Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026.
Maricopa County, Arizona, has about 4.7 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Maricopa County is a court case in the Justice Courts; a city with municipal courts tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division. This guide says which court takes the ticket, who writes them and where the driving record lives.
This guide covers where tickets go, who writes them, the driving record, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Maricopa County public records, Maricopa County warrants, Maricopa County inmate search, Maricopa County criminal records, Maricopa County court records, Arizona arrest records and Arizona inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Maricopa County Goes
A ticket written by a deputy or a state trooper in Maricopa County goes to the Justice Courts; one written by city police goes to that city's municipal court where it has one. Either way the ticket is a court case, and the court's index is the record of it.
For Maricopa County, SearchSystems opened and checked the Justice Courts page at justicecourts.maricopa.gov/app/courtrecords/casesearch (page title: Case Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026; that page belongs to the court that takes the tickets.
Statewide, Public Access to Court Information is the Arizona Judicial Branch's free statewide case search; the Maricopa and Pima county courts run their own.
Who Writes the Tickets in Maricopa County
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale and 12 more cities write the traffic tickets in Maricopa County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Maricopa County: Maricopa Community College and Arizona State University's Main Campus (campus police).
The Apache Junction Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Maricopa County, so its arrests are not broken out for Maricopa County here.
The Driving Record and the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division, which adds each conviction the court reports and handles suspensions; the court does not issue driving records.
Paying a ticket is a conviction, reported to the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division like any other; contesting it means a plea of not guilty entered with the court by the date on the ticket.
A DUI is a criminal charge rather than a ticket, with its own license case before the Motor Vehicle Division (see Maricopa County DUI).
Cities in Maricopa County
A ticket written inside a city goes to the Justice Courts, or to the city's municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Maricopa County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population:
- Phoenix (1,673,164)
- Mesa (517,151)
- Gilbert (288,790)
- Chandler (281,231)
- Glendale (258,143)
- Scottsdale (246,170)
- Tempe (190,114)
- Surprise (167,564)
- Goodyear (118,186)
- Buckeye (114,334)
- Queen Creek (83,781)
- El Mirage (36,468)
- Fountain Hills (23,696)
- Paradise Valley (12,523)
- Tolleson (9,353)
- Wickenburg (8,301)
- Litchfield Park (6,863)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Maricopa County?
With the Justice Courts, whose page SearchSystems verified is at justicecourts.maricopa.gov; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in Arizona?
The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Maricopa County?
The Justice Courts, which take misdemeanors, traffic cases, civil cases up to $10,000 and evictions. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official Maricopa County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.