Got Questions? We've Got Answers.

It's basically a way to fight your ticket without ever stepping foot in a courtroom. California law gives every driver the right to contest their ticket in writing instead of in person. You write up your side of the story, a judge reads it, and makes a decision. The best part? TicketMonster writes the whole thing for you. You don't need to know any legal jargon or figure out what to say — we've done this thousands of times and we handle everything from start to finish.

Nope, not at all. That's the whole point of what we do. Everything is handled through the mail — we prepare your defense, print it out, attach the required court payment, and mail the entire package to the courthouse for you. You literally don't have to take a single day off work, sit in a waiting room, or stand in front of a judge. We do all of that on your behalf.

Pretty much any California traffic ticket you can think of. Speeding, running a red light or stop sign, illegal U-turns, cell phone violations, carpool lane tickets, unsafe lane changes, expired registration — you name it. Red light camera tickets too. If you're not sure about your specific ticket, just snap a photo and send it our way. We'll take a look and tell you right away if we can help.

We charge one simple flat fee that covers everything — your custom legal defense, all the court paperwork, printing, the bail check, postage, and support throughout the process. No hidden fees, no surprises. When you compare that to what a single point on your record can do to your insurance rates — we're talking hundreds of dollars a year in higher premiums for the next 3-5 years — our service pretty much pays for itself even if you're not sure you'll win.

Really good, actually. Trial by Written Declaration is one of the most effective ways to fight a ticket in California, and it's been used successfully by hundreds of thousands of drivers. Your exact odds depend on things like the type of ticket, which county you're in, and the details of your case — but here's what makes it a no-brainer: if the judge doesn't rule in your favor, you just pay the original fine. No extra penalties, no extra fees. You literally have nothing to lose by trying.

You get a second shot. Seriously. If the judge doesn't dismiss your ticket on the written declaration, you can request what's called a Trial de Novo — that's a brand new trial where your first result is completely thrown out, like it never happened. And here's the thing: at these in-person hearings, the officer who wrote your ticket has to show up too. A lot of times they don't, and when that happens, your case gets dismissed automatically. So you really get two chances to win.

Honestly, no. This is the part that surprises most people. If your written declaration doesn't work out, you just owe the same fine you would have paid if you'd never fought it in the first place. The court doesn't add extra charges for trying, and they don't hold it against you. The worst case scenario is you end up exactly where you started. The best case? Your ticket gets tossed, your fine gets refunded, and your record stays clean.

Yes, but don't worry — it's not what it sounds like. California courts call it "posting bail," which just means you pay the fine amount before the judge reviews your case. Think of it like a refundable deposit. If you win and your ticket gets dismissed, the court sends you a full refund. Every penny. So you're not really paying the fine — you're just putting it on hold while the judge takes a look at your defense.

Yes — and this is huge. If your ticket gets dismissed, no point goes on your record. Period. Most people don't realize how expensive a single point can be. We're talking about your insurance company raising your rates by hundreds of dollars a year, and that increase sticks around for 3 to 5 years. When you add it all up, one ticket can end up costing you well over a thousand dollars in higher premiums alone. Fighting it is almost always worth it just for that.

Not even close, and our approach is way better. With traffic school, you still pay the full fine, then you spend 6-8 hours doing an online course, and you can only use it once every 18 months. With TicketMonster, we're going for a full dismissal — meaning no fine, no point, no course, no wasted weekend. And if it doesn't work, you can still do traffic school as a backup. So there's really no reason not to try this first.

The whole thing typically takes a few weeks from start to finish. On your end, getting started takes just a few minutes — snap a photo of your ticket and answer a couple of quick questions. We take it from there and get your defense prepared and mailed to the court. The waiting part is just the court doing their thing. We'll keep you updated along the way so you always know where things stand. No guessing, no chasing anyone down.

Just your ticket — that's it. Grab your phone, take a photo of the citation, and upload it when you start your case. You don't need to dig up any legal documents or figure out court addresses or anything like that. We pull all the details we need from the ticket itself and take care of the rest. Most people finish the whole process in under 5 minutes.

Get started right away and you should be fine. When we file your Trial by Written Declaration, it puts things on hold with the court — so you don't need to worry about missing deadlines or getting hit with late fees once it's filed. That said, you do need to get it in before your original due date. So the sooner you start, the better. If your date is really close, reach out to us and we'll make sure we get everything filed in time.

Absolutely. Red light camera tickets are actually some of the most commonly fought and dismissed tickets in California. There are a bunch of solid legal arguments that can be made against them — things like whether the camera was properly calibrated, whether the signage was adequate, or whether you were actually the one driving. We know these cases inside and out and we fight them all the time.

100%. This is actually one of the things we're best at. Since the entire process is done by mail, it doesn't matter if you live in California or across the country — you never need to come back to the state. Just upload your ticket from wherever you are, and we handle everything from here. No travel, no hassle. A lot of our customers are people who were visiting or passing through California and got a ticket on the way.