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.
McDowell County, West Virginia, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in McDowell County is a court case in the Magistrate Court; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the West Virginia Division 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: McDowell County public records, McDowell County arrest records, McDowell County warrants, McDowell County inmate search, McDowell County criminal records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in McDowell County Goes
Tickets in McDowell County are split by who wrote them: the Magistrate 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.
For McDowell County, SearchSystems opened and checked the Magistrate Court page at courtrecord.net/mcdowell-county-wv-courts (page title: McDowell County Court Records for Free (McDowell County, WV)), phone 304-383-2993, 2993 Directions Bradshaw Municipal Court 10002, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026; that page belongs to the court that takes the tickets.
West Virginia 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 McDowell County
The McDowell County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Welch, War and Davy write the traffic tickets in McDowell County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in McDowell County: the State Fire Marshal in McDowell County and the Department of Natural Resources in McDowell County (state agency); the Welch State Police (state police); the Welch State Police writes the tickets on the state highways.
The Driving Record and the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the West Virginia Division 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 West Virginia Division 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 Division of Motor Vehicles.
Cities in McDowell County
A ticket written inside a city goes to the Magistrate Court, or to the city's municipal court where it has one.
The cities and towns in the county are Welch, Gary, War, Kimball, Iaeger, Northfork, Davy, Bradshaw, Keystone and Anawalt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from McDowell County?
With the Magistrate Court, whose page SearchSystems verified is at courtrecord.net/mcdowell-county-wv-courts, phone 304-383-2993; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in West Virginia?
The West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in McDowell County?
The Magistrate Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $10,000. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official McDowell 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.