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.
Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County, has about 611,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Memphis is a court case in the General Sessions Court; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. 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: Memphis public records, Shelby County traffic tickets, Memphis arrest records, Memphis warrants, Memphis criminal records, Memphis court records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Memphis Goes
Tickets in Memphis are split by who wrote them: the General Sessions 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.
Tennessee 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 Memphis
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Memphis (filed by the FBI as Memphis Police Department) write the traffic tickets in and around Memphis.
The FBI's agency list also places two other agencies and four campus police departments in Shelby County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Driving Record and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, 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 Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security 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 Safety and Homeland Security (see Memphis DUI).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Memphis?
With the General Sessions Court; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in Tennessee?
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Memphis?
The General Sessions Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and preliminary hearings. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official Memphis 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.