Handle a ticket

A plea of no contest will be entered upon receipt of payment. A no contest plea means that a defendant is not admitting guilt.

You can pay for your ticket in one of four ways:

• Online through the case portal
• By calling the courthouse at (512) 974-4800
• By mailing a check or money order to Austin Municipal Court, P.O. Box 2135 Austin, TX 78768-2135 with the following information:
  • License plate number
  • Date of violation
  • Citation number
  • Your contact information (Name, Address, Phone number)
• In person at one of the two courthouse locations:
  • Main Courthouse: 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, Ste 175 Austin, Texas 78744
  • Jaime Padron Substation: 12425 Lamplight Village Avenue Austin, Texas 78758

If you are unable to pay, you can request alternative payment options.

You can ask for a deferral in judgement depending on the kind of offense. A request for deferral includes a no contest plea. A deferral is a postponement of judgement. It gives you a window of time to remedy or offset an offense, for example by obtaining and maintaining insurance, or by taking a driver safety course. You must also pay associated court fees and avoid committing the same kind of infraction during the deferral period. If you can successfully complete the terms of your deferral, the case will be dismissed. The exact cost of your deferral varies and will be reflected in the online case portal after your request is processed. You can also use this fine schedule to estimate costs.

For some infractions, you may be able to show the court that you fixed the issue either by e-mail or in person. This is called a compliance dismissal and it sometimes carries an associated fee of up to $20. Common issues eligible for compliance dismissal include:

• no insurance, license plate or driver's license
• expired, invalid, or out-dated driver's license
• expired, invalid, or lack of car or boat registration
• no child safety seat
• defective equipment such as lights, unauthorized sunscreen device, or improperly located television or video device
• expired disabled parking placard

For disabled parking violations, you can submit an online form to show that you were not responsible for the vehicle at the time of the offense.

If you would like to discuss your case with a prosecutor you can e-mail the court to request a hearing.

If you would like to discuss your case with a judge use an online form to request an online hearing.

If you would like to waive your right to a hearing—also called appearance docket—and go straight to trial, you can use an online form to request a trial by judge or e-mail the court to request a trial by jury.