Do I need court approval for traffic school? (California)

The Court's Legal Authority Over Traffic School

Under California law, traffic school is not a driver entitlement. It is a discretionary option controlled by the court.

The statute that grants this authority is California Vehicle Code 42005. This law gives courts the power to approve or deny traffic school on a citation by citation basis and to set the conditions for participation. Traffic schools do not have approval authority, and drivers cannot self-elect traffic school without the court's authorization.

In other words, the court, not the traffic school, decides whether traffic school is allowed for suppressing a point.

Without court approval, a driver may still take traffic school for educational purposes, but the completion will not be eligible to protect the driving record.

Eligibility vs. Approval

Many one-point moving violations are eligible for traffic school. However, eligibility alone does not mean permission.

To receive the benefit of traffic school, you must elect traffic school with the court. This typically involves:

• Confirming eligibility on your courtesy notice or court portal
• Paying the ticket fine
• Paying a separate traffic school administrative fee, commonly around 52 to 70 dollars
• Receiving confirmation that traffic school was approved

Paying the ticket fine by itself does not activate traffic school. Without court approval and payment of the administrative fee, traffic school completion cannot be used for point suppression.

How the DMV Decides Whether a Point Is Suppressed

When traffic school is approved and completed correctly, the DMV applies confidentiality rules under California Vehicle Code 1808.7. This statute requires the DMV to hold the conviction confidential so that a negligent operator point does not appear on the public driving record used by insurance companies.

However, 1808.7 only applies when all eligibility requirements are met. One of those requirements is the 18 month rule, measured from violation date to violation date.

If a driver is not eligible under the 18 month rule, the DMV will not suppress the point, even if traffic school was completed.

Why Court Approval and DMV Eligibility Can Conflict

In practice, county courts in California do not share traffic school usage information with one another in real time. A court generally sees only the citation it is handling and may not know whether a driver recently used traffic school in another county.

Because of this, a court may approve traffic school without knowing that the driver is ineligible under the statewide 18 month rule.

For purposes of point suppression, the DMV does not evaluate which court approved traffic school. The DMV applies statewide eligibility rules. If those requirements are not met, the DMV may decline to suppress the new point, even if the court approved traffic school and the course was completed.

The Practical Pitfall Drivers Encounter

Because court approval and DMV eligibility are evaluated separately, a driver may receive court approval for traffic school, complete the course, and have the completion properly reported, yet still see a point post to the driving record.

When this happens, it is usually because the driver was not eligible under the 18 month rule, and the DMV therefore did not apply confidentiality under Vehicle Code 1808.7. In that situation, traffic school was completed correctly but had no legal effect on point suppression.

What This Means for Drivers

Traffic school requires both:

• Court approval
• DMV eligibility

The court controls approval. The DMV controls point suppression. And the driver is responsible for meeting both requirements.

Verifying both approval and eligibility before starting traffic school is the only way to ensure it will actually protect your driving record.

Expert Insight

"Traffic school only works when the court authorizes it and the driver is eligible. California law gives courts the authority to approve traffic school, but the DMV applies statewide eligibility rules. That is why drivers need both for traffic school to actually protect their record."

Eric Creditor, DMV Licensed Traffic School Operator

Bottom Line

In California, traffic school only works when both conditions are met:

• The court approves traffic school under Vehicle Code 42005
• The driver meets eligibility requirements applied by the DMV under 1808.7

Without both, traffic school completion cannot be used to suppress a point on your driving record.

This FAQ is provided for informational purposes and was verified on 2/18/2026. Always confirm eligibility and approval with the California court handling your citation.