Tickets & Paying
What a Virginia traffic summons actually is, what prepaying one does to your record, and what it costs to settle a ticket in Fairfax or Loudoun without a trial.
3 guides
A Virginia traffic summons is not a bill. Under § 46.2-936 an officer who stops you for a misdemeanor or an infraction normally releases you on a summons in place of an arrest, and the paper you sign is a promise to appear, not an admission of anything.
What you do with it decides the rest. Section 16.1-69.40:1 lets a traffic violations clerk take payment in advance for the offenses on the Supreme Court of Virginia's uniform fine schedule — but that prepayment is a plea of guilty, entered and reported like any other conviction. Some charges are off that schedule entirely and cannot be prepaid at all. And whatever the fine, § 16.1-69.48:1 adds a fixed court fee to every case a district court disposes of.
These pages take the Northern Virginia courts one at a time: what the summons tells you to do, what paying it costs and costs you, and what has to be done in person.
All guides
- Pay a Fairfax County, Virginia Traffic Ticket, and What Paying Does
How to pay a Fairfax County Virginia traffic ticket, what prepaying does to your record, what the total comes to, and which charges cannot be paid.
- A Fairfax Traffic Ticket: What the Summons Says and What to Do
What a Fairfax traffic ticket actually is, which court hears it, the three things you can do with it, and what happens if you ignore it entirely.
- A Loudoun County Traffic Ticket: Cost, Court and Options
What a Loudoun County traffic ticket costs, which court hears it, what prepaying does to your record, and the charges that cannot be paid at all.