Asking for Traffic School in Tennessee

Before you pay: how traffic school protects your record

Section 55-10-301 of the state code allows a court to direct a driver who committed a minor violation into a driver education class, either in place of other penalties or along with them. In most courts it works as diversion: you take the class, the charge is dropped, and with no conviction there is nothing to send to Nashville and no points to add.

What makes it work is the way the case gets reported. MTAS, the municipal advisory service run by the University of Tennessee, tells clerks to report traffic school alone, and only after you complete it. When a judge intentionally convicts you and orders a class on top, the clerk records both, and that counts as a conviction.

So a traffic school result does not appear on your Motor Vehicle Record as a conviction. A conviction you later trim with the four hour point class still shows. They feel similar, but the outcomes are different.

Who decides, and who usually hears no

Each judge runs their own policy. One court takes only a class taught by its own police department, another approves two or three schools, a third accepts any school the state has approved, and some city judges never offer it. In those courts your realistic outcomes are a conviction, a dismissal, or a dismissal with costs.

Jackson's city court is a published example. You ask the judge in person when your case is called, a ticket within the past year usually means a refusal, and the class (a National Safety Council course) adds $50 to what you owe in fines. Elsewhere the look back may be longer or the number of uses capped, so get the clerk to tell you the rule for your court.

• A recent ticket or a recent traffic school often means a no
• It is meant for minor moving violations; do not assume a serious charge qualifies
• Drivers under 18 go through juvenile court, which may order traffic school as a penalty
• A CDL holder's conviction cannot be masked, whatever vehicle was involved

What it costs, and if you miss a deadline

Budget for court costs, the school's charge and, in a lot of courtrooms, the fine too. All of it is set locally, so the only number to trust is the one the clerk quotes for your ticket.

A judge can give you extra time, but do not let the date slide. When the completion date passes with no certificate on file, you are treated as not complying, the court convicts you on the original charge, and the conviction is reported. Miss the court date altogether and the court may report that you failed to appear; under T.C.A. 55-50-502 that lets the Department suspend your license, and you will usually be convicted by default.

For example, if the judge gives you 60 days and your class certificate reaches the clerk on day 62, expect the original charge to be entered as a conviction. Finish early and deliver it yourself if you can.

Choosing a class: online and approved schools

The state does not run traffic school classes. The Department keeps a list of approved 4 hour schools offering online, classroom and live stream formats, and a different list of schools for the 8 hour Driver Improvement class. Approved schools must teach four hours or more, be recertified annually, and teach material that matches or beats AAA or National Safety Council standards.

The Department's own caution bears repeating: when a court ordered your class, check that the court will accept an online one before you sign up. A court that wants in person attendance will not credit an online certificate.

If you drive commercially

Federal rule 49 CFR 384.226 says a state may not hide, defer or divert a conviction of a CDL or commercial learner permit holder, for any traffic violation except parking, weight and defect violations, and it applies in a personal car as much as a truck. So for commercial drivers, traffic school cannot keep the ticket off the record in Tennessee.

Under 49 CFR 383.31 every traffic conviction must also be reported to your employer, in writing, inside 30 days. If you hold a CDL, talk to a traffic lawyer or the court about your real options before entering a plea.

If the court says no: the speeding point course

When traffic school is off the table, a speeding conviction can still be softened. An approved 4 hour course finished within 90 days of the conviction date takes up to 5 points off that one conviction. The conviction remains, and you can use this only once every four years.

The school must report your completion to the Department within 30 days, online or by mailing it to the Financial Responsibility Division (Box 945, Nashville 37202-0945). Ask the school to confirm it was sent, then look at your record.

Fighting the ticket instead

Pleading not guilty and going to trial is always an option. Plan for more than one court date, and know that a guilty verdict can bring the whole fine and the points with no offer of traffic school.

If general sessions court rules against you, you have ten days under T.C.A. 27-5-108 to appeal to circuit court. The state courts publish a notice of appeal form; ask the clerk whether a bond is needed and what local rules apply.