Larkspur, California Traffic School & Ticket Guide (Marin County)

Traffic enforcement within Larkspur city limits is provided by the Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA), a joint police agency created when Larkspur merged its police department with Corte Madera's, later adding San Anselmo. The Central Marin Police Authority is a full-service police agency for the communities of Larkspur, Corte Madera, and San Anselmo. California Highway Patrol officers may also issue citations on state highways passing near or through Larkspur. Regardless of which agency issues the citation, the case itself is filed with the county court, not the police department.

All infraction-level traffic citations connected to Larkspur are processed by the Traffic Division of the Marin County Superior Court, located at the county's Civic Center — there is no separate Larkspur or "Twin Cities" traffic court. If you have been cited for a traffic ticket in Larkspur... you have come to the right place — cases for Larkspur, along with every other Marin city and town, are heard at the same county courthouse.

Marin County Superior Court — Traffic Division

• Street address: 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903 (Traffic Clerk's Office, Room C-10, Court Floor)
• Mailing address: Marin County Superior Court – Traffic, P.O. Box 4988, San Rafael, CA 94913-4988
• Traffic Clerk phone: The Traffic Clerk's Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., except on holidays, with phone hours Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at (415) 444-7180.
• Automated phone case lookup: Phone access is available by calling (415) 448-8230, Monday - Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
• Official pages: Traffic Division overview (marin.courts.ca.gov/divisions/traffic) and online case lookup/payment portal (apps.marin.courts.ca.gov/MarinTrafficWeb)
• Role and service area: This is the single traffic-case venue for citations issued anywhere in Marin County, including Larkspur; it is a county court, not a Larkspur city department. Your citation or courtesy notice will confirm your specific case number and any traffic-school eligibility.

Because this is a shared countywide court, always confirm your specific eligibility, deadline, and whether online traffic school is accepted directly from your citation or courtesy notice — not all courts accept online traffic school, and each court sets its own eligibility rules.

California's licensing agency (DMV) and courts jointly administer the option commonly called "traffic school," legally a Traffic Violator School (TVS) program. If you're eligible, completing traffic school lets you hide a qualifying point from your public DMV record so insurers cannot see it or raise rates because of it — this is a masking effect, not a dismissal of the underlying ticket.

General eligibility (subject to your specific court's confirmation):

• You have a valid driver's license, your ticket is for a noncommercial vehicle, and you have not used traffic school in the last 18 months.
• Some violations don't qualify, including equipment problems and alcohol/drug-related citations.
• Commercial license holders face different, court-determined rules — ask the court how it works in your case.

Process: Your Marin court notice will indicate if you're eligible for traffic school; if so, you contact the court, receive a completion deadline, and separately arrange course payment and court obligations (these are different amounts and are not addressed here). Completion is reported to the DMV via the state's Traffic Violator Course Completion (TVCC) database, and the record becomes available to the court about a day after submission.

GoToTrafficSchool.com offers a 100% online, self-paced California traffic school course. The company states its course is DMV-licensed and designed to help eligible drivers complete their requirement; California traffic school courses are regulated by the state and generally take about 8 hours to complete. The course supports switching between phone, tablet, laptop or desktop with saved progress, and offers an exam retake if needed.

Important limitation: GoToTrafficSchool's DMV license status was not independently confirmed against the DMV's official Traffic School List for this page, and not every Marin court accepts every online provider automatically — you must get approval from your court before taking this course. Before enrolling for a Larkspur-area citation, confirm with the Marin County Superior Court Traffic Division that your case is eligible and that online completion will be accepted.

If you disagree with a citation, California allows a trial by written declaration without a court appearance: you submit form TR-205 (with any attachment on MC-031), pay the associated bail, and a judge decides after reviewing both your statement and the officer's. This route is administered by the Marin County Superior Court using the same statewide forms as every California county.

The City of Larkspur is currently gathering public input on its Magnolia Avenue corridor, from Doherty Drive to the southern city limits, including recent studies on traffic speeds and crash data along that stretch. Drivers cited on or near Magnolia Avenue may find this an active, city-specific safety planning effort worth being aware of, separate from any court process.

• Marin County Traffic School Guide (parent county page) — for broader Marin court and provider information beyond Larkspur-specific facts. [Link pending — county page in progress per operator handoff]
• GoToTrafficSchool.com California Traffic School — statewide course details, eligibility basics and enrollment: https://www.gototrafficschool.com/state/california-online-traffic-school
• Marin County Superior Court — Traffic Division — official case lookup, payment and procedure information: https://www.marin.courts.ca.gov/divisions/traffic