San Diego County Traffic Court
San Diego County Superior Court requires appointments for all traffic courtroom appearances. You cannot just show up. The appear by date on your citation is not a hearing date. It is your deadline to take action. About two weeks before that date, you will receive a reminder notice by mail. This notice explains your options and tells you how to make an appointment if you need to appear in court. Search your case online through the Odyssey portal to check status and make payments any time in California.
San Diego County Traffic Court Quick Facts
Appointment Only Court Appearances
All traffic court appearances in San Diego County happen by appointment. This changed how the court operates. In the past, you could walk in on your appear date. Now you must schedule ahead. The court sends information about making appointments with your reminder notice. If you lose the notice or do not receive it, contact the court as soon as possible. Failure to make an appointment and appear when required can result in additional penalties and license suspension.
The appear by date on your ticket is when you must respond, not when you show up to court. You have until that date to pay, request traffic school, or ask for a trial. If you do nothing by that deadline, penalties start adding up. A civil assessment of up to three hundred dollars gets tacked on. Your license can be suspended. The DMV puts a hold on your record. You cannot renew registration until you clear the hold with the court in California.
Reminder notices arrive about two weeks before your appear date. The notice lists your bail amount and options. It tells you how much you owe and what you can do about it. Read the notice carefully. It has all the details you need to handle your ticket. If you do not get a notice, do not use that as an excuse. You are still responsible for responding by the appear date. The law says you must act even if the court never sends a reminder in San Diego County.
Search Cases Through Odyssey
San Diego County uses Tyler Odyssey for case management. The public portal is at portal.prod2.odyssey.sdcourt.ca.gov. You search by name, case number, or citation number. Basic case details show up for free. You can see when your case was filed, what the charges are, and when hearings are scheduled. This works for most traffic citations filed in San Diego County California.
The portal updates regularly but not in real time. If you just made a payment or filed documents, wait a day or two for the system to reflect it. Court staff process paperwork during business hours. Updates happen after they finish processing. If something important is not showing up after a few business days, call the court. They can check the physical file and tell you what is going on with your case.
Downloading documents from the portal may cost money. Most California counties charge for remote document access. Fees vary by county. Check the portal for current pricing. If you need many pages, visiting the courthouse may be cheaper. In person copies cost fifty cents per page in most counties. You can review the file before deciding what to copy. Certified copies always cost more. The certification fee is forty dollars plus the per page charge under California law.
How Long Records Are Kept
San Diego County retains traffic records for different lengths of time. Infractions are kept for three years. Misdemeanors stay on file for five years. DUI cases are retained for ten years. After the retention period ends, the court may destroy the physical file. But some information stays in the computer system permanently. Case numbers and basic filing data often remain even after files are purged.
If you need records from an old case, contact the court soon. Once the retention period passes, records may no longer be available. The court cannot recreate destroyed files. For very old cases, you might need to check with the DMV. They keep driving records longer than courts keep case files. DMV records show convictions and abstracts sent by the courts. You can request your own driving record online for a small fee through the DMV website in California.
Certified copies of old cases can be hard to get. If the file is still within the retention period, the court can certify copies. If the file is gone, they cannot. Plan ahead if you know you will need court records in the future. Get certified copies while the case is still fresh. Keep them in a safe place. You may need proof of completion for insurance, employment, or other purposes years later in San Diego County.
Scam Warning for Traffic Citations
San Diego County warns that the court does not conduct business via text messages. All official correspondence comes by U.S. mail. If you get a text asking you to pay a fine or click a link, do not respond. This is a scam. The court never texts people about tickets or payments. Scammers send fake texts hoping you will give them money or personal information. Delete these messages and do not click any links.
The same rule applies to phone calls and emails. The court may call in limited situations, but they will never demand immediate payment over the phone. They will not ask for credit card numbers or gift cards. If someone calls claiming to be from the court and demands money right away, hang up. Then call the court yourself using the number from the official website. Ask if there is really an issue with your case. Most of the time, these calls are scams trying to steal your money.
If you are not sure whether a notice is real, contact the court directly. Use the phone number or website from your citation or from sdcourt.ca.gov. Do not use contact information from the suspicious message. Real court notices include your case number and specific details about your citation. Generic messages with vague threats are usually fake. Protect yourself by verifying everything through official channels in California.
Cities in San Diego County
San Diego County includes several large cities. All traffic tickets in these cities go through San Diego County Superior Court. No city court handles traffic cases. Select your city to learn more about local courthouse locations:
Nearby County Courts
If your ticket was issued outside San Diego County, contact that county court. San Diego County only handles citations issued within its jurisdiction. Check these nearby counties: