How to Find Out If I Have Any Tickets
by Alicia Bodine
Getting a traffic or parking ticket is no fun. It means incurring a fee for the offense and a possible insurance rate hike. If you neglect to pay the fee, you may even have a warrant issued for your arrest. If you believe that you may have had some traffic or parking tickets that you did not take care of, you will want to check with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Step 1
Ask the officer handing you a paper at the time of the offense if he is giving you a warning or a ticket. This can sometimes be confusing. You may have thought you were getting a warning when in reality you were getting a ticket. You can also read over the paper carefully to identify it as a ticket.
Step 2
Visit your local DMV office. Hand the clerk your driver's license and ask them to see if you have any tickets. The information will be available to the clerk with the stroke of a few keys.
Step 3
Call your local DMV if you don't want to drive there. You can recite your driver's license number to the clerk over the phone. Make sure you are the one making the call. The DMV cannot discuss your account information with your friends or family members.
Step 4
Request a driver history abstract. This can be done online from your state's Motor Vehicle Commission website. Be aware that you will need a credit card, as this service charges a fee. The fee is usually around $15, but can vary from state to state. You will also need to enter your social security number. Once you are done, you will be given a copy of your driver history. This will list any outstanding tickets.
Step 5
Request your driving record from the unofficial DMV website (www.dmv.org). This site charges a little more than getting the records straight from the Motor Vehicle Commission. The fee here is $29.95. Again, you will need a credit card, your driver's license number, and billing name and address.
References
Tips
- Try to pay your ticket the day after you receive it. This will eliminate any confusion later on.
Things You'll Need
- Driver's license
- Local DMV
- Telephone
- Computer
- Credit card
- Social security number
Warnings
- If you go to your local DMV and you have a warrant for failure to pay your ticket, they will arrest you on the spot.
Writer Bio
Alicia Bodine has been a professional writer for 13 years. She has produced thousands of articles for online publications such as Demand Studios, GoBankingRates and WiseGeek. Bodine is passionate about gardening, travel, education and finance. She has received awards for being a top content producer.
