Daly City Traffic Ticket Search
Traffic tickets in Daly City are processed through San Mateo County Superior Court. When you get a citation here, the county court handles your case. Daly City has over 104,000 residents and sits just south of San Francisco in San Mateo County. All moving violations go to the county traffic division under California Vehicle Code rules. The city does not manage traffic tickets. You search cases, pay fines, and request traffic school through county court portals. Parking citations are different and go through city channels. Your traffic ticket shows where to go and when to respond. Most people use online systems to handle their citations without visiting the courthouse in person.
Daly City Quick Facts
San Mateo County Superior Court Traffic
All Daly City traffic tickets go through San Mateo County Superior Court. The court has a traffic division that handles citations for the entire county. Under Vehicle Code § 40500, California routes all moving violations through county courts. This applies statewide. You do not handle traffic tickets at city hall. The county court processes your case, sets bail, and collects payments.
San Mateo County Superior Court has an online portal at odyportal-ext.sanmateocourt.org. You can search cases, pay fines, and manage your citation online. The portal works for all San Mateo County cities including Daly City. The main traffic court website is at sanmateo.courts.ca.gov. You can also call the court at (650) 363-4300 for help with your case.
Traffic school in San Mateo County costs $82 as an admin fee. This is one of the higher traffic school fees in California. The fee is on top of your fine. Most people still choose traffic school to mask points from their insurance record. The court decides if you qualify based on your driving history and the type of violation.
Look Up Daly City Traffic Tickets
You search Daly City traffic tickets using the San Mateo County court online portal. Go to odyportal-ext.sanmateocourt.org and search for your case. You need your citation number from the ticket. The system pulls up your case. You see the charge, bail amount, and due date. You can also check if you qualify for traffic school or have a court date set.
The court mails a courtesy notice about 30 days after your ticket. The notice explains your options and shows the amount due. But you do not have to wait for the notice. You can search and pay using your citation number right away. If the system says your case is not found, wait a few days. New tickets take time to process. Try again in a week.
Your options for a Daly City traffic ticket include:
- Pay the fine and close the case
- Ask for traffic school if you qualify
- Contest the ticket in court
- Request a trial by written declaration
- Ask for an extension if you need time
California allows trial by written declaration under Vehicle Code § 40902. You submit your defense on paper without appearing in court. You pay bail up front. If you win, the court refunds your money. If you lose, you can still request an in-person trial. This gives you two chances to fight the ticket.
Note: San Mateo County court portals work 24 hours a day for searching cases and paying fines.
Traffic School for Daly City Drivers
Traffic school helps keep a point off your insurance record. The point still goes on your DMV file but insurers cannot see it. This keeps your rates from going up. You must request traffic school when you handle your ticket. Not all violations or drivers qualify. The court decides based on your history and the offense type.
To use traffic school for a Daly City ticket, request it through San Mateo County Superior Court. You pay the bail plus the $82 traffic school admin fee. Then you enroll in a DMV-approved course. Online courses are allowed and most people use them. You must finish before the deadline. The school reports completion to the court. Your case closes and the point stays masked from insurance.
You cannot use traffic school if you:
- Completed traffic school in the past 18 months
- Have a commercial driver license for this violation
- Were speeding over 25 mph above the limit
- Got the ticket in a commercial vehicle
Pick a traffic school from the court's approved list. Costs range from $50 to $100 depending on which school you choose. The state requires a minimum course time. You pay the school directly. Finish before your deadline or you lose the option. The point stays on your DMV record under Vehicle Code § 1808 but stays hidden from insurance if you complete traffic school.
Correctable Violations in Daly City
Some Daly City tickets are for equipment problems. These include broken lights, cracked windows, expired tags, or no proof of insurance. Officers call these fix-it tickets or correctable violations. You fix the problem and show proof. Then you pay a small fee. The cost is much less than a moving violation fine if you handle it on time.
First, repair the issue on your vehicle. Then get it verified. Police stations often do free inspections for fix-it tickets. The CHP also verifies corrections at no charge per chp.ca.gov. Some mechanics can sign off too. The verifier stamps your ticket showing the problem is fixed.
After verification, submit the signed ticket to San Mateo County Superior Court. You pay a $25 proof of correction fee under Vehicle Code § 40611. This is a statewide fee. Do this before the due date on your citation. If you miss the deadline, the full fine applies and can be several hundred dollars. Mail the proof and fee or submit through the online portal.
Note: Fix-it tickets become expensive if ignored, often jumping from $25 to over $250.
How Daly City Tickets Affect DMV Records
The California DMV tracks traffic convictions for all drivers. When you pay a ticket or get convicted, San Mateo County Superior Court reports it to the DMV. The violation shows on your driving record. Insurance companies check records to set rates. Employers may pull records if you drive for work. Points from tickets affect insurance costs and can lead to license suspension.
Under Vehicle Code § 1808, most traffic violations stay on your record for three years from the conviction date. DUI and serious offenses stay for ten years. The retention schedule is at dmv.ca.gov. Four points in 12 months or six in 24 months triggers a license suspension for one-point violations.
You can order your California driving record online for $2 at dmv.ca.gov. Mail requests cost $5. The record shows all convictions, accidents, and DMV actions. It does not show parking tickets or dismissed cases. Check your record to see how a Daly City ticket affects you.
Daly City Parking Tickets
Parking citations in Daly City are separate from traffic tickets. The city issues parking tickets for violations on streets and in city lots. These do not go through the county court. You handle parking tickets with the city. Parking violations do not add points to your license or affect your driving record. But you still need to pay on time to avoid late fees.
The City of Daly City has citation info at dalycity.org. You can pay parking tickets online, by mail, or by phone. If you think the ticket was wrong, file an appeal with the city. This is an admin process, not a court case. The city reviews your appeal and decides if the ticket should stand.
Unpaid parking tickets can cause problems. The city may send old tickets to collections. This hurts your credit score. Some places put holds on vehicle registration if you have too many unpaid parking tickets. It is easier to pay or appeal parking citations on time than to deal with these issues later.
Missing Your Daly City Ticket Deadline
If you ignore a Daly City traffic ticket, the court takes action. Missing your due date or court appearance triggers penalties. The court adds a civil assessment to your fine. Your case goes into failure to appear status. The DMV may suspend your license. Some charges can lead to a warrant. Do not skip dealing with your ticket even if you plan to fight it.
The court mails notices to the address on file with the DMV. If you moved and did not update your address, you might miss the notice. But you are still responsible for the deadline on your citation. If you need more time, call San Mateo County Superior Court at (650) 363-4300 and ask for an extension. Most courts give one extension if you ask before the deadline.
To fix a failure to appear, contact the court right away. Pay all fines and fees including the civil assessment. The court clears the hold on your license once you resolve the case. If a warrant was issued, you may need to appear in person or post bail. It is much easier to handle your ticket on time. Use the online portal at odyportal-ext.sanmateocourt.org to pay and close your case.
Note: Failure to appear can add $100 or more in civil assessment fees to your ticket cost.
San Mateo County Traffic Court
Daly City is in San Mateo County, and all moving violation citations go through San Mateo County Superior Court. The county court processes traffic cases for all cities in San Mateo County. For more on court locations, fee schedules, traffic school details, and other resources, visit the San Mateo County traffic ticket records page.