Reviewed and updated October 9, 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 on September 24, 2026.
Putnam County, West Virginia, has about 57,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Putnam 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: Putnam County public records, Putnam County arrest records, Putnam County warrants, Putnam County inmate search, Putnam County criminal records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Putnam County Goes
Tickets in Putnam 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.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/putnam_county, phone 304-586-0262.
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 Putnam County
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Hurricane, Winfield, Eleanor and Poca write the traffic tickets in Putnam County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Putnam County: the Department of Natural Resources in Putnam County and the State Fire Marshal in Putnam County (state agency); the Winfield State Police (state police); the Winfield State Police writes the tickets on the state highways.
The Nitro Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Putnam County, so its arrests are not broken out for Putnam County here.
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 (see Putnam County DUI).
Cities in Putnam 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 Hurricane, Winfield, Eleanor, Buffalo, Poca and Bancroft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Putnam County?
With the Magistrate Court; 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 Putnam 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 Putnam 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.