Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

* For counties not using RESOLVE, please see the VIEW page for county specific information.

If you receive a traffic citation within the State of Alabama, you have several options. Some tickets require a mandatory court appearance before a judge depending on the charge, while other citations may be resolved before the court date listed on your traffic citation.

  1. Go to resolve.alacourt.gov to see if your traffic citation can be resolved before the court date on the front of your ticket.
  2. If the ticket cannot be resolved before the court date on your ticket, the OTR website will display a message in red that states, “This fine cannot be paid online. You must appear in court for this ticket.”
  3. If the ticket can be resolved before your court date, there will be several options listed on the On-Line Traffic Resolution System (OTR) website for you to choose from.
  • Online at www.AlaPay.com.
  • On the Telephone by using Traffic Service Center’s Interactive Voice Response System at 1-877-252-7294 (Credit Card Payments Accepted 24 Hours / 7 Days a Week).
  • In person at the circuit clerk’s window. (See VIEW page for specific courthouse information).
  • By mailing in the payment to the circuit clerk's office. (See VIEW page for specific courthouse information)

To contest a traffic citation (ticket) that you received within the State of Alabama, go to resolve.alacourt.gov and select option H to plead NOT GUILTY and request a trial date.

You must contact the circuit clerk’s office so they can assess the correct fees on the case. Your request for a trial may have assessed subpoena fees that will assess upon a guilty plea or guilty adjudication. Paying the ticket is pleading guilty. Please go to the VIEW page and select the county on the MAP that the ticket was issued in for courthouse contact information.

Go to the RESOLVE website (https://RESOLVE.alacourt.gov) and select the option to request the court to allow you to attend driving school. The court would give you the necessary information that you will need to sign up for driving school. Please see the VIEW page for more specific courthouse information.

Go to the VIEW page to see if the local ticketed courthouse has any information relating to virtual hearings. You may also go to https://RESOLVE.alacourt.gov to enter your email address and phone number in case the ticketed courthouse does offer virtual hearings. From this site, you may request a trial court date via virtual hearing, if offered.

Contact the circuit clerk’s office from the VIEW page.

You may be able to RESOLVE your no insurance ticket before your court date from the https://RESOLVE.alacourt.gov by uploading proof of insurance or you may see the VIEW page for specific courthouse information.

You may be able to RESOLVE your ticket for defective equipment (no head lamp, etc.) before your court date from the https://RESOLVE.alacourt.gov by uploading proof (confirmation) of the fix of the defective equipment or you may see the VIEW page for specific courthouse information.

You may be able to RESOLVE your ticket for no driver's license before your court date from the https://RESOLVE.alacourt.gov by uploading proof of driver’s license or you may see the VIEW page for specific courthouse information.

Once your ticket has been paid in full and/or all requirements have been met, the circuit clerk’s office will issue a clearance letter (notice) to you that you will need to submit to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). More Information on how to submit your clearance letter to ALEA can be found on their website, https://www.alea.gov/dps/driver-license.

Your traffic citation has a court appearance date and time along with the courthouse information where you must appear in court to resolve your ticket. However, you may pay or attempt to resolve your ticket prior to that court appearance date/time. However, if you fail to pay or resolve your ticket before that initial court appearance date, you must appear in court or you will be IN CONTEMPT OF COURT and the following may occur:

  • Assessed a Late Fee
  • Driver’s License Suspended
  • A Warrant Issued for Your Arrest

No, if you plan to request Defensive Driving School, do not pay the ticket because paying the ticket will void your opportunity to request DDS.

Pike, Calhoun, Randolph, and Bullock counties do not offer Defensive Driving School.

More information on the driver’s license point system can be found on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA)’s Driver License Point System website.