Can You Do Traffic School For A Speeding Ticket? (2025)

How Traffic School Works for Speeding Tickets

A speeding ticket might not impact your life as severely as a DUI, but it can still cause serious problems. Similarly, traffic courts understand that drivers who speed excessively create a danger for others on the road. This is where traffic school comes in.

For a driver who has received a speeding ticket, completing a program can reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of the ticket on their driving record, insurance premiums, or both. Because traffic school educates drivers and helps them make safer decisions, it also reduces the risk of future dangerous behaviors.

Traffic school involves taking a course with a court-approved provider. The length of the course depends on your state, but often, it is eight hours or less.

Usually, traffic school for speeding tickets covers topics like these:

Traffic Laws

Courses usually provide an overview of traffic laws in general, with a special focus on speed-related laws.

Defensive Driving

Defensive driving involves remaining alert and anticipating hazards on the road to avoid accidents.

Driving in Inclement Weather

Many traffic school courses teach drivers to adjust their speed depending on visibility and weather conditions.

Dangers and Consequences of Reckless Driving and DUI

Many courses explain the legal consequences of excessive speeding or driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Eligibility and Requirements for Traffic School

So when can you do traffic school for a speeding ticket? Most states don’t provide a standardized, statewide traffic school program for ticket dismissals. Instead, individual courts may choose to offer traffic school to certain offenders.

Exact eligibility requirements will vary, but generally, traffic school is an option if the following apply:

• You have a non-commercial driver’s license
• You are a first-time offender, or a certain amount of time has passed since you last went to traffic school
• The violation was for a relatively minor offense, like speeding or running a red light
• Your license was not suspended or revoked at the time of the violation

In most cases, if you have already paid the fine for a speeding ticket, you cannot attend traffic school later. Before you pay a ticket, you should explore whether traffic school is an option.

Types of Speeding Tickets Eligible for Traffic School

Traffic school can be a great way to avoid an increase in your average car insurance cost per month. However, not all offenses are eligible for traffic school. Each jurisdiction is free to determine which tickets qualify, but generally, you can attend traffic school with a basic speeding violation. This normally means that you were not driving 25 mph over the speed limit or more.

If you were driving fast enough to be charged with reckless driving or were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when you were pulled over, you typically won’t be eligible for traffic school.

How Traffic School Addresses Speeding Violations

It’s important to note that not all traffic schools address speeding violations in the same way. How your ticket is impacted depends on the type of program offered.

Ticket Dismissal Programs

Completion of these programs results in your speeding ticket being dismissed. This means that the ticket will not appear on your record and therefore won’t impact insurance rates. You also won’t have points added to your license.

Point Reduction Programs

These programs will not remove the ticket itself from your driving record, so you’ll likely still see an increase in your average car insurance cost per month. However, because point reduction programs remove some or all of the points from your record, they may help you avoid a license suspension.

Benefits of Completing Traffic School

Completing traffic school has a number of potential advantages, including:

• Reducing or eliminating any fine you owe
• Keeping your driving record clean
• Saving you from a potential license suspension or revocation
• Preventing your insurance premiums from increasing

Traffic school can also teach you safe driving skills and reduce your chances of getting another traffic ticket or being involved in future car accidents.

Online vs. In-Person Traffic School

Depending on your location, you may be able to complete a traffic school course online or in person. In some cases, you might be permitted to choose one.

In-person courses are held in a classroom with an instructor, and they adhere to a set schedule. In some cases, it may be easier to stay focused in a classroom setting because you aren’t surrounded by distractions in your home.

Online courses are usually self-paced, and you watch video lessons instead of attending real-time lectures. With an online course, you generally don’t have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions.

However, online traffic school has become popular because drivers can pause when needed and complete the course on their own time. It is often (but not always) less expensive than taking an in-person course.

Steps to Enroll in Traffic School

The exact steps to enroll in traffic school depend on the court. However, if the court requires you to attend traffic school or gives you the option to do so, the process usually works like this:

• The court provides you with a list of approved providers
• You select a provider, enroll, and pay the fee
• You attend the course, either in person or online
• You receive a certificate of completion

The court will typically tell you how to send proof of completion. Once it receives your certificate, it may remove the ticket from your record, reduce the points on your driver’s license, or both.

Cost of Traffic School and Who Pays

The cost of traffic school can vary significantly based on jurisdiction. On the low end, a course may be around $20, but it’s not unusual for traffic school to cost $100 or more. The driver who is taking the course must pay for traffic school.

You can often pay the course fee to the traffic school directly. However, in some areas, you may owe an administrative fee as well.

Impact on Driving Records and Insurance

Depending on your jurisdiction, traffic school may impact your driving record or insurance. If the ticket is completely removed from your record, you likely won’t see your insurance rates go up.

If the ticket stays on your record but points are removed from your license, you might still see an insurance increase, but you may save yourself from a license suspension.

Alternatives and Additional Considerations

In many cases, attending traffic school is a great idea — you can protect your driving record and avoid a hefty fine. However, there are a few things to consider before you commit:

• You usually must pay a fee to complete traffic school, although it’s usually no more than $150
• If you have to take off work to attend, you could lose money
• If you think the ticket was wrongfully issued - for example, if it came from an automated camera or a questionable speed trap - it may be better to contest it
• Some courts may allow you to dismiss the ticket by doing community service

If you aren’t sure whether you should go to traffic school or try to resolve the ticket another way, an attorney may be able to offer valuable guidance.

Have You Gotten a Speeding Ticket?

Before resigning yourself to increased insurance premiums, it’s worth exploring whether you’re eligible for traffic school. Because eligibility requirements can vary greatly depending on the court and the circumstances of your ticket, the best way to find out whether you qualify for traffic court is to talk to an attorney.

If you’ve never needed legal representation before, you might be unsure of how to go about finding a lawyer. That’s where we can help. The ConsumerShield team is committed to matching people like you with experienced lawyers nearby. Fill out our contact form for a free case review today.