Texas defensive driving›Texas Traffic Ticket Report
The Texas Traffic Ticket Report 2026
What 1,742 Texas courts actually do when you ask to dismiss a ticket — and how little they agree.
61%
of courts still refuse emailed requests
$100–$184
the fee range for the same service
36%
don't ask for the Type 3A record
16%
still want a notarized affidavit
Method. We maintain a directory of all 1,742 Texas municipal and justice of the peace courts across 254 counties. Procedure has been researched for 1,235 of them (71%), and fees verified at 383. Every rate below is stated against the number of courts where the answer is actually known, not against all 1,742 — the denominators are printed with each finding.
Finding 1: the law changed, the courts mostly didn't
Senate Bill 296 took effect on September 1, 2025, adding email and online-portal requests to the methods a Texas court may accept for a driving safety course (Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.352(a)(4)). A year on, 718 of the 1,178 courts where we could establish an answer — 61% — still will not take one by email.
The statute permits; it does not compel. Each court chooses, and the practical result is that the modern option exists on paper while in-person and mail remain the near-universal reality.
| How you may submit | Courts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| In person | 838 | 92% |
| 697 | 76% | |
| 334 | 37% | |
| Online | 294 | 32% |
| Phone | 128 | 14% |
| Fax | 103 | 11% |
| Drop box | 16 | 2% |
| In writing | 6 | 1% |
Base: the 914 courts publishing at least one accepted method. Courts accept more than one, so shares sum above 100%. Email appears here at a lower count than the 460 courts recorded above as accepting email, because this table counts only courts that name it in a published list of methods — a narrower and separately collected field.
Finding 2: $144 is a habit, not a law
Ask what a Texas court charges to grant defensive driving and you will be told $144. Across the 383 courts where we have a verified figure, that is right more often than not — 70% charge exactly $144, and the median is $144. But only $86 of it is fixed by the state: $62 state consolidated court cost, $14 local consolidated cost, and a driving-safety-course fee capped at $10. Everything above that is set locally.
Which is why the tails exist. 52 courts charge less than $144 and 61 charge more, and the full range runs $100 to $184 — the identical statutory service costing 84% more at one end than the other, decided by which side of a county line you were driving on.
Lowest verified fees
Highest verified fees
Finding 3: a third of courts never asked for the $12 record
The Type 3A certified driving record from DPS costs $12 and is treated across the internet as a universal requirement of Texas ticket dismissal. It isn't. We found no Type 3A requirement at 443 of 1,235 researched courts — 36%.
We are not telling anyone to skip it. The asymmetry matters: ordering a record your court did not want costs $12, while omitting one it did want costs you a rejected submission against a 90-day clock. But it is worth knowing that the requirement is a court's choice, and worth asking, because roughly a third of the time the answer is no. Our court directory lists what each researched court requires.
The notary is the same shape of problem, smaller: 202 of 1,235 courts (16%) demand a notarized affidavit with a mailed request. Several waive it if you appear in person — which is, for anyone near the courthouse, the cheapest notary in Texas.
What it adds up to
Texas gives every driver the same statutory right to dismiss an eligible ticket with a driving safety course. What it does not give them is the same process. Depending on which of 1,742 courts holds your citation, that right costs between $100 and $184, may or may not require a $12 state record, may or may not require a notary, and — 61% of the time — cannot be exercised by email at all.
None of that is visible from the citation in your hand. It is the reason we built a page for every court instead of one page about courts in general.
Frequently asked questions
How many Texas courts still refuse emailed defensive driving requests?
718 of the 1,178 courts where we could establish an answer — 61% — do not accept a defensive driving request by email. Texas law has expressly permitted court-authorized email and online-portal requests since September 1, 2025 (Code of Criminal Procedure art. 45A.352(a)(4)), but permission is not obligation: each court decides, and most have not moved.
What does a Texas court actually charge to grant defensive driving?
Across the 383 courts where we have a verified figure, the median is $144 and the mean $143.38. 70% charge exactly $144. The range runs from $100 to $184 — the same statutory service, 84% more expensive at one end than the other.
Why is $144 so common if it is not set by law?
Only $86 of it is fixed by the state: a $62 state consolidated court cost, a $14 local consolidated cost, and a driving-safety-course fee capped at $10. The remaining amount is set locally, and Texas courts have converged on a total of $144 by convention rather than by statute — which is exactly why some courts land well below it and some well above.
Do all Texas courts require the Type 3A driving record?
No. We found no Type 3A requirement at 443 of 1,235 researched courts — 36%. That is a $12 DPS order those drivers may not need. It cuts both ways, though: skipping the record where the court does want it is a rejected submission and a missed deadline, so confirm with your court rather than relying on the average.
How many courts require a notarized affidavit?
202 of 1,235 — 16%. Several of those waive notarization if you appear in person instead of mailing the request, which is the cheapest way around a notary if you are near the courthouse.
Can I use this data?
Yes. Cite Road Ready Safety and link to this page. If you are a reporter or researcher and want the underlying court-level detail, the individual court pages carry it, and you can contact us for the dataset.
Citing this report
Free to quote and republish with attribution. Suggested citation: Road Ready Safety, "The Texas Traffic Ticket Report 2026," roadreadysafety.com/texas/traffic-ticket-report. Journalists and researchers wanting the court-level dataset can get in touch.
Find what your own court does
Averages are for reports. What binds you is one court's rules. Look yours up, then take the course — ours is $28 all-in, with both certificate copies in the free instant download.
Road Ready Safety is a TDLR-licensed Texas driving safety provider (CP#1234). This report is informational and not legal advice; confirm requirements with the court on your citation.
Published September 4, 2026. Figures are computed directly from our court dataset at build time. Statutory references: Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 45A.351–.359 (incl. S.B. 296, effective September 1, 2025); court-cost structure from the Office of Court Administration cost charts for offenses on or after January 1, 2020. Court procedures change; each figure is a snapshot of what courts published when we researched them.