Find Traffic Court Records Santa Cruz County

All traffic citations in Santa Cruz County get processed through the Superior Court Traffic Division. Two locations handle cases across the county. The Santa Cruz courthouse at 701 Ocean Street Room 120 serves the northern and coastal areas. The Watsonville facility at 1 Second Street Room 300 handles south county matters. You can reach the traffic division by phone at (831) 420-2200 between eight in the morning and one in the afternoon Monday through Friday. Email questions to TrafficInfo@santacruzcourt.org for written responses. The online portal at portal.santacruzcourt.org lets you search cases, make payments, and check on traffic school completion any time day or night in Santa Cruz County California.

Contact Traffic Court

Santa Cruz County runs two traffic court locations. Your citation tells you which one handles your case. Do not go to the wrong courthouse. Each site processes its own cases separately. The Santa Cruz location sits in Room 120 of the courthouse on Ocean Street. Watsonville traffic court is in Room 300 at the Second Street address. Both locations keep the same phone hours from eight to one on weekdays in California.

Call (831) 420-2200 for traffic matters. Lines open at eight in the morning. They close at one in the afternoon. This limited phone schedule means you should call early if you need to speak with staff. After one, calls go to voicemail. For questions that do not need an immediate answer, send email to TrafficInfo@santacruzcourt.org instead. The court responds to emails within a few business days in Santa Cruz County California.

Walk in service is available during regular business hours. Bring your citation number and photo ID. Staff can help with payments, proof of correction, traffic school requests, and payment plan setup. Most people use the online portal instead of visiting in person. The website has more hours and no wait time compared to the courthouse counter in California.

Online Case Access

Santa Cruz County uses an online portal at portal.santacruzcourt.org. This site operates all day every day. Search by name or citation number. Results show your case status, balance due, and deadline. You can pay fines through the same portal. Traffic school requests go through the online system as well in Santa Cruz County.

New citations take time to appear in the portal. The court needs several weeks to process tickets from law enforcement. Wait at least two to three weeks from your ticket date before searching. If you search too soon, the system may not find your case yet. This does not mean you can ignore the deadline on your citation. You must still respond by the appear by date whether the case shows online or not in California.

The portal accepts online payments for most traffic cases. Credit cards and electronic checks both work. Processing happens immediately. DMV holds get released within one business day after payment posts. If you set up a payment plan, you can make installment payments through the portal each month. The system tracks your balance and sends reminders when payments are due in Santa Cruz County California.

Collections and Unpaid Fines

Santa Cruz County changed collection agencies in 2026. Starting January 20, Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP took over unpaid traffic debt. Their phone number is (844) 544-5354. The short code for text messages is 98023. This company handles all delinquent accounts that the court refers to collections in California.

Collections add fees on top of what you owe the court. Your license stays suspended. Registration renewal remains blocked. The debt can affect your credit. Pay before the court sends your case to collections if possible. Once at collections, you still owe the full amount plus collection fees. The court cannot waive collection costs in Santa Cruz County.

If your case went to collections, contact the collection agency to set up payment. They can arrange installment plans. Paying the collector releases the DMV hold and clears your debt. The court will not accept payment once the case transfers to collections. You must deal with the agency at that point in California.

Traffic School Information

Eligible violations can use traffic school to keep the ticket off your driving record. Your courtesy notice shows if you qualify. Most one point violations are eligible. You cannot have attended traffic school in the past eighteen months from the date of your old violation to the date of this one. California uses violation dates, not conviction dates, for the eighteen month rule.

Request traffic school through the online portal or by contacting the court directly. You must pay the full bail amount plus any administrative fees. Then pick a school from the DMV approved list. Complete the course within sixty days. The school sends proof to the court when you finish. The court reports it as a confidential conviction to the DMV. Insurance companies cannot see it but the DMV knows about it for the eighteen month rule in Santa Cruz County California.

Some violations do not qualify for traffic school. Speeding over twenty five miles per hour above the limit is not eligible. Alcohol or drug offenses cannot use traffic school. Commercial vehicle violations do not qualify. Any violation worth more than one point disqualifies you. The court makes the final decision on eligibility based on the Vehicle Code section cited in California.

Cities in Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz County includes several cities and many unincorporated areas. Traffic tickets in all of these locations go to the county Superior Court. No city in California runs its own traffic court. The main cities are Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Scotts Valley, and Capitola. Smaller communities include Aptos, Soquel, Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, and Davenport. Citations issued anywhere in the county get processed through one of the two courthouse locations in Santa Cruz County.

Note: None of the cities in Santa Cruz County have populations over 100,000.

Nearby California Counties

If your ticket came from a neighboring county, you must contact that county court. Santa Cruz County does not process citations from other jurisdictions. Nearby counties include:

Santa Clara County | San Mateo County | Monterey County | San Benito County