Forgetting Court Requirements

Everyone is busy. Always, all the time. For the purpose of this blog, this is exactly why you received a traffic citation. This citation that was issued 25 days ago and now you have to go to court in a few days.  After three long hours at court, you leave having to complete a state approved defensive driving course. 90 days later, you realize that your court date is today. What should you do?

In Texas there are several courts whose standards for accepting proof of course completion are higher than others.  Many courts, including the major municipal courts, will not accept any proof of course completion other than the Certificate of Completion.  When you are unable to submit your Certificate of Completion to the court by the assigned due date, observe the following:

1.      Contact the court ASAP. Inquire your court appearance date.  If there is time between the date of the call and the court date, register and complete your driver safety training immediately.

2.      If there isn’t additional time, inquire the next steps to submit the Certificate of Completion.  For some courts, if a person misses the initial court appearance date, a “show cause” hearing is scheduled by the court.  Often times, this is the absolute last opportunity to present their Certificate before the judge.

3.    If you are issued a “show cause”, you may register to take a driver safety training course. You must complete on or before the due date. The  judge may accept the Certificate of Completion.

4.      Adhere to your “show cause” hearing. Be prepared by taking all court required documents including the Certificate of Completion from DefensiveDriving.com. Doing so will be favorable with the dismissal of your citation.