There is lots of buzz about the traffic ticket amnesty program which started October 1, 2015.  One of the main reasons that people are interested...well, there are a lot of people stuck in a loop unable to get a driver's license because there is a suspension why?

They can't pay their fines and get another driving on a suspended license and the fines just snowball into 10s of thousands of dollars!

As the California Court website indicates, there are two groups of people who can participate:

-        Persons with unpaid tickets whose fines were originally due to be paid date on or before January 1, 2013, who have not made a payment after September 30, 2015, may be eligible to have both their debt reduced by 50 or 80 percent depending on income and their driver's license reinstated, unless an exclusion discussed below applies.

-        Persons who made a payment after September 30, 2015 on a ticket are not eligible for a reduction for that ticket, but may be eligible to have their driver’s license reinstated if they are in good standing on a payment plan with a comprehensive collection program.

-        Persons with more than one ticket may not be eligible for a reduction on an individual ticket if the eligibility criteria are not satisfied for the ticket. Please check with your court for additional information.

There are some exclusions to qualifying for the program which include:

-        Owes victim restitution on a case or have outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants

-        Doesn’t apply to parking tickets, reckless driving or DUI offenses

There are payment options if you qualify:

-        The discount will be 80 percent for those who certify that they make 125 percent or less than the federal poverty level — $14,712 for an individual, or $30,312 for a family of four — or who receive public assistance.

-        The discount will be 50 percent for all other eligible participants.

To start the process:

-        Beginning on October 1, 2015, contact the superior court in the jurisdiction(s) where you received the ticket(s) to determine your eligibility to participate in the amnesty program. People who are eligible for amnesty will have their application processed without seeing a judge.

There is an application that you must complete and $50 application fee that is non-refundable.

DMV will charge a separate $55 fee to reinstate your driver’s license once the ticket issue is cleared up.

For more information from the California Court website click here or what a video here.

For Sacramento Superior Court applications click here.