This week, the San Diego Superior Court began mailing notices to people with past-due infraction citations, offering an additional 30-day grace period to resolve the outstanding court matter. Those who should expect to receive notices would have had appearance or fine due dates from March through mid-September 2020.

In cases that have not been decided yet, affected individuals will receive a notice detailing all available options to handle the case. Forms can be mailed in or dropped off to alert the Court of a “not guilty” plea and request a virtual hearing. Alternatively, individuals can send in “guilty” or “no contest” pleas and, if applicable, also send in a form to ask the Court to consider the individual’s ability to pay, which may reduce the fine amount and/or convert a portion of the fine amount to volunteer work.

For cases that have already been decided and a fine amount has been set, affected individuals will receive a delinquent notice for amounts in a past-due status. There are several options for paying the fine:

• Pay online at sdcourt.ca.gov/Traffic – pay the full amount due or set up a payment plan.

• Pay by mail – send in a credit card authorization form or a check/money order (do not send cash).

• Pay by phone – a dedicated phone number with extended hours is available specifically for people who receive these notices.

• Pay in person – use the Express Drop Boxes at the appropriate court location to drop off a credit card authorization form or a check/money order (do not drop off cash).

• Pay by fax – fax the notice along with a credit card authorization form.

If payment of a fine has already been ordered and new financial hardship has arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other circumstances, requests can be made for an additional 30-day extension, the modification of an existing payment plan or the establishment of a new payment plan. Fine reductions or conversions of a portion of the outstanding fine amount to volunteer work can also be considered.

For many of these matters, the Court has already provided several automatic extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on traffic and other minor offenses, please visit sdcourt.ca.gov/Traffic. Learn more about the Court’s operations during the COVID-19 pandemic at sdcourt.ca.gov/coronavirus.