Traffic school done, but the court doesn’t show it.

How a completion travels: school, DMV’s TVCC system, then the court

1. 1. The school submits your completion to DMV’s TVCC database.

   DMV describes TVCC as “an online service DMV developed to manage traffic violator course completions. With this system, TVSs can add course completions to the database, and they will be available to the designated courts a day after they are submitted” (DMV: Traffic Violator School). DMV’s handbook says, “The school will report your course completion to the court. You will also get a completion receipt” (DMV Driver’s Handbook).

2. 2. The court retrieves it and updates your case.

   Los Angeles describes the same path: “the school will electronically send your completion certificate to the DMV. The Court will then download the certificate from the DMV” (Los Angeles Superior Court). San Francisco says, “The traffic school will notify the DMV, and the Court will access completion electronically” (San Francisco Superior Court). San Bernardino says completion is “submitted by the school to the Department of Motor Vehicles and processed by the Court through an electronic database” (San Bernardino Superior Court).

3. 3. The court reports the result to DMV.

   After it receives proof of completion, the court clerk prepares an abstract of the case and forwards it to DMV “within five days after receiving proof that the program was completed or the due date to which the proceeding was continued, whichever comes first” (Vehicle Code section 1803.5(a), unofficial copy). This is the court’s report about your case, separate from the school’s TVCC submission.

A TVCC submission by a school is not the same as the court posting it to your case. Check both steps: ask the school when it submitted, and check your case with the court. See also how completion reaches the court in our court guide.

How long courts say to wait before checking

• Los Angeles

  “It is highly recommended that you verify that the Court has received your certificate of completion. You may do so by looking up your ticket on this website at least a week after you completed the course” (Traffic School; lookup on Search My Ticket).

• Alameda

  “Wait five to seven business days after completion of traffic school to give the court time to process the certificate,” then check online (Traffic School).

• Ventura

  “You can verify that the court received notice of your completion at the court web site. If the court has received record of traffic school completion, the Case Status will reflect TVS – Conviction” (Traffic School Information). A wait time is not stated.

• Other courts

  Of the other county court pages we checked, none stated a wait time. Several say the school reports electronically: Kern says “the school will submit proof of completion directly to the Court”; Fresno says “the traffic school will electronically inform the Court of your completion”; Santa Clara says the school “will notify the Court of your completion” (Kern; Fresno; Santa Clara). Ask your court how long it usually takes.

What to check if your completion isn’t showing

1. 1. Look up your case on your court’s website.

   Use your court’s case lookup after the wait time it gives. Find your court’s site in the county court directory or our county guides, such as Los Angeles, Alameda and Ventura.

2. 2. Check that you paid the court in full.

   Some courts won’t credit a completion until the court is paid. San Francisco says, “Traffic school completion cannot be accepted unless the bail (fine) and administrative fee have been paid” (San Francisco). Kern says that if you attend before paying the bail and fees, “your traffic school completion certificate will not be accepted by the Court” (Kern). Sacramento says that if the full fine isn’t paid, “your Traffic Violator School certificate will not be accepted” (Sacramento).

3. 3. Contact the school and confirm what it submitted.

   Sacramento says, “You may contact your Traffic School to verify that the name, date of birth, citation number, and case number you provided to them are accurate. If so, the Traffic School may resubmit the certificate” (Sacramento). San Diego lists the full name, date of birth, driver license number, case or citation number and court code, and warns: “IF ANY OF THE INFORMATION BELOW IS MISSING, INACCURATE OR DOES NOT MATCH, COMPLETION OF TRAFFIC SCHOOL MAY NOT BE CREDITED TO YOUR CASE” (San Diego). Ventura says completion will not report to your case without its court code, 56100, and San Francisco asks you to give the school its code, 38460 (Ventura; San Francisco agreement (PDF)). Keep your completion receipt.

4. 4. Contact the court before your due date.

   Courts put the responsibility on you. Contra Costa says, “It is your responsibility to make sure that the court receives your completed traffic school certificate” (Contra Costa). Orange says, “Ultimately it is your responsibility to ensure the court receives your proof on or before the due date” (Orange). If your date is close, ask the court about an extension; see traffic school deadlines.

5. 5. Check that you attended a school on DMV’s list.

   Santa Clara says the court will not accept proof of completion from a traffic school that isn’t recognized by the California DMV (Santa Clara). Confirm the school’s license on the DMV traffic school list; see how to verify a school.

If your court shows completion but your DMV record still shows a point

Sacramento answers this question directly. It says both traffic school and payment “must be completed on or before the due date listed on your Agreement to Attend Traffic Violator School. If either is completed late, the point will be reported on your DMV record.” It also says, “If you have attended a Traffic Violator School in the State of California within the past 18 months from the date of this violation, the point will remain on your record,” and that commercial license holders must contact DMV after completing to have the point masked (Sacramento Traffic Court FAQs). Check prior dates with the 18-month date calculator, and see traffic school with a commercial license and points and records. Your court and DMV decide what your record shows.