Failure to Appear or Pay
Traffic Court Clerk's Office Information
The clerk's offices in both branches are open Monday through Friday, excluding judicial holidays.
Public Counter Hours: 8:30am to 3:30pm
Telephone Hours: 8:30am to 3:30pm
Telephone Number: (707) 463-4660
Locations and mailing addresses:
Mendocino County Courthouse, 100 North State Street, Room 108, Ukiah CA 95482
Ten Mile Branch, 700 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg CA 95437
Pay by Visa, Mastercard, or Discover using the Court’s Online Payments site. . Search for your case by citation number, case number or your name and birthdate. Convenience fee automatically added.
What Happens If You Fail to Pay or Appear in Court on a Citation?
Your signature on your citation indicates that you agreed to appear in court at the time and place printed on the citation. The court is required to send a courtesy notice to the address listed on your citation, advising you of how you can resolve your citation.
If you do not pay or appear or otherwise contact the court by the due date on your courtesy notice, the court will make additional attempts to encourage you to resolve your citation.
You will receive a notice called a Letter of Intent, which will notify you that the court intends to impose additional sanctions on you for failure to resolve your citation. The court may impose up to a $100.00 penalty, as permitted under Penal Code section 1214.1.
Finally, the court may find you guilty in absentia for failing to resolve your citation. If this occurs, additional court actions will follow:
- If you were found guilty of Vehicle Code violations, the court will send these convictions to the DMV. DMV will update your driving record to show these convictions. This public record may affect your insurance rates and whether you are permitted to retain your driving privileges.
- If you were found guilty of other law or local ordinance violations, the court will update these convictions on your court case and they will be a matter of public record.
- Your citation will be referred to Court Collections
Collections will contact you to arrange for payment. Collections staff wants to work with you to find a payment plan that will allow you to resolve your citation successfully. Collections staff are available to help you set up a new payment plan or modify an existing plan.
If you do not pay your citation and do not work with Collections on a way to resolve your citation, Collections may use other methods, such as intercepting your tax refund, garnishing your wages or placing liens on your assets to secure payment. You may also receive a negative rating on your credit score.
How to Resolve Past Due Citations or DMV Hold on Your License or Registration
Contact the court if there is a hold on your driver’s license due to delinquent payment of your traffic infraction. You can make arrangements to pay your citation and get your driving privileges restored.
Requests for Fine Reduction, Payment Plan, Community Service and Extension of Time to Pay Fine
If you receive public benefits, are a low-income person, or do not have enough income to pay for your household’s basic needs, you may ask the court to consider reducing your fine, based on your ability to pay the fine. Use the MyCitations online tool go ask the court to consider a request for reduction of your infraction fines. You may also request a payment plan, more time to pay the fine and/or you may convert your fine to community service work. Click on the link below.