What a California traffic ticket really costs

Every violation in the table

Amounts in US dollars from the 2026 Edition of the statewide schedule. The section is the California Vehicle Code (VC) section the ticket cites.

Why $35 turns into $234

The schedule sets a small base fine for most infractions. 25 of the 42 violations on this page share the same $35 base. What you are asked to pay is built on top of that number in three layers, and the first layer is the one that multiplies it.

First come the penalty assessments. State law charges them per $10 of base fine, and a part of $10 counts as a whole one, so a $35 fine is treated as 4 blocks. Each block picks up $29 in state, county, court construction, DNA fund and emergency medical services penalties: $116 in all. Then a state surcharge of 20% of the base adds $7. Last come flat fees that do not depend on the violation: a court operations assessment of $40, a conviction assessment of $35 and a night court fee of $1.

Because the assessments scale with the base while the flat fees do not, the multiplier shrinks as the base grows. The $35 speeding fine ends up 6.7 times larger; the $100 red light fine ends up 4.9 times larger, at $486.

Worked example: two tickets, line by line

Here are two real rows from the schedule taken apart, each line with the law that creates it. The first is speeding 1 to 15 mph over the limit (basic speed law). The second is running a red light, which starts from a base fine 2.9 times as large. Under Vehicle Code section 42001, the base fine for most infractions stays at or below $100; everything stacked on top comes from other codes.

Read the speeding ticket from the top. The base fine is only 15% of what you pay. The additional penalties are charged per $10 of base or part of it, so a $35 base counts as 4 blocks, and they alone add $116. The schedule's $29 per block includes the full county penalty and the optional emergency medical services penalty under GC 76000.5, so in a county that levies less, this line comes out smaller. The fixed fees at the bottom are the same $76 on every row of the table, whatever the violation. On the red light ticket the base is 21% of the total: the bigger the base, the less the fixed fees weigh.

Paying late costs more. Vehicle Code section 40310 adds a late charge of 50% of the base fine and the additional penalties combined when they are not paid within 20 days of the mailing of the notice. That is $75.50 more on the speeding ticket and $195 more on the red light ticket.

The expensive ones

25 of the 42 violations here land at $234. A handful cost far more, and they are the ones where the law set a higher base fine:

1. Driving over 100 mph $896
2. No proof of insurance when an officer asks $896
3. Passing a school bus with its red lights flashing $691
4. Speeding 26 mph or more over the limit (basic speed law) $486
5. Running a red light $486

Two patterns stand out. Running a red light costs $486, but an illegal right turn on red, which is cited under a different part of the same section, costs $234: the schedule treats sailing through the intersection far more seriously than a rolling right turn. And passing a school bus with its red lights flashing, at $691, costs more than any speeding ticket below 100 mph.

Not being able to show proof of insurance when an officer asks costs $896, the same as driving over 100 mph. It carries no point, but it is the most expensive paperwork mistake on the list.

Points: which tickets reach your driving record

The schedule also lists the point count the DMV assigns on conviction. Most violations here are 1 point. Only one is 2: driving over 100 mph. Points are what the DMV counts toward a negligent operator suspension, which is why they matter more for a new driver than the dollar amount. Our guide to points and insurance explains the thresholds from the handbook.

These 8 carry no point in the schedule:

• Talking on a phone that is not hands-free (VC 23123 (a), $158)
• Holding and using a phone while driving (VC 23123.5 (a), $158)
• Driver under 18 using a phone or other wireless device (VC 23124 (b), $158)
• Not wearing a seat belt (VC 27315 (d)(1,3,4), $158)
• Headphones or earplugs in both ears (VC 27400, $193)
• Breaking a provisional license restriction (VC 12814.6 (b)(2), $234)
• Driving without your license on you (VC 12951 (a), $234)
• No proof of insurance when an officer asks (VC 16028 (a), $896)

The phone rules are the ones people get wrong. Holding and using a phone costs $158 and, according to the schedule, no point on a first conviction: under Vehicle Code section 12810.3 a point is added only when the same violation is repeated within a set period. Not wearing a seat belt costs the same $158 and also carries no point. Zero points does not make them optional; it means the penalty is the money.

Traffic school does not make it cheaper

When a court lets you attend traffic violator school, the law has it collect a fee equal to the full total bail of the violation, plus a $49 fee and a monitoring fee on top. So for the $234 speeding ticket you pay at least $283 before the school's own price. What school buys you is the record: the schedule notes that a conviction kept confidential after traffic school is not assigned a point.

What the total is, and what it is not

The Judicial Council publishes this schedule every year so that courts across the state start from the same amounts. Each superior court then adopts its own countywide schedule. The statewide figures assume the highest county and emergency medical services penalties the law allows, so a county that charges less, or a court with no night sessions, comes out a few dollars lower. Local courts can also add their own administrative fees.

The total is bail, not a sentence. For most Vehicle Code infractions, paying it closes the case, and under Vehicle Code sections 40512 and 13103 that payment can count as a conviction. A judge who hears the case can set a different fine.