Does traffic school keep my insurance from going up? (California)

How Traffic School Protects Your Insurance

In California, insurance rate increases are driven primarily by visible DMV points, not by the mere existence of a ticket.

When you complete an approved traffic school course for an eligible violation:

• The court reports the conviction to the DMV
• The DMV suppresses the point under California Vehicle Code 1808.7
• No point appears on the public Motor Vehicle Report (MVR)
• Insurance companies cannot use that violation to reduce your Good Driver Discount

This is why traffic school is often referred to as point masking, even though the legal effect is point suppression under California law.

What Traffic School Does Not Do

Traffic school does not:

• Dismiss or erase the ticket
• Eliminate the fine
• Prevent the court or DMV from seeing the conviction
• Protect you from insurance increases caused by other violations

Think of the DMV record as having two layers:

• A public record used by insurance companies
• A court and DMV record used for legal and administrative purposes

Traffic school affects the public, insurance-facing layer only.

Conditions Required for Insurance Protection

Traffic school protects your insurance only if all of the following are met:

• Court Approval: The court handling your citation authorizes traffic school and you pay the required court admin fee
• Eligible Violation: The ticket is an eligible one-point moving violation
• 18-Month Rule: You have not used traffic school within the prior 18 months, measured from violation date to violation date
• Timely Completion: You complete a DMV-approved traffic school course by the court deadline
• Electronic Reporting: Your completion must be electronically transmitted by the school. California courts no longer accept paper certificates from drivers; the school must report directly to the DMV system

If any of these steps are missed, the point may post to your record and insurance consequences can follow.

What Happens If You Get Another Ticket

If you receive another ticket within 18 months of a prior traffic-school-protected violation:

• The second ticket cannot be protected by traffic school
• A point will be added for the second conviction
• Insurance companies will see that new point, not the prior one

The first traffic-school-protected violation remains unaffected.

Commercial Drivers and Insurance

Drivers holding a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) are treated differently under California law.

If a CDL holder receives a traffic citation while driving a non-commercial vehicle, traffic school can still be completed to receive the zero-point insurance benefit. If traffic school is approved and completed, the following applies:

• The DMV will not assess a violation point count
• The conviction itself is not held confidential and will appear on the public record
• Insurance impact: While most personal insurance carriers will not increase rates for a zero-point conviction, the violation remains visible to employers and on the commercial driving record

Because outcomes can vary, CDL holders should always confirm implications with both the court and their insurer.

Expert Insight

"Traffic school is designed to protect drivers from insurance increases tied to isolated mistakes. In California, insurers rely on DMV points when applying the Good Driver Discount. When traffic school prevents a point from posting, that is what prevents the rate increase. Problems arise when drivers assume approval is automatic or miss reporting deadlines."

Eric Creditor, DMV Licensed Traffic School Operator

Bottom Line

If your goal is to keep your insurance from going up after a traffic ticket, traffic school is the primary tool California provides to do exactly that.

It does not erase the ticket, but when approved and completed correctly, it prevents the point that insurers use to justify higher rates.

This FAQ is provided for informational purposes and was verified on 2/16/2026. Always confirm eligibility with the California court handling your citation.