right to your total on our Quick Price and Pay page.

If you were cited for not having proof of insurance in the vehicle, please visit our Insurance Violations page for specific information.

Only moving violations can be satisfied by attending Traffic School and paying the $44.00 Court Cost due on the ticket. Failure to pay the $44.00 Court Cost and the fines or fees for any non-moving violations on or before your compliance date will result in the assessment of additional fees, possible suspension of your driver’s license and referral to the Traffic Warrant Division for collection by wage garnishment or levy of property.

As a convenience to Traffic customers, you are no longer required to appear in court to satisfy your ticket. However, you must fully satisfy your ticket within forty-five (45) calendar days from the date the ticket was issued using the three options that are now available to you. For information regarding the options for satisfying your traffic ticket, please click here.

Yes. Only if the 45th day falls on a weekend or holiday observed by the Traffic Violation Bureau does your compliance date move to the next business day. Use our Compliance Date Calculator to calculate your compliance date.

Once your request for Traffic School has been received, the Traffic School Office will determine if you are eligible to attend based on your driving history and on which Traffic School classes you may have already attended. For additional information on the Traffic School or to register online, please visit their web site. Note: Only moving violations can be satisfied by attending Traffic School. If you have also been cited for non-moving violations, you must satisfy those violations with the Traffic Violation Bureau by your compliance date.

The Traffic School is operated by the Davidson County General Sessions Court, not the Traffic Violation Bureau, and may be contacted at (615) 862-8345.

You may reschedule your traffic school class only one time and it can only be done prior to your originally assigned school date. In order to reschedule or if you missed your class due to an emergency, call the school office at (615) 862-8345 to discuss it.

Yes. You may now register and pay for Traffic School on the General Sessions Traffic School web site. In order to enroll online you must have your ticket number and birth date. For additional enrollment options, visit our “Go To School” page. Note: Only moving violations can be satisfied by attending Traffic School. If you have also been cited for non-moving violations, you must satisfy those violations and the court cost with the Traffic Violation Bureau by your compliance date.

If you are eligible for a First Offender or DDC4 class, you may request to take the class online. For more information, visit the Traffic School’s web site.

You may call the Traffic Violation Bureau to get your ticket number and enroll in Traffic School online. You may also download and complete the Traffic School application printed on the Traffic Court Information Sheet and mail or deliver it to the Traffic Violation Bureau along with one check, money order or cashier’s check payable to Metro Government for the class and one check, money order or cashier’s check payable to the Traffic Violation Bureau for the $44.00 Court Cost plus any fines or fees owed for non-moving violations cited on your ticket. The Traffic Violation Bureau’s street and mailing address may be found on our “Contact Us” page.  For detailed instructions on responding to a traffic ticket, please click here.

Please note that effective July 1, 2010 the fee for enrolling in Traffic School is dependent upon the class you are eligible to attend. These fees apply to all new enrollments regardless of when you received your citation and supersede any previously printed or posted prices.

Once your compliance date has passed, a default judgment is entered against you, increasing the amount you must pay to satisfy your ticket. You have 10 calendar days after your compliance date to pay the increased amount before the judgment is reported to the Department of Safety and your ticket is referred to the Traffic Warrant Division for collection.

It certainly does. It sounds like you got a “State Citation” and those tickets are not handled by the Traffic Violation Bureau. State Citations are handled by the Criminal Court Clerk’s Office. If you received a State Citation for driving on a suspended license and have not yet been booked, you can call (615) 880-3781 for information. For all other State Citations, call (615) 862-5653.

Yes. We are pleased to announce the availability of online payment processing.

You should bring any documentation that supports your plea of “not guilty” to Court with you. Arrive early at the Justice A. A. Birch Building as you must go through security before proceeding to the courtroom. Please enter the courtroom and take a seat. You must wait for your name to be called on the docket. The Judge may review any documentation and ask you or the issuing officer to testify about the specifics of your case. If your case is not continued, the Judge will make a ruling on each violation charged on your ticket(s).

Depending on the ruling of the Judge, you may have to pay litigation tax, costs and a fine.

No. The Court’s orders only allow for a Court hearing to be requested on or before the compliance date

Attending School:
In accordance with T.C.A. §55-10-301, upon certification to the Court Clerk that a Court-ordered Driver Education or Improvement Course has been completed, the Court Clerk shall report the completion to the Department of Safety.

Paying Citation:
In accordance with T.C.A. §55-10-306, if you pay the citation, the Court Clerk shall report the conviction or forfeit to the Department of Safety.

Department of Safety Rule on Point System:
Rule 1340-1-4-2.02(3) of the Tennessee Department of Safety states “upon receipt of a moving traffic conviction notice, the Department shall charge points to the driver’s record.” Please contact the Department of Safety if you have further questions. (http://www.tn.gov/safety/PointSystem.pdf )

The Tennessee Department of Safety is the agency responsible for assigning point values to driving histories. You may visit their website by clicking on http://www.tn.gov/safety/values.shtml

The City of Lakewood is now part of Metro Government. The Metro Council passed Resolution No. RS2011-5 on October 4, 2011, waiving unpaid fines related to traffic tickets issued by Lakewood so you do not owe anything for this ticket. If your driver's license was suspended because of this ticket, click here for information regarding the process of reinstating your license.