Reviewed and updated October 11, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 11, 2026.
Dallas County, Texas, has about 2.7 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Dallas County is a court case in the County Courts and Justice Courts; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety. 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: Dallas County public records, Dallas County arrest records, Dallas County warrants, Dallas County inmate search, Dallas County criminal records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Dallas County Goes
A ticket written by a deputy or a state trooper in Dallas County goes to the County Courts and Justice Courts; 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 dallascounty.org/government/county-clerk/civil-courts/accessing-cas..., phone (214) 653-7099.
Texas 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 Dallas County
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Dallas, Irving, Garland, Grand Prairie, Mesquite, Richardson and 18 more cities write the traffic tickets in Dallas County.
The FBI's agency list also places seven campus police departments and 13 other agencies in Dallas County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Ovilla Police Department, the Ferris Police Department, the Lewisville Police Department and two more are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Dallas County, so their arrests are not broken out for Dallas County here.
The Driving Record and the Texas Department of Public Safety
Convictions are reported by the court to the Texas Department of Public Safety, 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 Texas Department of Public Safety like any other; contesting it means a plea of not guilty entered with the court by the date on the ticket.
A DWI is a criminal charge rather than a ticket, with its own license case before the Department of Public Safety (see Dallas County DUI).
Cities in Dallas County
A ticket written inside a city goes to the County Courts and Justice Courts, or to the city's municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Dallas County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population:
- Garland (250,431)
- Grand Prairie (207,331)
- Mesquite (150,140)
- Richardson (118,221)
- Rowlett (68,123)
- Cedar Hill (49,618)
- Coppell (41,785)
- Lancaster (40,780)
- Duncanville (39,203)
- Farmers Branch (37,341)
- Sachse (33,008)
- University Park (25,268)
- Seagoville (20,124)
- Glenn Heights (19,752)
- Addison (17,257)
- Highland Park (8,762)
- Wilmer (6,774)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Dallas County?
With the County Courts and Justice Courts; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in Texas?
The Texas Department of Public Safety. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Dallas County?
The County Courts and Justice Courts, which take misdemeanors in the County Court or County Court at Law; traffic tickets, evictions and small claims in the Justice Courts. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official Dallas 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.