How to send affidavit to the court for traffic violation

Traffic Citations

Noncriminal Traffic Infraction Violations are charges issued by law enforcement officers in the form of a citation or traffic ticket. Depending on the violation, you may be allowed an extension of the “failure to comply date”, requesting a hearing, or, in many cases, you may comply with the conditions of your citation in one or more of the following four ways:

The Seminole County Clerk’s Office is now accepting efiled documents in Traffic cases.

Traffic Infractions Violations

When cited with a Traffic Infraction Violation, individuals have 30 days from the date of the offense or violation to make an election unless the violation requires a mandatory court appearance.

• By electing this option, you will be required to pay the civil penalty in the amount authorized by law within 30 days of the date the citation.
• Payment of the civil penalty is considered a conviction and points will be assessed, if applicable.
• You will not be able to elect traffic school at a later date.
• Payments can be made online, by calling 407-547-3318, or visiting one of our locations.

• If you do not hold a commercial driver’s license, have not elected defensive driving school in the last 12 months or more than 8 times in your lifetime, you may be eligible to elect to complete a Florida Driving Improvement Course. Please be advised, that if you are not eligible, and elect the school, the citation will result in an adjudication of guilt and points added to your license upon notification from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
• To elect the school option, complete a Traffic School Affidavit online by clicking here.
• Alternately to paying online, you may visit one of our locations to pay the required civil penalty.
• You will be given 60 days to complete the course and turn the certificate of completion into the Clerk’s Office; adjudication will be withheld and no points will be assessed.
• If you fail to complete the course within 60 days, additional fees will be assessed, a suspension could be issued, points will be added to your license, and the election will remain on your driving record.
• For a list of schools or to see if eligible, you can visit the FLHSMV website at www.flhsmv.gov.
• Click here to verify that your school completion has been submitted to DHSMV
• Click here to verify that your school completion has been filed through the Florida ePortal.

Pursuant to F.S. 322.0261(4) the DHSMV will require drivers who were convicted of one of the following (in Florida or in another state while they held a Florida driver license) to attend a basic driver improvement course:

• Passing a school bus when it displayed a stopped signal;
• Racing on a highway;
• Highway racing – spectator;
• Reckless driving; or
• Running a red light.

If the school option is elected and completed, points will be not be assessed and the DHSMV’s school requirement for these charges will be met.

• A Plea of No Contestpermits you to ask the Court to Withhold an Adjudication of Guilt (withhold the violation points from your driver’s license) without having to go to court. The Court will review your past driving history and your signed request to determine whether to grant or deny your request. After the Court reviews your request and renders a decision, payment and any school completions will be due within 15 days as ordered by the Court. You must submit your Plea of No Contest within 30 days of the violation date. A Judge or Hearing Officer will review your past driving history to determine whether to grant or deny your plea. ** You are only permitted to submit a Plea of No Contest and Request of Withhold of Adjudication once in 12 months and no more than 3 times in a lifetime**

• In lieu of a hearing, you can enter a Plea of No Contest here to have your case reviewed by the Court and keep points off your driving record.
• You can request a hearing online by clicking here, or in person at any one of our locations, by mail at P.O. Box 8099 Sanford, FL 32772, via fax at 407-665-4545 or email at traffic@seminoleclerk.org.
• You must include your name, citation number, complete mailing address and a phone number on your request.
• Requests done in person will be given notice with the date, time, and location of hearing by the customer service clerk.
• A notice with the date, time and location of hearing will be mailed to address on file or request if different for any requests received via mail, email or fax once the request is processed.
• If you are unable to appear in person for your court date, you can file a notarized Affidavit of Defense in lieu of your appearance. You may also request in writing for a continuance of the hearing. These requests need to be received by our office no later than Monday at 4:30pm for hearings scheduled that same week to allow time to process and the Court to review.

• If you were cited for expired driver license, failure to display a valid driver license, expired tag, failure to possess a valid registration, or no proof of insurance, you must provide valid proof to the Clerk of Court when paying the citation.
• If the proof shows the license, registration, or insurance were valid at the time of the stop, the charge will be dismissed upon payment of a $10 dismissal fee.
• If the proof does not show the license, registration, or insurance were valid at the time of the stop, you will need to pay the full statutory penalty.
• If you cannot provide a valid registration or proof of insurance you will need to fill out an Affidavit Without Proof of Compliance. You can file that Affidavit online by clicking here.