Where do I find out about a traffic citation issued to me in the state of Texas?

September 29, 2005 4:27 PM

Where do I find out about a traffic citation issued to me in the state of Texas?

I was driving through Texas back in July, on my way to Austin. I got pulled over for speeding 85/75 and received a traffic citation for the violation. I haven't had the money to pay the ticket off until now, and now I can't find the citation. I can't remember what county it was in, but it was issued by a state sharif. I'm located out of that state, but would still like to keep my record clean, and certainly don't want any trouble if ever I return to the state of Texas.

Side Question: do you think there will be any late fees for waiting so long to pay it?

Thank you for your time.

posted by nickerbocker to Law & Government (6 answers total)

IANAL, but as I understand it, when you fail to pay a ticket or show up in court in Texas, a warrant is issued for you.

You could trace your path to Austin -- most TX counties have online warrant databases. / I bet if you just call one of the agencies they could find where you have a warrant, then you could take care of it from there.
posted by fourstar at 5:00 PM on September 29, 2005

There is not a state sheriff in Texas. The sheriff is tied to a specific county. If the officer was "state" then it was the DPS. Here is a link to the DPS contact page. I have no idea how the DPS tickets are handled. good luck
posted by busboy789 at 6:46 PM on September 29, 2005

Best answer: 75 mph? Was that on I-10 in west Texas per chance? If so, you may be looking at the DPS. I agree, if you have no leads there, find out if you have a warrant, then drill down to the county or municipal courts along your route. As a Texas resident I can say I've found the courts here to be helpful in resolving stuff over the phone. They're happy to get your money and move the offense off their records. Make some calls.
posted by zek at 7:06 PM on September 29, 2005

Some advice: don't just call the warrant hotline. Find out where it was and call the local folks. The hotline's system isn't the most reliable and can lead to getting stopped and then arrested because there's a warrant out for a ticket you didn't know you had.

Not that I have any personal experience with that.
posted by amandaudoff at 8:34 PM on September 29, 2005

You can also check your criminal data via the pay website PublicData.com. This only applies if either there was a warrant issued, or you have a Texas DL, I believe.
posted by crazyray at 5:11 PM on October 2, 2005

slight correction.... publicdata.com appears to have both criminal arrests and convictions for 46 of the 50 states in the USA.
posted by crazyray at 11:04 PM on October 31, 2005