California traffic school
Gridley, Butte County, CA Online Traffic School
If you received a traffic citation in Gridley, California, you may be able to attend an online traffic school course to keep the point off your public driving record.
3 easy steps
- Sign up
- Complete the online course
- Get your certificate
This page explains how eligibility works, which court handles Gridley traffic citations, and what to do next — without guessing at your specific case.
Quick Answer
Gridley is an incorporated city in Butte County. Traffic citations issued in Gridley — including those written by the Gridley Police Department — are processed through the Superior Court of California, County of Butte, which operates two courthouse locations (Oroville and Chico/North Butte). If your citation is eligible, the court's own courtesy notice will tell you whether you may attend traffic school, and GoToTrafficSchool.com offers a DMV-licensed online California course that reports completion to the assigned court once you have confirmed eligibility with that court.
Do You Qualify for Traffic School?
Eligibility is decided by the Butte County Superior Court, not by any traffic school provider. Per the court's own Traffic Division guidance, if you have a valid driver's license and the alleged violation is a vehicle code infraction, you may be eligible to attend traffic school, and DMV will only suppress one moving violation from your record within an 18-month period, calculated from violation date to violation date. The court also warns that if you are eligible and decide not to attend traffic school, your automobile insurance may be adversely affected.
You will not qualify if any of the following apply, per the court's published criteria: you have previously attended traffic school within the last 18 months of the alleged violation date; the alleged violation involves alcohol or drug possession; you have failed to appear pursuant to Vehicle Code section 40508(a) or Penal Code section 1214.1; or the alleged violation carries more than one point count pursuant to Vehicle Code section 12810. Separately, commercial-vehicle drivers face an additional restriction: pursuant to Vehicle Code 42005(a)(1), drivers driving a commercial vehicle as defined in subdivision (b) of Vehicle Code section 15210 are prohibited from attending traffic school and having the violation reported as a "confidential conviction."
Statewide, the process works the same way everywhere: the court sends a courtesy notice that flags eligibility, and you contact the court to confirm before signing up. As the California Courts Self-Help Guide explains, "The court notice should say if you can go to traffic school. If you're not sure, contact the court to ask."
GoToTrafficSchool.com's California Course
GoToTrafficSchool.com offers a 100%-online, self-paced California traffic school course. The company states its course is DMV-licensed and generally takes about 8 hours to complete, with device-switching support so students can start on one device and finish on another. Acceptance status: COURT-SPECIFIC PERMISSION PATHWAY VERIFIED, GoToTrafficSchool status COMPANY-STATED ONLY. Not every California court accepts online traffic school, and the Butte County Superior Court's own page does not list specific approved online providers — it instead directs drivers to the state's official provider search. Confirm with the Butte County Superior Court traffic clerk, and check the DMV's provider list, before enrolling.
How Gridley Traffic Citations Are Handled
Gridley is served by the Gridley Police Department, but citation processing, courtesy notices, payments, traffic-school eligibility determinations, and hearings for Gridley-issued citations are handled by the Superior Court of California, County of Butte — not by the police department itself. The Butte County Superior Court's Traffic Division explains the standard sequence: if you have received a citation for a traffic or other infraction matter, you should receive a courtesy notice in the mail within three weeks from the date of your citation, and this notice will contain your case/docket number, the bail amount, information regarding traffic school eligibility, and any proof of correction requirements needed to clear the citation. The court also warns: if you fail to respond by the date shown on the bottom of your citation, a warrant may be issued for your arrest or a hold may be placed against your driver's license.
Because Butte County Superior Court operates a single countywide traffic docket rather than a separate Gridley court, your citation itself — not your city of residence — identifies your assigned courthouse and appearance date. If you did not receive a courtesy notice, it is your responsibility to contact the court on or before the appearance date, and clerks can explain court procedure but are prohibited by law (Government Code Section 24004) from giving legal advice.
Butte County Superior Court Locations Serving Gridley Cases
Court | Address | Phone (Traffic) | Hours | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Butte County Courthouse (Main) | One Court Street, Oroville, CA 95965-3303 | (530) 532-7002 (main line) | Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | Primary Butte County Superior Court location; handles countywide traffic and infraction matters, including Gridley-area citations, per court assignment on the citation. |
North Butte County Courthouse | 1775 Concord Avenue, Chico, CA 95928 | (530) 532-7005 (Traffic) | Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | North county location; the Traffic Division's published FAQ contact number for citation help routes to this location. |
Both locations are part of the same Superior Court of California, County of Butte. Your citation or courtesy notice — not this page — identifies which location and date apply to your case. Official court information: Butte County Superior Court — Traffic Division | Locations & Contact Info.
Payment, Case Lookup, and Traffic School Sign-Up
Court payments and traffic school participation are handled separately. The court notes: to attend traffic school, you must pay a non-refundable traffic school fee to the Court, and the schools are private businesses that will also charge an additional fee for the course; if you intend to take traffic school, you may not pay bail online — you must pay in person at either courthouse location or by mail. Once you complete a course, the traffic school will provide the completion certificate to the Court.
To confirm your case, use the court's own online services rather than a third-party site:
- Case Information
- Make Payments or Request a Reduction
- Search for a Traffic Violator School Provider (CA DMV)
If you cannot afford the full fine, the court offers a formal process: if you cannot pay the full amount of a fine for an infraction offense (including most traffic tickets), you may ask the Court to reduce the amount you owe based on your ability to pay.
Contesting a Citation
California drivers statewide, including in Gridley, can request a trial without appearing in person. Per the California Courts Self-Help Guide, "you can fight a ticket in writing if, before your due date, you turn in a court form that explains what happened, and pay your fine (called bail)," and "a judge will read both sides and make a decision," with a refund possible "if found not guilty or fine reduced." This uses statewide Judicial Council forms TR-205 (Request for Trial by Written Declaration) and MC-031, available through courts.ca.gov and the Butte County Superior Court's own Forms & Filing page.
Local Driving Context: Highway 99 Through Gridley
Gridley sits directly on State Route 99, and Caltrans is currently carrying out a multi-year safety and rehabilitation project through the city. Local coverage of the project describes planned improvements intended to make the corridor safer for all users: added sidewalks and wider shoulders are intended to "enhance mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists, making it a safer corridor for all users of Highway 99 through Gridley." Overnight and intermittent one-way traffic control has been used during construction, with Caltrans advising drivers to expect delays and to watch for flaggers and pilot-vehicle traffic control in the work zone. Drivers cited for a work-zone or Highway 99 corridor violation in Gridley should confirm current signage and speed-zone status directly with Caltrans District 3, since construction conditions change during the project. This is a Caltrans-managed state highway project, not a city ordinance, and its status (active construction versus completed) should be reconfirmed at the time of reading via Caltrans District 3 News.
Insurance Considerations
California does not have a separate law granting an automatic insurance discount specifically for completing traffic school. Instead, traffic school works by keeping a qualifying violation point out of the record insurers see (see "Do You Qualify" above). Separately, California's Good Driver program is a statutory rate protection tied to a driver's point count, not to course completion: a driver who has been "licensed for at least three consecutive years and has no more than one point on his or her driving record" qualifies as a Good Driver, and insurers must offer that driver a rate "at least 20% lower" than a non-Good Driver's rate at the same company. Successfully masking a point through eligible traffic school attendance can help a Gridley driver stay under the one-point threshold that preserves Good Driver status, but this is not a guaranteed discount from GoToTrafficSchool.com itself — confirm the effect with your insurer.
Prefer a Classroom Course? In-Person Options Serving Gridley
GoToTrafficSchool.com's Gridley-area course is online-only. For drivers who prefer or are required to attend in person, the California DMV maintains the only complete, current statewide list of licensed Traffic Violator Schools, searchable by city, ZIP code, or county: DMV Traffic School Search Tool. The DMV specifically notes that its tool is a directory only — you cannot attend or register for traffic school through the DMV website; contact the school directly to register. No specific in-person Gridley classroom location could be independently verified as currently operating at the time of this research; use the DMV tool to check current listings near Gridley or Chico.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Gridley have its own traffic court?
No. Gridley does not have a separate municipal traffic court. Citations issued in Gridley are handled by the countywide Superior Court of California, County of Butte, at either the Oroville or Chico (North Butte County) courthouse, as identified on your citation or courtesy notice.
Who do I call if I have a question about my Gridley ticket?
The Butte County Superior Court Traffic Division can be reached at (530) 532-7005; clerks can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice.
Can the Gridley Police Department approve my traffic school request?
No. The police department issues the citation, but traffic-school eligibility and approval are decided by the Butte County Superior Court, not by the issuing agency.
Is online traffic school automatically accepted for my Butte County ticket?
Not automatically. Confirm with the court and check that your specific citation qualifies before enrolling in any online course, including GoToTrafficSchool.com's.
Will traffic school lower my insurance rate in Gridley?
Not directly. It can help you avoid a point being visible to your insurer, which may help preserve Good Driver status under state law, but it is not itself a guaranteed discount.
Does a commercial driver's license change my eligibility?
Yes. State law prohibits commercial-vehicle drivers, as defined by Vehicle Code section 15210(b), from using traffic school to obtain a confidential conviction for that citation.
Is the Highway 99 construction through Gridley related to my ticket?
Only if your citation was issued in an active work zone; confirm current speed limits and signage with Caltrans District 3, since construction status changes over time.
About GoToTrafficSchool.com
GoToTrafficSchool.com has provided online traffic education since 2000. Its California course is delivered entirely online and self-paced, with support for switching between devices without losing progress. Confirm your citation's eligibility with the Butte County Superior Court before enrolling, since not every court accepts every provider's online course.
Next step: If your Butte County citation shows traffic-school eligibility, confirm the requirement and deadline with the court, then review GoToTrafficSchool's California course.
Sources
- Superior Court of California, County of Butte — Traffic Division (accessed 2026-09-23)
- Superior Court of California, County of Butte — Traffic School (accessed 2026-09-23)
- Superior Court of California, County of Butte — Traffic FAQs (accessed 2026-09-23)
- Superior Court of California, County of Butte — Locations & Contact Info (accessed 2026-09-23)
- California DMV — Traffic School Search Tool (accessed 2026-09-23)
- California Courts Self-Help Guide — Traffic (statewide operator packet, accessed 2026-09-23)
- California Department of Insurance — Good Driver discount guidance (statewide operator packet, accessed 2026-09-23)
- City of Gridley — Gridley Police Department (accessed 2026-09-23)
- Caltrans District 3 — Highway 99 Gridley corridor project news releases (accessed 2026-09-23)
- GoToTrafficSchool.com — California state page (accessed 2026-09-23)
Verification date: 2026-09-23
More Traffic School Information for Gridley Drivers
- California Traffic School — GoToTrafficSchool.com: Statewide course details, eligibility basics, and enrollment for any California citation, including Butte County.
- Butte County Traffic School Guide (parent county page): Broader Butte County court routing and procedures for all cities in the county — link to be added once the county page is published (not yet verified live).
- Butte County Superior Court — Traffic Division: The official court source for courtesy notices, payment options, and traffic-school eligibility for any Gridley citation.