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 on September 24, 2026.
Washoe County, Nevada, has about 507,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Washoe County 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, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Washoe County public records, Washoe County arrest records, Washoe County warrants, Washoe County inmate search, Washoe County criminal records, Nevada arrest records and Nevada inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Washoe County Goes
A ticket written by a deputy or a state trooper in Washoe County goes to the Justice 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 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 Washoe County
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Reno and Sparks write the traffic tickets in Washoe County.
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 Washoe County DUI).
Cities in Washoe County
A ticket written inside a city goes to the Justice Court, or to the city's municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Washoe County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own traffic tickets guide opens there:
- Reno (281,714)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Washoe County?
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 Washoe County?
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 Washoe 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.