Respond

Traffic and misdemeanor citations generally come with two options: pay it outright, or attend court to speak with the judge. The date and time of your hearing should be on the bottom your ticket. Your ticket will also tell you whether the charge(s) is/are civil or criminal.

Important: do not ignore your citation. State law then requires the court to issue a default judgment and you will face additional fees. Failure to respond to a criminal citation may result in suspension of your driver license and a warrant for your arrest.

For more information on your options, visit our Traffic page.

When a new lawsuit is filed against you, you should receive a copy of the complaint and a summons. The summons is your notification of the first court date and should tell you when and where to appear for the hearing. Or, it may direct you to file an answer and pay the answer fee.

In an existing case there may be claims, counterclaims, or motions which give you further information and for which you may want to file a response or answer.

It is not required that you contact the court ahead of your court date, but we highly encourage it. There are several advantages of doing so: 

• The court can verify they have the correct address and phone number for you;
• You may provide an email address for faster notifications of future dates and judgments;
• The court may allow you to file motions or answers by email;
• In the future, we may be able to send text reminders of upcoming court dates.

To read about specific case types, please tap or hover your mouse over "Case Types" and choose the specific type you need.