How Long Before An Unpaid Ticket Becomes A Warrant? (2025)

How States Handle Traffic Tickets

Until 1970, most states handled traffic violations as criminal cases. However, an influential study by the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee recommended decriminalizing traffic citations. Many states followed these recommendations, while others have not. As a result, U.S. states fall into the following two categories for handling traffic tickets:

Criminal Violations

Criminal offenses are different from civil matters in several ways. First and most importantly, a criminal conviction can result in jail time. Civil matters, like a divorce or a premises liability lawsuit, conclude with a damage award or civil penalty.

Second, most states allow judges to issue bench warrants for people who fail to appear for criminal hearings or trials. A bench warrant states that the person is subject to arrest if the police come into contact with them. However, the police will not actively hunt for the person.

The following states handle traffic citations as criminal matters:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Montana
• Wyoming
• South Dakota
• Iowa
• Missouri
• West Virginia
• New Mexico
• Texas
• Oklahoma
• Arkansas
• Tennessee
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Georgia

New Jersey also handles citations as crimes but only authorizes jail time for certain violations, while the punishment for others only includes a fine.

Non-Criminal Civil Violations

In the remaining states, most traffic citations are treated as civil, not criminal, violations. Aside from freeing up space in jails, decriminalization also reduces the costs for jury trials and public defenders since the Constitution only requires states to provide them in criminal cases.

If you get a ticket, it will include a summons and a court date. You must either appear on that date or reschedule it. If you fail to do so, the court can enter a default judgment against you.

The default judgment will include a civil penalty. This penalty is more similar to a court judgment or personal injury settlement than a fine because courts usually do not use arrest warrants to enforce them. Instead, they use three other mechanisms.

First, the state can suspend your driver’s license. Maine, for example, automatically suspends your driver’s license if you do not pay your civil penalty before the deadline in the default judgment.

Second, some states also suspend your vehicle registration. In Arizona, courts can place a hold on your registration for unpaid civil penalties, and you will not be allowed to renew it until you pay them.

Third, your case could be turned over to a collections agency. This agency can use all the normal tactics, such as phone calls and negative entries on your credit history. In Florida, courts usually give you 90 days to pay your penalty before sending the case to collections.

However, these states generally avoid issuing arrest warrants for a failure to appear or pay. The main exception to this rule occurs when the original arrest was for a misdemeanor or felony crime, such as a DUI or reckless driving offense.

Can You Get a Warrant for Unpaid Tickets?

In the 19 states that treat citations as criminal offenses, the citation includes a court summons with a court date. If you miss your court date, the judge can issue an arrest warrant.

State law determines how long before an unpaid ticket becomes a warrant. In some states, you receive a grace period before the court issues a warrant. For example, Georgia gives you 30 days to pay your fine or make other arrangements after you miss a hearing.

Other states give you no formal grace period. Texas law, for example, allows judges to immediately issue a traffic warrant if you are not present in the courtroom when the judge calls your case. While some judges will provide a pre-warrant notice explaining your options to arrange a new court date or pay your fine, Texas law does not require them to do so.

If the police pick you up on a bench warrant for traffic ticket failures, they take you to jail, not the courtroom. You could wait in jail for several days before you see a judge. In some cases, you spend more time in jail waiting to see a judge than you would have as a sentence for the original traffic violation.

When you appear before the judge, you will likely receive a new court date. In other words, the judge will probably not handle your case at that time. Instead, the judge will release you “on recognizance” or after you post bail.

Contact ConsumerShield to Learn More About Unpaid Tickets

In some states, a failure to appear in court or pay a fine will result in an arrest warrant. While some states give you a grace period, others authorize the judge to take immediate action. ConsumerShield helps you answer the question, “What to do if I have a warrant for a traffic ticket?” Contact us for a free case evaluation and a lawyer referral.