What You Need To Know About Receiving a Ticket in Different State
Getting a traffic ticket is frustrating enough, but receiving one while visiting a different state is on another level. If you are like most people, you do not have a good understanding of what happens when you receive a ticket in a different state. Does it affect your insurance rates and license? Can you handle the ticket from your home state? This guide will address these questions and provide the answers you need.
Insurance Rates
Unfortunately, there is essentially no way to prevent your insurance company from finding out about a ticket. Even if the ticket was issued in a different state, chances are extremely high that the insurance company will find out about it. This does not necessarily mean your rates will increase, however. Some policies do not raise rates after just one ticket.
License Points
Chances are good that your ticket will put points on your license as normal as well. If your license receives too many points, you will lose it. Although most of the time, you can attend traffic school to prevent your license from receiving any points. Receiving a ticket in a different state does not change this process at all. This is because most states have signed an agreement that states they share ticket information between them. There are a small number of states that have not signed this agreement:
- Georgia
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Wisconsin
If you live in one of these states and receive a ticket elsewhere, your license will not receive any points. Likewise, if you receive a ticket in one of these states, but live elsewhere, you will not receive any points.
Handling the Ticket
Most of the time, you are not required to appear in court for a traffic ticket. If this is the case, you can pay the fine remotely. If you are required to appear in court, or if you choose to contest the ticket, you have to travel back to the issuing state to appear in court. You cannot appear in your local court to resolve the ticket.
You can request that the ticket be transferred to your local court. Unfortunately, these requests are almost never granted. There has to be a very good reason why you cannot travel back to the state that issued the ticket to appear in court. Some states allow you to admit guilt remotely, which would allow you to simply pay the fine rather than appear in court. If you have any other questions, speak with a speeding ticket lawyer in Abingdon, VA.
Thanks to The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt for their insight into traffic law and tickets from a different state.