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 2, 2026.
Suffolk County, Massachusetts, has about 793,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Suffolk County is a court case in the District Court and Boston Municipal Court, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Massachusetts Registry of 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: Suffolk County public records, Suffolk County arrest records, Suffolk County warrants, Suffolk County inmate search, Suffolk County criminal records, Massachusetts arrest records and Massachusetts inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Suffolk County Goes
A traffic ticket written in Suffolk County is answered in the District Court and Boston Municipal Court, which take misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and civil cases up to $50,000. The ticket itself 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 mass.gov/locations/suffolk-county-superior-court, phone (617) 788-7794.
Statewide, masscourts.org is the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search.
Who Writes the Tickets in Suffolk County
The Sheriff’s Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department and the agencies that report for Boston, Revere, Chelsea and Winthrop Town write the traffic tickets in Suffolk County.
The FBI's agency list also places 13 campus police departments, three other agencies, one state police unit and three state agencies in Suffolk County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Suffolk County State Police writes the tickets on the state highways.
The Driving Record and the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the Massachusetts Registry of 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 Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles like any other; contesting it means a plea of not guilty entered with the court by the date on the ticket.
An OUI is a criminal charge rather than a ticket, with its own license case before the Registry of Motor Vehicles (see Suffolk County DUI).
Cities in Suffolk County
Wherever in the county a ticket is written, it is answered in the District Court and Boston Municipal Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Suffolk County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own traffic tickets guide opens there:
- Boston (673,458)
- Revere (60,702)
- Chelsea (40,245)
- Winthrop Town (18,739)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Suffolk County?
With the District Court and Boston Municipal Court.
Who keeps my driving record in Massachusetts?
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Suffolk County?
The District Court and Boston Municipal Court, which take misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and civil cases up to $50,000.
Is this the official Suffolk 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.