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 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Reno, Nevada, in Washoe County, has about 282,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Reno is a court case in the Justice Court; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Nevada Department 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Reno public records, Washoe County traffic tickets, Reno arrest records, Reno warrants, Reno inmate search, Reno criminal records, Nevada arrest records and Nevada inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Reno Goes
Tickets in Reno are split by who wrote them: the Justice Court for deputies and troopers, the municipal courts for city officers in the cities that run one. 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 washoecounty.gov/sjc/CaseSearch.php.
Nevada 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 Reno
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Reno (filed by the FBI as Reno Police Department) write the traffic tickets in and around Reno.
The FBI's agency list also places four other agencies, two state agencies and one campus police department in Washoe County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Driving Record and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles
Convictions are reported by the court to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, 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 Nevada Department of 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 Motor Vehicles (see Reno DUI).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Reno?
With the Justice Court; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in Nevada?
The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Reno?
The Justice Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, evictions and civil cases up to $15,000. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official Reno 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.