When you encounter law enforcement, stop talking. You get one chance to tell your story and you do that in front of a jury, not in a police interrogation room or on the side of the road. Understand that any statements you make are being recorded either on body cam or dash cam video and all of those statements will be shown to a jury. Even ones where you’re being transported in the car and for processing. You cannot be punished for exercising your 5th amendment right against self-incrimination and to remain silent, so use it!

Other important things you should do:

1) Always be polite and respectful

2) Provide the officer with your identification or name and date of birth

3) Inform the officer that you are not making any statements without your lawyer

4) Give the officer your lawyer’s name

5) Inform the officer that you are not consenting to any search of your person, belongings, vehicle, or house

6) Do not discuss your case with anyone other than your lawyer

Most traffic citations are what we call “waive-able” offenses, meaning that I can appear for you using a signed court document called a “waiver of counsel.” This document gives me the authority to appear on your behalf so you don’t have to come to court. However, if you are charged with a more serious offense like a DWI, a non-traffic misdemeanor, or a felony, you should plan on appearing at every court date. Every county and judge have different policies, so when in doubt, always check before not appearing.

Missing your court date is very serious. If left unresolved, you will incur an additional $200 failure to appear fine and your NC driving privilege will be suspended. If serious enough, you might have an order for your arrest. In these cases, it is important to file a motion to get your case back on the docket as soon as possible. In some cases, with a valid reason for missing court, it might be possible to get your failure to appear sent in error.

It is common for your case to be continued if a requirement is incomplete, such as completing driving school or pulling a copy of your driving record. In some cases, your case will be continued if there is a possibility that a better result can be obtained at a later date.

If your ticket is not too fast, North Carolina lets you pay off certain speeding tickets online or by mail. However, this is rarely a favorable outcome. By paying your citation online, you are pleading guilty to the original charged offense. Most speeding tickets are charged as moving violations, which will not only result in an increase in your insurance rates, according to the NC insurance regulations, but in some cases, could suspend your license.

The only person who can tell you what’s going to happen with your insurance rates is an adjustor for your policy. As attorneys, we are only allowed to advise you as to what the insurance regulations say the insurance companies should do, according to the regulations that govern them. The best way to minimize the possibility of an increase in your insurance rates is to get your citation reduced to a non-moving violation or any similar outcome that doesn’t carry any points. Every District Attorney’s office has different policies on what they will reduce tickets to. Whether a District Attorney will reduce your ticket to. a non-moving violation depends on a number of factors, including: your driving history and original charged speed, among other things. Every case is different and will be determined on a case by case basis.

We are only licensed to practice law in North Carolina. We cannot give you any legal advice about your license if it is in another state or any other state’s insurance rates. For that information, you must talk with a local attorney in your jurisdiction and an adjustor for your insurance policy.

By statute in North Carolina, court costs start at $191. The fine often depends on the judge, but most court costs and fines range anywhere from $191-$266. Very high speeds can have very high fines assessed.

Under structured sentencing in North Carolina, you can only receive an active jail sentence for a speeding ticket if you have a prior criminal history. However, even without a prior criminal history, you could be placed on probation. This is true even if you are a first time offender. This often depends on the class misdemeanor you have been charged with, as well as how many prior convictions are on your record, and the individual facts of the case. Every case is different and will be determined on a case by case basis.

Different offenses in North Carolina carry different points for your license. For further information, please see our traffic guide in our resources section. If you acquire too many points, your license can be suspended. In North Carolina, you cannot receive 8 points within 3 years or 12 at anytime or your license will be suspended.

Every District Attorney’s office has different policies regarding what they will reduce tickets to. Whether a District Attorney will reduce your ticket to a non-moving violation depends on a number of factors, including: your driving history, original charged speed, among other things. Every case is different and will be determined on a case by case basis.

PJC stands for “Prayer for Judgment Continued.” This is a special order that the judge can grant for your case that prevents your traffic citation from having any points assessed towards your license or insurance rates. PJC’s are unique to North Carolina and may not be recognized by other states and their DMV’s. Please note, whether or not a judge will grant a request for a PJC is entirely up to the judge and is never guaranteed. You should also have an attorney review your driving history to ensure that you have one to use. It is unfortunately very common to see people who represent themselves in court requesting PJC’s without a copy of their driving history. If a judge grants you a PJC and you have already used one, your PJC’s will cancel out and you will experience an insurance increase for both citations! It is also important to note that when a PJC is granted on a speed that is not reduced, this often results in a conviction on your criminal record, because most high speeds are charged as class 3 misdemeanors in North Carolina. A PJC is a guilty plea. By statute, the judge cannot grant you a PJC if your original speed is in excess of 25mph. Many people often request a PJC but aren’t aware that the District Attorney might reduce their ticket to a non-moving violation, which would preserve your PJC for future use. The legal analysis of whether a PJC is right for your case is one that should be done carefully. Always consult with a lawyer.

North Carolina has some very strict laws that can often lead to your license being suspended. A very common way that people get their license suspended is by either paying a ticket online or representing themselves in court without a lawyer. The most frequent situations that lead to someone getting their license suspended in NC is if you are convicted of 2 speeding tickets over 55mph within a year (where the speed limit is 55mph or greater), being convicted of speeding over 80mph, getting 8 points within 3 years (or 12 at any time), among several other situations. Always have an attorney review your case to let you know what your options are and, if possible, avoid a suspension of your license.

You can check the status of your North Carolina license anytime 24/7 by calling the NC DMV’s automated system at:

(919) 715-7000

However, if you want to speak to a representative, you must call between the hours of 8AM and 5PM, Monday - Friday. You can also instantly pull a copy of your North Carolina driving history online by going here:

https://edmv.ncdot.gov/DrivingRecords

If you don’t want to copy and paste this link, you can click on a live link to this site at our resources section.

After your suspension period is over, if all other requirements have been satisfied, you must pay a reinstatement fee to the NC DMV. The DMV will then send you a new license in the mail. You can pay your reinstatement fee either in person at any NC DMV driver’s license location or electronically by using the instructions below.

To pay electronically, you must create a moneygram account, by going here:

https://www.moneygram.com/mgo/us/en/

After creating an account, use the following information for payment:

NCDMV Biller ID #: 18857

Biller Account Number: Your NC Driver’s License Number (without any zeros in the beginning).

The NC DMV’s official license restoration page can be found here:

https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/license-id/license-suspension/Pages/driver-license-restoration.aspx

If you don’t want to copy and paste the links listed above, you can find these at our resources section.

Your eligibility for a limited driving privilege depends on several factors. By statute in NC, you can’t have had a moving violation in the last year (not including your current citation) or have previously been granted a limited driving privilege in the last 3 years. It is entirely at the judge’s discretion whether to grant a limited driving privilege. You must have valid insurance, no other unresolved traffic matters, and $100 for the filing fee.