If you do not appear by the date shown on your traffic ticket, a notice will be sent to the address listed on your ticket. The notice will state the date that you must appear in court to enter a plea before a judge. This date is your court date! Under some circumstances, your failure to appear to sign a notice may result in an arrest warrant being issued by a judge.

Once the charge is filed with the court, a notice of arraignment will be mailed to you at the address shown on your arresting instrument. The notice will state the date that you must appear in court to enter a plea before a judge. This date is your court date! A notice will also be mailed to your bonding company if you had to bond out of jail. You can also appear at the Lafayette City Court Building located at 105 E. Convent St. to sign for a notice. Signing a notice is the best method available to assure that you will not miss your court date.

You are responsible for providing the correct address to the Court otherwise all notices will be forwarded to the address shown on your ticket. If this address is no longer correct then you will most assuredly miss your court date.
Traffic Ticket:Be careful, if your address has changed or if you have not received a notice within two (2) weeks after the date shown on your ticket you should immediately contact the Traffic Bureau at (337) 291-8736 to check on the status of your ticket. You can also check the status of your ticket by using the search function located on our website.
Criminal Matter:Criminal charges are filed with our court by the 15th JDC District Attorney’s office and the Lafayette City Prosecutor’s office. The court cannot schedule a court date until the charges are formally filed with the court. It could take 30 to 60 days for those charges to be filed with our court. If you have not heard anything about your charges, you should immediately contact the Criminal Department at 337-291-8720 (option 2) to check on the status of your charge. You can also check the status of your charge by using the search function located on our website.

As a defendant in this traffic or misdemeanor criminal matter, you have been ordered to appear in person on the date shown on the notice at the City Court of Lafayette, Louisiana which is located at the corner of Lee Ave and Convent St. (physical address: 105 E. Convent St.). Another person cannot appear on your behalf. Failure to appear will result in the issuance of a warrant for your arrest, loss of driving privileges and/or the assessment of additional penalties and fees. When you appear, please notify the court if your address has changed or is incorrectly printed on your notice.

You must appear at the courthouse before your scheduled court date to have your file pulled and reviewed to see if you qualify for approval of an extension. Except for an attorney enrolled in your case, another person cannot appear on your behalf to request an extension or reschedule your court date because the violator must sign for notice of the new court date. A personal appearance is required and proper picture identification is required. Another person can, however, appear and pay for your fine if the fine is being paid timely and in full.

Yes, you must be dressed appropriately which mean no shorts, no tank tops, no inappropriate wording on clothing and all shirts must have sleeves. You cannot bring children under the age of 12, no weapons, knives or firearms, no tobacco products, and no cell phones. A complete list is posted at the courthouse entrance. Violators will be removed from the courtroom or depending on the item, arrested. The court is not responsible for items left outside of the building.

If convicted of your charge you could be sent to jail. You are therefore entitled to an attorney. If you intend on hiring an attorney of your choice, you should do so immediately so that attorney can be present with you on your court date. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, an attorney will be appointed to represent you at no or limited cost to you. You must apply for an attorney with the 15th Judicial District Indigent Defenders’ Office located at 600 Jefferson, Suite 901, Lafayette, LA. The phone number for their office is (337) 232-9345.

Yes, many traffic tickets can be paid by mail or online. You should contact the traffic bureau at (337) 291-8736 to obtain the amount of your fine and to verify that you can pay your ticket by mail or online. If you mail in the amount owed for your ticket, the court will accept only certified funds or a money order. Credit card payments can also be made through the City Court Online Payment Center.

No, criminal charges require a mandatory court appearance. A notice will be sent to the address listed on your summons, bond and/or charging instrument. The notice will state the date that you must appear in court to enter a plea before a judge.

THE COURTHOUSE:If you pay at City Court, you can pay with cash, money order, cashier’s check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and American Express. A non-refundable 5% processing fee is charged to credit card payments.
MAIL:Payments by money order, cashier or certified checks can be made mailed to City Court of Lafayette, Traffic Violations Bureau, P.O. Box 2086, Lafayette, LA 70502-2086. A payment postmarked AFTER your court appearance date may incur additional fees and penalties. Do not mail cash for the payment of any fine. When you pay your ticket by mail you must also sign the waiver of appearance and "no contest" plea located on the reverse side of your copy of the traffic ticket and return the signed "no contest" plea with your payment. If you only send the payment and not the waiver, you will receive a notice to appear in court.
ONLINE:Credit card payments can also be made through the City Court Online Payment Center. Only Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted through these automated payment systems. A non-refundable 5% processing fee is charged to credit card payments paid online.

If convicted, you could also be ordered to pay a fine. All fines are immediately due however you may be eligible for an extension. In order to get an extension, you must appear in person, make a partial payment and provide a valid Louisiana driver’s license. If your ticket does not require a mandatory appearance, another person can appear and pay for your fine, if it is paid in full. City Court accepts cash, money orders/certified funds made payable to the City Court of Lafayette (no personal checks), Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Card. To see if your court appearance can be waived, contact the traffic clerk at (337) 291-8720 (option 2).

If you were ordered to pay a fine by the Judge but you were not able to pay the fine in full and you were given time to pay, you will be placed on a payment schedule. You must make payments as scheduled. If you make the payment, you will be given a notice for your next payment date. If you cannot make your payment, you must come to court on your scheduled payment date to meet with court staff, even if you do not have the money. If you fail to make payment or get an extension, a warrant will be issued for your arrest. If arrested, you would be ordered to serve jail time for the unpaid balance of your fine. Failure to appear timely could also result in the withdrawal of your driving privileges and the assessment of additional penalty fees.

Community service work and partial payment plans are available in some cases. You can request that your financial status be reviewed to see if you are eligible to have your fine converted to community service.

Yes. In the event that the presiding judge issued an arrest, bench or fugitive warrant, you could be arrested. A traffic violation is a violation of the City Ordinance and State Traffic Laws all of which authorize a judge to issue warrants for the arrest of persons not appearing in court to answer for traffic charges. The judge can issue an arrest, fugitive or bench warrant. If you are concerned about being arrested because you missed your court date, you should immediately contact the traffic department to make arrangements to obtain a new court date or turn yourself in to the Lafayette City Marshal's office.

If you did not pay your fine in full prior to your scheduled court date and if you fail to appear for your scheduled court date, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will be advised of your failure to appear and a forfeiture will be placed on your driver's license. Your license may be suspended by the DMV and you will not be able to renew your driver's license until the ticket and all costs have been paid. In addition, if you are stopped for a subsequent traffic violation, you could also be charged with the additional offense of driving under suspension. This offense, if convicted, carries a mandatory one (1) year suspension of driving privileges by the DMV. In addition, the presiding judge will issue an arrest, bench or fugitive warrant, and you could be arrested. A contempt assessment may also be added to the amount due for your failure to appear.

If you fail to appear for your scheduled court date the presiding judge will issue an arrest, bench or fugitive warrant and you could be arrested. The judge can issue an arrest, fugitive or bench warrant. If you are concerned about being arrested because you missed your court date, you should immediately appear at the courthouse, go to the criminal/traffic department to make arrangements to obtain a new court date or turn yourself in to the Lafayette City Marshal's office. A contempt assessment may also be added to the amount due for your failure to appear.

If you already went to court and pled not guilty but you have changed your mind and would now like to plead guilty/no contest you can still pay your ticket online if it was a ticket that is a payable offense without a mandatory court appearance. Go to the online payment tab and follow the online ticket instructions. To avoid going to court, you must make full payment before your scheduled court date. If the ticket is not paid in full, you must appear in court on your scheduled court date.

Yes, if you already went to court and pled guilty or no contest and the judge ordered you to pay a fine but you were not able to pay the fine and were given another court date, you may be able to pay the fine online. To avoid going to court, you must make full payment before your scheduled court date. If the ticket is not paid in full, you must appear in court on your scheduled court date. Go to the online payment tab and follow the online ticket instructions.

Yes, if you already went to court and pled guilty or no contest and the judge ordered you to pay a fine but you were not able to pay the fine and were given another court date, you may be able to pay the fine online. To avoid going to court, you must make full payment before your scheduled court date. If the ticket is not paid in full, you must appear in court on your scheduled court date. Go to the online payment tab and follow the online ticket instructions.

When a juvenile under the age of 18 years old is issued a traffic citation or was arrested for a criminal charge, a court appearance is mandatory. You must contact the Juvenile Department at (337) 291-8780 to obtain a court date. Please note that criminal charges are filed with our court by the 15th JDC District Attorney’s office. The court cannot schedule a court date until the charges are formally filed with the court. It could take 30 to 60 days for those charges to be filed with our court. If you have not heard anything about your charges, you should immediately contact the Juvenile Department at (337) 291-8780 to check on the status of your child’s charge.

If you do not have proof of insurance, regardless if the vehicle is yours, you will be required to appear in court on the scheduled court appearance date.

A ticket remains on your driving record for 3 years after the final disposition of guilty/no contest.

There are two Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Laws, Article 892.1 and Article 894 that provide a method to keep a ticket or misdemeanor offense off of your record. To participate in either one of these programs, you must pay the fine and applicable driving school fee. You will need to come to the Courthouse to verify your eligibility for the program and to schedule your class. Payments for the class are not made to the court and are to be made directly to the driver improvement school provider.

Article 892.1 Requirements

Traffic Offenses:

• First time offenders, no moving violations on driving record
• Traffic misdemeanor offenses only
• Valid driver’s license in a participating state
• No other dismissals in the past two years from date of offense
• Court date scheduled for 90 days to complete the eight-hour defensive driving course
• Affidavit attesting to compliance with court conditions must be signed and notarized.

You will need to appear in person in Room 104. The following costs will apply:
Certified Court Minutes: $5.00 per set of initial minutes
Certified Court Minutes if previously prepared: $1.00 per set.

You will need to contact the Office of Motor Vehicles at 1-225-925-6146 to find out why your license has been suspended. You may have an outstanding traffic fine owed and must clear this up before your license can be reinstated.

You can call our Criminal/Traffic Division at (337) 291-8720 (option 2) or the Warrant Division of the City Marshal’s Office at (337) 291-8789.