How to Pay a Traffic Ticket From the North Carolina Highway Patrol Online

Paying tickets online is easy for drivers, but also relieves the courts.

Traffic tickets issued by the North Carolina Highway Patrol are handled by the county in which the infraction occurred. Paying a traffic ticket in person can be inconvenient, involving time lost from work and parking fees. If there are no plans to contest the charges, North Carolina drivers can pay tickets for certain offenses online. The "Pay NC Ticket" program is being introduced on a county by country basis. As of April 2010, only Wilson and Cumberland Counties were online, with Buncombe County entering the program in May 2010. The state plans to have all counties enrolled by the end of summer, 2010.

Things You'll Need

• Debit or Credit Card

Instructions

1. Go to the "Pay NC Ticket" website. Enter the citation number, or click on "Look Up Citation" to find the correct citation.

2. Verify that the citation returned is the one to be paid, and then click "Continue."

3. Click on the boxes in front of the lines "Credit Card Payment Disclaimer" and the "Consent to Entry of Judgment" to show that you have read the notices and agree to them. Click the "Continue" button.

4. Accept the notice that you are being redirected to a secure site to make the payment.

5. Enter your credit or debit card information.

Tips & Warnings

• If you look up the citation by name, do not confuse the citation number and the case number. The citation number appears in the last box on the right-hand side of the screen.

• You can find a complete list of qualifying traffic offenses at The North Carolina Court System's website (nccourts.org/forms/documents/old988.pdf). As a general rule, simple speeding violations of less than 15 miles over the limit qualify, while driving under the influence offenses do not.

• Direct questions about traffic tickets issued by the North Carolina Highway Patrol to the Clerk of Superior Court for the county in which the violation occurred.

• Paying a ticket without making a court appearance is the same as entering a plea of guilty, which can impact your driving record and insurance rates. You cannot pay a ticket online if you plan to contest the charges.

• A convenience fee is added to the cost of the ticket for payments made online. As of April 2010, this fee is $5.05.

References

• Asheville Citizen-Times: Buncombe Citizens Can Now Pay Traffic Tickets Online
• The North Carolina Court System: Paying Citations Online
• North Carolina Department of Crime Control & Public Safety: Questions About Tickets
• The North Carolina Court System: Uniform Policies Relating to Traffic Offenses
• The North Carolina Court System: Don't Stand in Line, Pay Online