Citation vs. Ticket: Same Thing, Different Costs

Red and blue lights in your rearview mirror usually end one of two ways: a warning or a ticket, which officers and courts call a citation. They’re the same thing. What changes what you’ll pay is the type of violation, which decides whether you’re facing a fine, points on your license, a higher insurance rate, or a court date.

Types of citations and tickets

Tickets fall into three types, and they carry very different consequences.

Moving violations

Moving violations are tickets for breaking a traffic law while you’re driving, and they’re usually treated as more serious.

These are some of the most common types of moving violations:

• Speeding
• Running a red light
• Making an illegal U-turn
• Running a stop sign

Many moving violations can raise your insurance rate. Depending on where you live, they may also add points to your license. If you accumulate a certain number of points in a given time period, your license could be suspended.

Non-moving violations

Non-moving violations have nothing to do with your driving, but they’re still illegal. These are a few examples:

• Expired registration
• Illegal parking
• Equipment violations (like burned-out headlights and cracked windshields)

Sometimes, a police officer may give you a “fix-it ticket” (also called a “correctable violation”) for a minor non-moving violation. These tickets usually give you the option to fix the issue and provide proof before your court date. If you do that, the ticket may be dismissed.

Criminal traffic violations

Some stops end in an arrest instead of a ticket.

Criminal traffic violations are classified as misdemeanors or felonies (most tickets are civil infractions instead). Common examples include:

• Driving under the influence (DUI) (may also be called DWI, OVI, or OUI depending on jurisdiction)
• Reckless driving
• Driving on a revoked or suspended license
• Leaving the scene of an accident (hit and run)
• Vehicular assault
• Vehicular homicide

Penalties for criminal traffic violations can vary widely. If you’re convicted, you may have to spend time in jail or prison and pay fines and court costs. In some cases, you may be sentenced to probation or community service.

Facing a criminal charge? Talk with a licensed criminal defense attorney before your court date. If you can’t afford one, ask the court whether you qualify for a public defender.

Can a citation or ticket affect your credit?

A ticket can cost you more than the fine itself: insurance rates, license points, and court costs can add up. Your credit report is the one place it doesn’t show up, unless you don’t pay and the debt goes to a collection agency. Then the collection account can appear on your report.

If you have a ticket that goes to collections, whether it affects your credit can depend on the ticket’s original amount. According to Experian, FICO Score 8 ignores collections with an original balance under $100. Either way, the collection can stay on your report for up to seven years from the original missed payment.

Paying it off helps with some scores but not others. FICO 9 and VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 ignore paid collections, while FICO 8, which many lenders still use, counts them even after they’re paid.

Can’t pay your ticket yet? Call the court clerk listed on your ticket before the due date and ask about a payment plan. Missing the deadline can add late fees, send the balance to collections, and in some states lead to a suspended license, so call even if you can’t pay right now.

Bottom line

A citation and a ticket are the same thing, and neither one shows up on your credit report. Only an unpaid ticket sent to collections can. If one is already there, waiting for it to age off only gets you back to where you started. On-time payments are what add something positive.

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