Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Pinellas County, Florida, has about 966,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Pinellas County is a court case in the County Court, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 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: Pinellas County public records, Pinellas County arrest records, Pinellas County warrants, Pinellas County inmate search, Pinellas County criminal records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Pinellas County Goes
Tickets in Pinellas County go to the County Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and civil cases up to $50,000. A paid ticket, a dismissal and a trial all end up in that court's records.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courtrecords.mypinellasclerk.gov.
Florida has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Writes the Tickets in Pinellas County
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and 16 more cities write the traffic tickets in Pinellas County.
The FBI's agency list also places six state agencies, one other agency, one campus police department and one state police unit in Pinellas County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Highway Patrol in Pinellas County writes the tickets on the state highways.
The Driving Record and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 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 Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 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 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (see Pinellas County DUI).
Cities in Pinellas County
Wherever in the county a ticket is written, it is answered in the County Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Pinellas County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own traffic tickets guide opens there:
- St. Petersburg (267,102)
- Clearwater (116,811)
- Largo (82,337)
- Pinellas Park (53,503)
- Dunedin (35,932)
- Tarpon Springs (26,168)
- Safety Harbor (16,972)
- Oldsmar (14,831)
- Gulfport (11,645)
- St. Pete Beach (8,730)
- Treasure Island (6,524)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Pinellas County?
With the County Court.
Who keeps my driving record in Florida?
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Pinellas County?
The County Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and civil cases up to $50,000.
Is this the official Pinellas 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.