Oregon Traffic School: Checking What Your Court Allows

First, why it depends on the court

An Oregon ticket goes to whichever court the officer files in: the county circuit court, a justice court, or a city municipal court. No state law guarantees you a class in exchange for dismissal, so every court makes its own choice.

Some choose not to. Multnomah County's circuit court, for one, states it cannot grant a class for dismissal. The only class it honors is one the officer ordered and wrote on the ticket.

If your court does run a program

In northeast Oregon, the Union County and Wallowa County circuit courts both offer traffic school in place of a conviction for minor violations. Whether you qualify comes down to what you were cited for, whether you have been convicted of a moving violation in the last 3 years, and whether you have done traffic school in that time; certain charges also need a judge's approval.

Down in Ashland, the city court's version asks for a no contest plea and a clean two year history: no moving violation or traffic crime conviction and no traffic school anywhere. You then have 120 days to complete the specific online course it names. Other city courts have their own variations, commonly a 90 day deferral that ends in dismissal.

Example: you got a minor speeding ticket in La Grande and have had nothing on your record in five years. Calling the Union County court before your date is worth it; paying online first would not be.

• Union County Circuit Court: 541-962-9500, then option 2, then 2
• Wallowa County Circuit Court: 541-426-4991
• Ashland Municipal Court: no contest plea, 120 days to finish
• Multnomah County: only a class the officer wrote on the citation

What never qualifies

Serious charges are always excluded. The Union and Wallowa lists include going 100 mph or faster, reckless driving, DUII, failing to perform a driver's duties after a crash, trying to elude police, and driving while suspended. A 100 mph ticket brings its own penalties regardless: a $1,150 presumptive fine and a required suspension of 30 to 90 days.

If you hold a CDL, forget it. A federal regulation, 49 CFR 384.226, forbids states from masking or diverting a commercial license holder's conviction no matter what vehicle was involved, and the county programs say outright that they exclude CDL holders.

If it is a phone ticket

A first conviction under ORS 811.507 can have its fine suspended if, within 120 days of sentencing, you complete a distracted driving avoidance class ODOT has approved. Classes are at least an hour and a half, offered online or face to face, and you must score 80% to pass.

In Multnomah County this is described as a sentence of discharge. You plead no contest and the conviction goes on your record, but you pay no fine. Given that a first offense is a Class B violation with fines as high as $1,000, it is worth raising.

If you decide to pay instead

When no program fits, most state court tickets can be settled online through OJD Courts ePay before your appear by date. Unless a statute names a specific amount, ORS 153.019 sets the presumptive fines: Class A $440, Class B $265, Class C $165, Class D $115.

Drivers with no more than two convictions in the past three years, and whose Oregon license number appears on the ticket, may be offered a lower amount online. Remember what paying means: a no contest plea, a conviction reported to DMV, and one more incident in the Driver Improvement Program count.

If you miss the appear by date

Missing the date leads to a default judgment for the entire presumptive fine, frequently with fees added, and the court may tell DMV to suspend you for failing to appear. That suspension stays in place until the court clears it, for as long as 10 years from the date of the offense.

After a default, reduced fines and classes are gone. Multnomah County's only remedy is a motion for relief from default, which for a traffic stop ticket must be filed within 1 year.