California traffic school
Shafter, Kern County, California Traffic School Guide
3 easy steps
- Sign up
- Complete the online course
- Get your certificate
If you received a traffic ticket in Shafter, California — an incorporated city in Kern County — you may be eligible to attend a California Traffic Violator School (TVS), commonly called "traffic school," to keep the violation confidential on your public driving record. Shafter has its own Kern County Superior Court traffic location, and Kern County follows a specific local procedure for requesting and completing traffic school. This guide explains what applies locally before you enroll in any course, including GoToTrafficSchool.com's online California course.
Do You Qualify for Traffic School on a Shafter Ticket?
Kern County Superior Court — which handles traffic citations issued in Shafter — lists specific eligibility conditions for its Traffic Violator School program. To qualify, generally:
- You have not attended traffic school on a prior citation within the last 18 months.
- You hold a valid driver's license.
- Your citation was not for exceeding the speed limit by more than 25 miles per hour (or as otherwise determined by the judicial officer).
- Your citation does not require a mandatory court appearance (this is stated on your Courtesy Notice).
- Your ticket's due date has not passed.
Class A, B, or Commercial Class C license holders cited while driving a non-commercial vehicle are also eligible for traffic school under these rules, though the effect differs: the conviction will not be masked from the record, but no points will be assessed.
These specific thresholds — including the 25-mph-over cutoff — come directly from Kern County Superior Court's published Traffic School rules and may differ from limits used in other California counties, so do not assume a neighboring county's rule applies to a Shafter-issued citation.
What Traffic School Actually Does (and Doesn't Do)
Under California's AB 2499 framework, courts can no longer dismiss an infraction after traffic school completion. Instead, a qualifying first completion within an 18-month period results in a confidential conviction — the violation is recorded with the DMV but does not appear as a negative mark on your public driving record, and insurers generally cannot see it or raise rates specifically because of it. A second qualifying violation within that same 18-month window is not eligible for masking and will appear on your record with points assessed.
Traffic school does not erase the citation, cancel a suspension, or replace your obligation to resolve the ticket with the court. It is a separate, additional step.
The Kern County Traffic School Process (Applies to Shafter Citations)
Kern County Superior Court requires these steps in this specific order for citations handled at its Shafter traffic location:
- Pay the bail amount and traffic school administrative fee to Kern County Superior Court, in person or by mail (no cost amounts are stated here — see the court's official payment page for current figures).
- Choose a traffic school. Kern County's Traffic Court directs eligible drivers to a court-referenced resource — the California Traffic and Safety Institute (CTSI) — for a list of approved schools, and states that "you may attend any school on the approved list." This is a court-specific permission/list pathway: before enrolling online with GoToTrafficSchool.com or any provider for a Shafter/Kern citation, confirm with the Shafter traffic court or CTSI that your chosen course is currently accepted for your specific case. GoToTrafficSchool.com states its California course is DMV-licensed and broadly court-accepted, but this company claim has not been independently confirmed against Kern County's specific referral list for this run — treat GoToTrafficSchool's Kern County acceptance as not yet verified and confirm before paying.
- Attend and complete the course by the due date the court provides (Kern County states this is typically around 60 days from your request, though your notice controls).
- Proof of completion must reach the court by your due date. Kern's court states the school submits this proof directly to the court — a separate step from any certificate the school gives you for your own records.
Important: Do not attend traffic school before paying your bail and the administrative fee — Kern County Superior Court states a completion certificate submitted out of this order will not be accepted.
Shafter's Traffic Court Location
Traffic citations issued within Shafter and the surrounding area are handled at the Shafter location of the Superior Court of California, County of Kern — one of several traffic-handling locations across Kern County (others include the Metropolitan Traffic Division in Bakersfield, Delano, Lamont, Mojave, Ridgecrest, and Taft). Your citation itself indicates which court facility handles your case — do not assume every Shafter-area ticket is automatically handled at the Shafter location; confirm using your citation or Courtesy Notice.
Court / Division | Address | Phone | Hours | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Superior Court of California, County of Kern — Shafter | 325 Central Valley Hwy, Shafter, CA 93263 | (661) 610-7200 | Mon–Thu 8:00 am–4:00 pm; Fri 8:00 am–12:00 pm | Traffic citation processing, payments, and traffic school requests for citations assigned to this location |
Official resources:
- Case/traffic information: Kern County Superior Court — Traffic Court
- Online citation payment (Official Payments/ePay-It, per court disclaimer): Pay Traffic Citations
- Traffic school procedure: Kern Superior Court — Traffic School
DUI matters are handled by the Criminal Department, not the Traffic Division, and parking tickets are handled by the citing agency rather than the court's Traffic Division — if your Shafter-area citation is one of these, the process above does not apply.
The City of Shafter Police Department is responsible for municipal law enforcement, including traffic safety, within Shafter's incorporated city limits, but citation processing and traffic-school approval happen through the Kern County Superior Court, not the police department.
Contesting a Citation (Trial by Written Declaration)
If you disagree with a citation instead of requesting traffic school, California law allows a Trial by Written Declaration — a written trial conducted by mail, without a court appearance, using court forms (TR-205 and, if needed, MC-031). This is a statewide option, not unique to Shafter, but it is processed through whichever Kern County court facility (such as Shafter) is listed on your citation. If you plead not guilty, Kern County Superior Court instructs that you must not use its online citation-payment service and must instead mail your bail and trial request to the court address on your citation.
A Local Safety Note: SR-43 Through Shafter
State Route 43 runs through Shafter as a divided four-lane highway (locally named Central Valley Highway) and crosses the BNSF Railway near Santa Fe Way, Los Angeles Avenue, and Beech Avenue. Caltrans has identified this intersection as a location with substandard geometry, congestion, and collision risk tied to the adjacent rail crossing, and has an active project — the Santa Fe Roundabout — to replace the intersection with a single-lane roundabout to improve safety and reduce collisions. As of the most recent Caltrans project schedule, construction is proposed to begin in 2026 and finish by December 2028; check the Caltrans project page for current status before relying on this timeline.
This is useful context for drivers regularly traveling this SR-43 corridor in Shafter, but it does not establish citywide "high-risk road" status beyond this specific, documented intersection project.
Insurance: What Traffic School Can and Cannot Affect
California's Good Driver discount law requires every auto insurer to offer a Good Driver rate to drivers licensed at least three consecutive years with no more than one point on their driving record, at a rate at least 20% lower than the standard rate at that company. Traffic school itself does not create this discount — it is a separate point-count threshold rule — but a qualifying, court-processed traffic school completion that keeps a violation confidential can help a driver stay at or under that one-point threshold. Whether GoToTrafficSchool.com's specific California course is accepted for your Kern County citation must be confirmed with the Shafter court/CTSI referral list before you rely on any insurance-related outcome.
GoToTrafficSchool.com's California Course
GoToTrafficSchool.com offers a self-paced, 100% online California traffic school course, with device-switching and saved progress, and states it reports completions to the State of California and provides a certificate. The company states its course is DMV-licensed and broadly court-accepted, but not all California courts accept online traffic school for every case, and Kern County's own procedure directs eligible drivers to a specific referral list (CTSI) for approved schools. Before enrolling for a Shafter/Kern County citation, confirm current acceptance directly with the Shafter court location above.
Next step: If your citation is eligible and you've confirmed acceptance with the Shafter court, you can review course details on GoToTrafficSchool's California course page and begin enrollment once you've completed the required court payment steps above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does GoToTrafficSchool.com's course work for a ticket from the Shafter court?
This has not been independently confirmed for Kern County. Kern County's Traffic Division directs drivers to a specific approved-school referral resource; confirm your provider is accepted before paying for the course.
Is Shafter's traffic court the same as Bakersfield's traffic court?
No. Kern County Superior Court operates several traffic-handling locations, including a separate Metropolitan Traffic Division in Bakersfield and locations in Delano, Lamont, Mojave, Ridgecrest, Taft, and Shafter. Your citation identifies which location handles your case.
How long do I have to complete traffic school after my Shafter ticket?
Kern County states it typically takes about 60 days after your request, but your specific due date is set by the court and stated in your notice — confirm the exact date rather than assuming a fixed number.
Can I take traffic school if I already went within the last 18 months?
Generally no — Kern County's rule requires you not have attended traffic school on a prior citation within 18 months of your current citation's issue date, with a limited exception affecting commercial-class license holders cited in non-commercial vehicles.
Does traffic school dismiss my Shafter ticket?
No. Since 2011 (AB 2499), California courts can no longer dismiss infractions after traffic school. Instead, a qualifying completion results in a confidential conviction that doesn't show as a negative mark on your public record.
What if my speeding ticket was more than 25 mph over the limit?
Kern County's published rule excludes citations for exceeding the speed limit by more than 25 mph (or as the judicial officer determines) from standard traffic school eligibility. Confirm your specific eligibility with the court.
Where do I pay my Kern County traffic ticket online?
Kern County Superior Court provides an online payment portal, but its disclaimer states it should not be used if you intend to plead not guilty — in that case, you must mail your bail and trial request to the court address on your citation.
Is the Shafter Police Department who approves my traffic school request?
No. The Shafter Police Department handles municipal law enforcement and citation issuance; traffic school requests and approvals go through Kern County Superior Court's Traffic Division, not the police department.
Sources
- Superior Court of California, County of Kern — Shafter Court Location, accessed 2026-09-22
- Superior Court of California, County of Kern — Traffic Court, accessed 2026-09-22
- Superior Court of California, County of Kern — Traffic School, accessed 2026-09-22
- Superior Court of California, County of Kern — Pay Traffic Citations, accessed 2026-09-22
- City of Shafter — Police Department, accessed 2026-09-23
- California Department of Transportation, District 6 — Santa Fe Roundabout Project, accessed 2026-09-23
- California Courts Self-Help Center — statewide Traffic School Self-Help guide (from state research packet)
- California Department of Insurance — Good Driver discount consumer guide (from state research packet)
- GoToTrafficSchool.com — California Online Traffic School (from state research packet)
Verification date: 2026-09-23
More Traffic School Information for Shafter Drivers
- California Traffic School Information — Statewide course details, general eligibility rules, and enrollment for GoToTrafficSchool.com's California program.
- Kern County Traffic Court Resources — Kern County Superior Court Traffic Court for citation payment, extensions, and traffic school procedures applicable to all Kern County locations, including Shafter.
- Kern County Traffic School Guide (parent county page) — PROPOSED, not yet live; recommended internal link once published.