A common consequence of committing a traffic violation is having to attend classes at a traffic school. If you successfully complete the course at the traffic school and submit to the court the necessary traffic school certificate paperwork, you will likely be able to maintain your clean driving record. Therefore, as a driver attending traffic school, it is vital that you learn how to properly submit this paperwork.

How do I submit my traffic school certificate?

Once you receive your Certificate of Completion from the traffic school, follow the guidelines discussed below to successfully submit the certificate to the court:

  • If you opt to take the course at a physical traffic school, you will be awarded the Certificate of Completion upon the course’s conclusion. On the courtesy notice you received from the court, you should find the court address. Send the Certificate of Completion to this address, along with the receipt that shows you made the payment. Ensure that you send the Certificate of Completion to the court as soon as possible so that you meet the established deadline. Besides mailing the certificate to the court, you also have the option of dropping the certificate off at the court in person.
  • You will likely have to submit a proof of identity document along with the Certificate of Completion and receipt. This is especially true if you opted to take the traffic school course online instead of in person.
  • Some courts will not allow the driver to submit the Certificate of Completion. Such courts require the online traffic school to submit the certificate, along with other paperwork, electronically.
  • In other cases, the traffic school may have to mail the certificate and paperwork to the court.
  • If the court requires the driver instead of the traffic school to submit the certificate, the responsibility of meeting the deadline falls entirely on your shoulders.
  • Before you send the Certificate of Completion to the court, ensure that you sign it. The court will deem all unsigned certificates as invalid.
  • Once you or the traffic school has submitted the Certificate of Completion, you should ensure that the court has received it. You can get a physical receipt if you submitted the certificate in person. If you sent the certificate via certified mail, you will receive a document from the court that signifies that they received the document. Ensure you keep this receipt to serve as proof the certificate was received in case any issues pop up. If the traffic school is responsible for sending the certificate, ensure that they send it by FedEx or certified mail.

While properly submitting the Certificate of Completion can be a bit of hassle, the hassle is completely worthwhile as it will allow you to maintain a clean driving record. It may also prevent your insurance premium from rising in cost.

Are there any limitations on a traffic school certificate?

As you may know firsthand, a traffic school certificate can do wonders when it comes to keeping your driving record clean and preventing your insurance company from increasing the cost of your insurance premium. However, the traffic school certificate does have its limitations.

What advantages can I take by attending traffic school online?

If you end up getting a speeding ticket and this ticket remains on your driving record, you insurance premium will increase as soon as your insurance company finds out. Also, when you try to renew your car insurance policy, your insurance company may refuse to insure you. Fortunately, if you attend traffic school, obtain a certificate, and successfully submit the certificate to the traffic court or Department of Motor Vehicles, you can have the speeding ticket eliminated from your driving record. Best of all, your insurance company will never find out about the speeding ticket. As a result, your insurance premium cost will remain the same and you will encounter no issues with having your policy renewed. By keeping your driving record clean, you may end up qualifying for various discounts. For example, many insurance companies offer safe driver discounts. If you choose to attend a traffic school despite not having any traffic violations, you may qualify for a less costly insurance premium.

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What are the limitations of traffic school online?

Despite the many advantages of traffic school, it is not a panacea for all your driving woes. If you got a ticket for DUI or reckless driving, attending a traffic school will not allow you to remove these serious violations from your driving record. A traffic school certificate can only help you remove points from your driving record that are a result of minor infractions, such as speeding. Of course, different states permit different violations to be removed from the driving record with a traffic school certificate. In most states, the only thing that you can do to remove these violations from your driving record and limit the cost of your insurance rates is time.

How do online traffic schools work?

A traffic school certificate only serves as proof that you are knowledgeable about the vehicle code in your state. Therefore, you can certainly attend a traffic school online to dismiss a recently received traffic ticket. Online traffic schools are quite popular among many because they allow you to complete the course while you’re at home. You will also be able to work on the course whenever you want instead of having to fit the classes to your tight schedule. However, in most cases, there are certain prerequisites you must meet before you are qualified to attend a traffic school online.

What are the prerequisites for signing up for online traffic school?

Before you can sign up for an online traffic school, you must pay the fine for the traffic ticket to the court. Then, you will need to receive a courtesy notice from the court that gives you permission to attend a traffic school course. Upon receiving this permission, you must pay an administrative fee to the court. Only then will you be able to sign up for an online traffic school. The traffic school you choose must be both approved and licensed by the court you received the citation from.

How to Find a Licensed and Accredited Online Traffic School

In most cases, you will find a list of traffic schools attached to the courtesy notice you receive from the court. On this list, there will likely be some online traffic schools. If there is no such list, you will have to take your search to the Internet. Once you’ve found an online traffic school, contact a court clerk to affirm that the school is properly accredited and that the court will accept a certificate from the traffic school. The traffic school must be DMV certified.

Even with online traffic schools, it is necessary to meet the deadline set by the court. Therefore, you should keep this deadline in mind when you choose your time of study for the online traffic school.

Different online traffic schools charge different fees. Keep in mind that the cost of the online traffic school is different from the administrative fee. You pay the administrative fee to the court as compensation for allowing you to take a traffic school course to remove the traffic citation from your driving record. An additional fee must be paid to the traffic school you choose for the course.

How Are Online Traffic School Certificates Received By the Court?

After you take an online traffic school course, you will have to sent the certificate to the court authorities so that they can remove the traffic citation from your driving record. There are three ways the court can receive a Certificate of Completion from an online traffic school.

In some cases, the traffic school will be automatically transmit the certificate to the court. Ensure you talk to a representative at the traffic school to determine if they will take the responsibility of sending the certificate to the court.

The certificate can also be sent by email. The online traffic school will likely send you your paperwork in a read-only file. You can then forward this paperwork to the court at the proper email address.

Faxing and mailing is the final way that an online traffic school certificate can be submitted to the courts. Usually, you will find the mailing address or the fax number on the courtesy notice from the court.

No matter what you do, it is necessary that you send the Certificate of Completion on time. If you fail to meet the deadline, you may not be eligible to have the traffic citation removed from your driving record. Therefore, you should send the certificate to the court as soon as you complete the traffic school course.