Santa Barbara County Traffic Tickets: What Each Ticket Costs, Paying, Traffic School and Contesting

Where a Ticket Goes

The court's Traffic and Minor Offenses page says it files the citations of every law enforcement agency in the county, including the CHP's Santa Barbara County citations, at the division for the place of the ticket: the Figueroa Division, 118 East Figueroa Street, Santa Barbara, (805) 568-3959; the Miller Division, 312-M East Cook Street, Santa Maria, (805) 614-6590; or the Lompoc Division, 115 Civic Center Plaza, (805) 737-7789. Counters are open weekdays 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and phones 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the Santa Barbara traffic clerk's office has Spanish-speaking clerks and most hearings have a Spanish interpreter. Parking tickets are not court cases; they are paid to the agency that wrote them, and the Santa Barbara police take parking payments at their records counter.

After You Get a Ticket

The officer writes a date on the ticket, about three weeks out, by which you must contact the court. The court mails a courtesy notice 10 to 15 days after the ticket with the amount due; it cannot quote the bail before the agency delivers the ticket, and some agencies deliver only a few times a month. You must act by the date on the ticket whether or not the notice arrives. The court's Public Portal and its Pay Tickets and Fines Online page let you look the citation up, pay, see payment dates, sign up for traffic school, and take a one-time 30-day extension, at any hour; the clerks grant the same extension by phone. A notice marked Mandatory Appearance means a court date cannot be avoided.

What Each Ticket Costs in 2026

The amount is the total bail in the Judicial Council's 2026 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule, which took effect on January 1, 2026 and which the court posts on its Bail Schedules page. The schedule sets a base fine for each Vehicle Code section and then adds the state and county penalty assessments, a 20 percent surcharge, a $40 court operations assessment and a $35 conviction assessment; the court's Vehicle Code Infraction Fine Breakdown shows how a $35 base fine for Santa Barbara County becomes $221.80. These are the totals for a first offense with one violation on the ticket.

• Speeding, 1 to 15 miles an hour over the limit: $221.80, one point. 16 to 25 over: $342.40, one point. 26 or more over: $457, one point. Over 100 miles an hour: $839, two points.
• Using a handheld phone while driving, or holding and operating one: $151.40, no point for a first offense; a second offense within 36 months carries a point.
• Running a stop sign: $221.80, one point. Unsafe turn or lane change, turning from the wrong lane, an illegal U-turn in a business district, following too closely, or failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk: $221.80 each, one point.
• Driving without a license: $457, no point. Driving on a suspended or revoked license: $648, two points.
• No evidence of registration: $266, or $25 if corrected and shown to the court. Window tint, a missing plate, a modified exhaust or a headlamp defect: $183.60 each, or $25 when corrected.
• Driving without headlights when required: $221.80. Seat belt: $151.40. Open container of alcohol or cannabis in the car: $342.40, one point.
• Exhibition of speed: $374.60, two points. Reckless driving: $637. A driver under 21 with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 or more: $457, two points.
• Driving alone in a carpool lane: $457. Parking in a disabled space: $1,030. Riding a bicycle under the influence: $643.

Someone cited for driving without insurance who then buys a policy can show it to the court by the due date for a reduced fine of $300; with insurance that was in force but not in the car, the ticket is dismissed for the $25 fee.

Paying a Ticket

Pay online through the court's Public Portal, by phone at (805) 568-3959, (805) 614-6590 or (805) 737-7789, by mail with the stub from the notice, or at a clerk's office; a drop box for payments, no cash, is open from 3 to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Checks go to the Clerk of the Court, and the court takes Visa and MasterCard. Paying is a conviction; the court reports it to the DMV and the point goes on the driving record.

The court's installment plan form SC-8023 sets the payment plan by the size of the fine: $35 a month for a fine of $250 or less, $50 for $251 to $500, $75 for $501 to $1,500 and $100 for larger fines, with the first payment sent with the form and no grace period; a returned check costs $80, and the court's Finance Collections Division answers questions at (805) 882-4696 and (805) 614-6693 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. A person who cannot pay can ask a judge to reduce the fine, allow community work service or both, on forms SC-8028 and SC-1038, without posting the bail first, or through the state's MyCitations tool linked from the court's traffic page.

Traffic Violator School

Traffic school keeps the conviction off the public driving record that insurers see. Sign up with the court by the due date and pay the bail plus a $66 court fee; the school charges its own fee. You then have 60 days to finish a DMV-licensed classroom or online course and send the court the certificate.

• You need a valid driver's license and may not have attended traffic school for a ticket within the past 18 months.
• The ticket must be a one-point infraction reportable to the DMV, not in a commercial vehicle, not for more than 25 miles an hour over the limit, not involving alcohol or drugs, and not marked for a mandatory appearance.
• The court can grant one 30-day extension to finish, if you ask before the due date. A certificate turned in late, within 60 days of the due date, can still be accepted for an administrative fee of up to $50; after 60 days it cannot.
• A person on a payment plan can still attend, but the completion is not sent to the DMV until the fine is paid in full.

Fix-It Tickets

For a correctable violation, such as an equipment repair, registration, or a license or insurance card not carried, bring or mail the proof of correction with a $25 fee per violation by the due date and the violation is dismissed. An equipment fix is signed off by a police officer on the back of the ticket, or on form SC-8020; a registration or license that was not current is signed off by the DMV once it is paid or issued; insurance is shown with a copy of the policy or card. The court grants one 30-day extension for proof of correction if asked by the due date, and does not refund bail paid in full before the proof arrives.

Contesting a Ticket

• A court trial: plead not guilty at the clerk's office by the due date and the clerk sets a trial; the officer who wrote the ticket is subpoenaed.
• A trial by written declaration: plead not guilty in writing, in person or by mail; both sides submit written statements and a judicial officer decides. The court notes that people far from the courthouse often choose this.
• An appeal from a trial goes to the court's Appellate Division, through the Figueroa clerk at (805) 882-4534 or the Miller Division; it reviews the trial record and is not a new trial.

Countywide, 1,115 traffic infractions went to a court trial in the year ending June 30, 2025, against 22,997 that were paid and 2,487 settled by a guilty plea.

If You Miss the Date

The court adds a civil assessment of up to $100, can treat the missed date as a failure to appear, and sends the debt to its collection agency, Enhanced Court Collections, which can set up a payment plan but cannot change the court's order and can garnish wages and levy bank accounts; accounts it cannot collect go to the Franchise Tax Board. If you show the court good cause within 60 days of the notice, it may not impose the assessment. The courts' own traffic ticket guide covers the choices in plain language, and the court's Criminal Division page handles the warrant that a traffic misdemeanor, such as a suspended license charge, can bring.

Crashes in Santa Barbara County

The state Office of Traffic Safety ranks every county and city. In its Office of Traffic Safety ranking for Santa Barbara County, 2023, the latest, 2,489 people were killed or injured in crashes in the county, the 21st most of the 58 counties, with a population of 444,518 and 9.3 million vehicle miles driven a day. The county ranked 2nd in the state for bicyclists hurt, 252, and 9th for pedestrians, 144; 118 motorcyclists were hurt. In the city ranking, the city of Santa Barbara had 492 people killed or injured, the 14th most among the 103 cities its size, and ranked first in its group for bicyclists hurt, 131; 41 pedestrians and 32 motorcyclists were hurt there. Lompoc had 161 victims, by its own ranking.

The CHP's Santa Barbara Area office covers Highway 101 from the Ventura County line to Gaviota, Highway 154 from State Street to Paradise Road and Highway 150, for about 136,000 residents, and offers VIN verifications, child safety seat checks and Start Smart classes for new teen drivers, by its office page. Crash reports are covered in Santa Barbara County police reports.

Driving Records and the DMV

The court reports convictions to the DMV, which keeps the driving record; order it from the DMV records page. The county's DMV field offices are at 535 Castillo Street, Santa Barbara; 7127 Hollister Avenue, Suite 24, Goleta; 2850 Santa Maria Way, Santa Maria; and 1601 North H Street, Lompoc, open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m., by the DMV's Santa Barbara field office, Santa Maria field office and Lompoc field office pages.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a speeding ticket in Santa Barbara County in 2026?

$221.80 for 1 to 15 miles an hour over the limit, $342.40 for 16 to 25 over, $457 for 26 or more over, and $839 for over 100 miles an hour, under the 2026 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule.

How much is a cell phone ticket in California in 2026?

$151.40 for a first offense, with no point; a second offense within 36 months adds a point.

How do I pay a Santa Barbara County traffic ticket?

Online through the Superior Court's portal, by phone at (805) 568-3959 in Santa Barbara, (805) 614-6590 in Santa Maria or (805) 737-7789 in Lompoc, by mail, or in person at a clerk's office.

Can I pay a traffic ticket in installments in Santa Barbara County?

Yes, on form SC-8023: $35 a month for a fine of $250 or less, $50 up to $500, $75 up to $1,500 and $100 above that, with the first payment sent with the form.

How much is traffic school in Santa Barbara County?

The court charges a $66 fee on top of the bail, and the school charges its own fee. You have 60 days to finish.

What happens if I miss my ticket date in Santa Barbara County?

Up to a $100 civil assessment, referral to Enhanced Court Collections and then the Franchise Tax Board, and possible effects on your license. Good cause shown within 60 days can lift the assessment.