California traffic school
Los Angeles County, California Traffic School Guide
3 easy steps
- Sign up
- Complete the online course
- Get your certificate
If you received a traffic ticket in Los Angeles County, you may be able to complete a DMV-licensed traffic violator school ("traffic school") course to keep the point off your public DMV record. Whether this option is available to you, and whether it's called "traffic school," "traffic violator school," or "point masking," depends on your specific court and the type of violation — there is no single countywide rule that applies to every ticket.
What this course can and cannot do: Completing an eligible course does not erase your citation or conviction. For a noncommercial driver's license, if you finish traffic school, the point from the ticket won't show on your DMV record, meaning insurance companies won't be able to see it or raise your insurance rates because of it. It does not cancel a license suspension, does not remove the violation from your court record, and — for a commercial license or commercial vehicle citation — the standard masking option generally does not apply; if you have a commercial driver's license, the rules are different, and you should ask the court how it works in your case.
Next step: Your citation or the court's courtesy notice tells you whether traffic school is offered in your case. The court notice should say if you can go to traffic school, and if you're not sure, you should contact the court to ask. Not every Los Angeles County traffic court treats online courses the same way — confirm with your specific court before enrolling.
Do All Los Angeles County Courts Accept Online Traffic School?
No. Acceptance is decided court by court, not countywide. As a general statewide rule, not all courts accept online traffic school, and each court sets its own eligibility rules — you must get approval from your court before taking an online course. GoToTrafficSchool.com maintains individual informational pages for a number of Los Angeles County courts describing this same condition: the company's own guidance for one Los Angeles County courthouse states that "if your court allows an online defensive driving or traffic school course for dismissal," it can help complete the requirement — language that confirms enrollment is conditioned on your specific court's approval, not guaranteed in advance.
Classification for this use: COURT-SPECIFIC PERMISSION PATHWAY VERIFIED. Confirm with your assigned court (by phone or its official website) that online completion is accepted before you register.
Eligibility Basics (Statewide Rule, Applied Through Your Court)
- You can usually go to traffic school if you have a valid driver's license, your ticket is for a noncommercial vehicle, and you haven't gone to traffic school in the last 18 months.
- Some tickets don't qualify for traffic school — for example, equipment problems like a broken taillight, or tickets related to alcohol or drugs.
- Commercial license holders and commercial-vehicle citations follow different, court-specific rules rather than the standard noncommercial pathway.
- The 18-month reuse limit applies to how often the point-masking benefit itself can be used again, not to how many courses you may take.
Your Ticket Process in Los Angeles County
- You receive a citation or courtesy notice. The notice explains your bail amount, due date, and whether traffic school is offered for that citation.
- You choose a path: you can pay the ticket (which may include signing up for traffic school), fix an equipment problem for a "fix-it" ticket, or ask the court for a trial if you disagree with the ticket.
- If eligible, you request traffic school through your court, pay the required court and school obligations (amounts not covered here), and complete the course by the court's deadline.
- If you want to contest the ticket without appearing in person, California allows a trial by written declaration: you submit a court form explaining your side and pay your bail in advance; a judge reviews both your statement and the officer's before deciding, and you're refunded if found not guilty or your fine is reduced.
- Confirm your completion was received. Course completions for California traffic violator schools are reported through the DMV's Traffic Violator Course Completion (TVCC) system, which makes each completion available to the designated court after it is submitted — it does not report to your insurer directly.
Los Angeles County traffic tickets are handled by the traffic divisions of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, which processes ticket cases at multiple courthouses across the county rather than a single central location. Use the court's own Find My Court tool to confirm the specific courthouse tied to your citation, since your ticket and any later notice — not this page — determine your assigned court.
Los Angeles County Traffic Court Locations (Non-Exhaustive)
The Los Angeles Superior Court's Traffic Division operates at multiple courthouses across the county. The locations below are a representative selection with independently verified contact details; they do not cover every courthouse. For a complete, current list, use the court's official directory and citation search tools linked below.
Courthouse | Street Address | Traffic Clerk's Office | Automated Traffic Line | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Metropolitan Courthouse | 1945 S. Hill St., Los Angeles, CA 90007 | (213) 745-3201 | (213) 742-1884 | Public counter hours verified as Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
Van Nuys West Courthouse | 6230 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401 | (818) 989-6999 | (213) 742-1884 | Confirm counter hours on official court page |
Pasadena Courthouse | 300 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91101 | (626) 396-3399 | (213) 742-1928 | Confirm counter hours on official court page |
Torrance Courthouse | 825 Maple Ave., Torrance, CA 90503 | (310) 787-3699 | (213) 742-8860 | Confirm counter hours on official court page |
Michael D. Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse | 42011 4th St. West, Lancaster, CA 93534 | (661) 483-5799 | (213) 742-8860 | Serves the Antelope Valley area |
Compton Courthouse | 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220 | (310) 761-8659 | (213) 763-1644 | Confirm counter hours on official court page |
Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse (Long Beach) | 275 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802 | (562) 256-2313 | (213) 742-8809 | Confirm counter hours on official court page |
West Covina Courthouse (Citrus) | 1427 W. Covina Pkwy., West Covina, CA 91790 | (626) 430-2599 | (213) 742-1928 | Confirm counter hours on official court page |
Each courthouse handles traffic infractions for citations filed there; a courthouse's address does not by itself define its full geographic service area. The Los Angeles County Superior Court operates 16 traffic locations throughout the county and processes over 1 million new citations each year. For the complete directory, citation lookup, and payment options, use the court's official traffic pages linked below rather than relying on any single list, including this one.
Insurance: What Traffic School Does and Doesn't Affect
Traffic school's insurance-related benefit in California comes from the point-masking effect described above, not from a separate traffic-school-specific insurance law. Separately, California's Good Driver discount is a statutory point-count protection: every auto insurance company must offer coverage for Good Drivers — a person licensed at least three consecutive years with no more than one point on their driving record — and Good Driver rates must be at least 20% lower than non-Good Driver rates at the same company. Completing eligible traffic school can help you stay under that one-point threshold, but it does not independently create a discount, and it does not apply to court-ordered or mandatory program completions the same way. Confirm with your insurer how a specific completion affects your policy.
Prefer a Classroom Course? Finding In-Person Options
If you'd rather attend in person, the DMV maintains the state's official traffic school locator. You can use the DMV's online traffic school list to find a traffic school in your area, filtering by license number, business name, language, address, city, ZIP code, or county. Note that you cannot register for a traffic school through the DMV's website — you must contact the school directly to register. No specific in-person Los Angeles County classroom provider is verified in this guide; use the DMV tool to identify current local options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every Los Angeles County court accept GoToTrafficSchool.com's online course?
Not automatically. Not all courts accept online traffic school, and each court sets its own eligibility rules, so confirm with your specific court before signing up.
Will traffic school dismiss my ticket?
No. For an eligible noncommercial-license ticket, completing traffic school keeps the point off your public DMV record — it does not erase the underlying citation or conviction.
I have a commercial driver's license. Can I still go to traffic school?
Maybe not through the standard process. If you have a commercial driver's license, the rules are different, and you should ask the court how it works in your case.
How often can I use traffic school in Los Angeles County?
The statewide rule allows use once every 18 months for a qualifying, noncommercial-vehicle violation on a valid license.
What if I don't agree with my ticket?
You can request a court trial, or use California's written-declaration process, where you submit a court form and pay your bail in advance, a judge reviews your statement along with the officer's, and you're refunded if found not guilty or your fine is reduced.
How does the court find out I completed the course?
Through the DMV's Traffic Violator Course Completion (TVCC) database, which schools use to submit completions that become available to the designated courts the next day — this reports to the court, not automatically to your insurer.
Does traffic school guarantee a lower insurance rate?
No. It supports staying under the point threshold used for California's Good Driver discount, but it does not by itself create a discount; check with your insurer.
Which courthouse handles my ticket?
Your citation or the court's notice identifies your assigned courthouse. Use the court's official Find My Court tool to confirm, since Los Angeles County has multiple traffic locations.
About GoToTrafficSchool.com
GoToTrafficSchool.com has provided online traffic education since 2000. Its California course is offered entirely online and is company-stated to be DMV-licensed and generally accepted by courts for eligible violations — but as explained above, acceptance is ultimately decided by your individual court, not guaranteed statewide. Before enrolling, confirm with your specific Los Angeles County court that online completion will satisfy your requirement.
Sources
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County, "What is Traffic Court?" — https://www.lacourt.org/division/traffic/TR0004.aspx (accessed 2026-09-24)
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Traffic Courthouse Phone Numbers — https://www.lacourt.org/division/traffic/pdf/TrafficCourthousePhoneNumbers.pdf (accessed 2026-09-24)
- LA County courthouse address records — https://locator.lacounty.gov (Metropolitan, Van Nuys, Torrance, Pasadena entries, accessed 2026-09-24); https://www.cityoflancasterca.org/services/local-resources/courthouses (Antelope Valley, accessed 2026-09-24); https://www.lacourt.ca.gov/courtroominformation (Long Beach, accessed 2026-09-24)
- California Courts Self-Help Guide, Traffic pages (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/traffic) — statewide rules on eligibility, notices, and payment
- California Department of Insurance, Good Driver Discount consumer guide
- California DMV, Traffic School List tool — https://drive.dmvonline.ca.gov/s/oll-traffic-schools
- GoToTrafficSchool.com California state and court pages (accessed 2026-09-24)
- Find My Court — https://courts.ca.gov/find-my-court
Verification date: 2026-09-24