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 September 28, 2026.
Cartersville, Georgia, in Bartow County, has about 25,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Cartersville is a court case in the State Court and Magistrate Court; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Georgia Department of Driver Services. 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Cartersville public records, Bartow County traffic tickets, Cartersville arrest records, Cartersville warrants, Cartersville inmate search, Cartersville criminal records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Cartersville Goes
A ticket written by a deputy or a state trooper in Cartersville goes to the State Court and Magistrate Court; 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.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at bartowcountyga.gov/departments/courts/clerk/index.php, phone 770.387.5025.
Georgia 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 Cartersville
The Bartow County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Cartersville (filed by the FBI as Cartersville Police Department) write the traffic tickets in and around Cartersville.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Bartow County: Chattahoochee Technical College and Georgia Highlands College (campus police); the State Patrol at Cartersville (state police); the State Patrol at Cartersville writes the tickets on the state highways.
The Driving Record and the Georgia Department of Driver Services
Convictions are reported by the court to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, which keeps the driving record and decides on points and suspensions. Order the driving record from that agency, not from the court.
Paying a ticket is a conviction, reported to the Georgia Department of Driver Services 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 Driver Services (see Cartersville DUI).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Cartersville?
With the State Court and Magistrate Court; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in Georgia?
The Georgia Department of Driver Services. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Cartersville?
The State Court and Magistrate Court, which take misdemeanors and traffic cases in the State Court where the county has one, otherwise in the Probate Court; small claims and warrants in the Magistrate Court. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official Cartersville website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.