What a traffic ticket costs and what it does are set by the state where it was written. A statute or a statewide schedule builds the fine in layers. The label (infraction, misdemeanor, summary offense) decides which court rules apply. Camera and parking tickets often follow different rules from an officer’s ticket. And state law decides what insurers may do with a ticket. This guide takes each question in turn.
This page is general information about the law, not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Traffic, license and SR-22 rules vary by state and change. The court’s or the DMV’s own letter controls.
Every rule below comes from the guides in this section, with its section number, read in official text on 12 November 2026 unless a line says otherwise. There is no national fine schedule, no national rule on when a ticket becomes a crime, and no national rule on tickets and insurance.
Where to start
- “How much is it?” Start with what a fine is made of.
- “Is this a crime?” Read infraction or misdemeanor, especially if the speed was high or the charge says reckless driving.
- “It came in the mail with a photo.” Go to camera and parking tickets.
- “Will my insurance go up?” Read tickets and insurance, then look up your state’s row.
What a fine is made of
A speeding fine usually has four layers: a base amount, add-ons the law requires (court costs, assessments, surcharges), a change for where it happened (work and school zones), and one for repeat tickets, very high speeds or late payment.
States set the base in three ways. Some fix an amount per speed band in the statute: Florida’s runs from $25 at 6 to 9 mph over to $250 at 30 and above (Fla. Stat. 318.18(3)(b)). Some give the court a range: New York’s is $45 to $150 for up to 10 mph over (VTL 1180(h)(1)). Pennsylvania uses a formula: $35, or $42.50 where the limit is 65 mph or more, plus $2 per mph beyond 5 over (75 Pa.C.S. 3362(c)). The add-ons can outweigh the base. Washington adds an assessment of 70% of the penalty and then half of that again (RCW 3.62.090).
Work-zone doubling is common, but each state writes its own condition. Florida doubles only “if construction personnel are present or operating equipment” (318.18(3)(e)).
The base fines, add-ons and late charges for each state we read, and the states we could not confirm, are in how much a speeding ticket costs, and what sets the fine. We don’t estimate anyone’s own fine. The court named on the ticket posts its amount, and that is the figure that counts.
Infraction or misdemeanor
In most of the states we read, an ordinary speeding ticket is an infraction, which is not a crime. New York’s law says a traffic infraction “is not a crime” (VTL 155), and Florida calls an infraction “a noncriminal violation” (Fla. Stat. 318.13(3)). Others use different labels: Maryland makes a Vehicle Law violation a misdemeanor by default (Transp. 27-101), South Carolina says a speeder “is guilty of a misdemeanor” (S.C. Code 56-5-1520(G)), and Pennsylvania calls speeding a summary offense (3362(c)).
Speed alone can make a ticket criminal. In Colorado, 25 mph or more over is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense (C.R.S. 42-4-1101(12)(b)). In Virginia, 20 mph or more over the limit, or over 85 mph, is reckless driving (Va. Code 46.2-862), a Class 1 misdemeanor (46.2-868(A)). Reckless driving becomes a felony in some states only when someone is seriously hurt or killed.
The label decides whether jail is possible, whether there is a jury and whether a court appearance is required. Read the penalty section, not only the label: New York calls speeding an infraction, yet allows up to 15 days in jail for 11 to 30 mph over (VTL 1180(h)(1)). Each state’s label and how reckless driving is classed are in is a speeding ticket a misdemeanor? That page also says when people usually involve a lawyer, and names two free places to start: the court’s own self-help center and the state bar’s own lawyer referral service.
Camera and parking tickets
A red-light or speed camera ticket mailed to the owner is a civil penalty with no license points in the camera statutes we read. Several go further. Maryland’s camera violations “may not be recorded” on the driving record and “may not be considered in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage” (Transp. 21-202.1(i), 21-809(h)). Florida’s carry no points and may not be used to set insurance rates, while the same red light written up by an officer is 4 points (Fla. Stat. 322.27(3)(d)).
These rules cover only the programs each statute names, and usually not a ticket an officer hands over at the scene: Virginia’s photo-speed rule, for one, does not cover a summons an officer hands over in person (Va. Code 46.2-882.1(F)).
Parking tickets carry no points in the point rules we read, with one Florida exception for parking on a highway outside a municipality (322.27(3)(d)8.). No points does not mean no consequences: Washington holds a registration renewal until outstanding parking and camera tickets are paid (RCW 46.16A.120). Every camera statute we read, with penalty caps and expiry dates, is in camera, parking and other no-point tickets.
Tickets and insurance
A ticket that ends in a conviction usually goes on the state driving record, and paying a ticket is usually a conviction. In the states whose laws we read, insurers may use that record, setting their own rates inside each state’s rules. California’s Insurance Code makes the insured’s “driving safety record” the first rating factor (Ins. Code 1861.02(a)).
Some states keep certain tickets away from insurers by law. In Texas, an insurer “may not cancel or increase the premium” because a charge was dismissed after a driving safety course (Code Crim. Proc. 45A.357(b)). In Kansas, speeding not more than 10 mph over a posted 55 to 75 mph limit, or not more than 6 over a posted 30 to 54 mph limit, may not be considered by any insurer in setting the rate (K.S.A. 8-1560d).
North Carolina and Massachusetts run insurance point plans apart from DMV points. New Jersey’s points surcharge is a state charge billed by the Motor Vehicle Commission, not an insurance premium. We print a percentage only where a statute or a state insurance department sets or publishes one, labelled as theirs, such as California’s Good Driver Discount, “at least 20 percent below” the rate otherwise charged (Ins. Code 1861.02(b)(2)). We publish no industry averages and name no insurer. The state-by-state wording is in do tickets raise your insurance? What state law lets insurers do.
Three clocks, not one
- The count window for your license: how long points count toward a suspension, such as New York’s 24 months for violations from 16 February 2026 (15 NYCRR 131.4).
- How long the record shows it: California discloses most convictions for 3 years, two-point convictions for 7 and DUI convictions for 10 (Veh. Code 1808(b)).
- How far back insurance may look, where a law says so: Washington’s licensing department may give an insurer an abstract covering “not more than the last three years” (RCW 46.52.130); Massachusetts uses a 6-year period, the sixth year at zero points (211 CMR 134.02, 134.10).
The tickets and insurance rules lookup shows your state’s rule by ticket type, with the section and read date, and no premium or price. For a state we have not read it says “not read yet”, which does not mean “no rule”. The license clocks, state by state, are in how long points and tickets stay on your record.
What else a ticket can do
A conviction can add points under your state’s schedule, and enough of them can lead to a suspension. Those topics have their own sections: fighting a ticket, points and records, suspension and reinstatement, SR-22 and FR-44 filings and traffic rules by state. Commercial license holders also face federal rules in any vehicle: speeding 15 mph or more over is a “serious violation” (49 CFR 383.51(c)), and no state may mask a CDL or CLP holder’s conviction (49 CFR 384.226; eCFR up to date as of 9 November 2026). See CDL holders and traffic tickets.
Next step
- Read the ticket or the court’s notice. It names the court, the section charged, whether an appearance is required, the amount due and the date to respond by.
- Use the court’s own website and self-help center for its forms, payment options and hearing rules.
- To see what an insurer may see, order your record from the state’s licensing agency: how to check your license status, points and driving record.
Fact-check note. Statutes and rules checked on 12 November 2026, as cited in the guides linked above; 49 CFR 383.51 and 384.226 on the eCFR, up to date as of 9 November 2026. We recheck these rules every three months and after each state’s legislative session. Found an error? See corrections.
