Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans
Anyone with a notice to appear should be present at 11:00 am for first appearance court unless otherwise stated on the notice.
A duty judge will be available from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Masks are required for anyone entering the building.
Current protocols are in place:
- If you feel sick or have been caring for someone with COVID-19, do not appear.
- All individuals entering the courthouse shall be required to wear a mask. Those who report without a mask will be provided one.
- Hallways and corridors shall be clear and are to be used for access only.
- Web and Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) capabilities, payments that can be made by visiting the court website at www.nola.gov/traffic-court or by calling (504) 658-8500 are encouraged.
- Please call the Clerk’s Office at (504) 658-8500 for any questions regarding appearance.
- Hearings involving incarcerated defendants shall continue to proceed via video-conference.
- If you have a set date to appear before a judge, you must be present 15 minutes before or no later than 45 minutes after your assigned time to be allowed into the building. If you are more than 45 minutes beyond that set court time, you will be reset at a station set up outside of our court.
- If you already have an assigned court date of June 1, 2020 and beyond, it may be reset to accommodate social distancing and the smaller dockets in place for each judge's division.
- Defendants set to appear in First Appearance Court (FA) and Violations Bureau(VB) for June 1, 2020 and beyond will remain on the docket and are required to appear at their set date and time.
Please call 504-658-8500 for more information and all inquiries.
Municipal and Traffic Court does not handle Camera Safety Tickets nor Parking Tickets. If you need information about parking or camera tickets, please visit the Parking and Camera Safety Tickets site.
General Information
If you received a traffic citation in a hand-written or digitally issued format, you must take action on your ticket by the assigned arraignment date listed at the bottom. Actions when applicable include reporting to the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans to set your citation for a date of trial, make full payment or make payment arrangements. Failure to do so may result in suspension of your driver’s license as well as being subject to additional court fees and penalties.
If you received a misdemeanor summons in a hand-written or digitally issued format, you must appear before a judge in First Appearance Court on the date notated at the bottom of your summons. All misdemeanor cases require a mandatory first appearance in court.
Failure to Appear
The traffic citation or summons issued by the police officer has the first appearance/arraignment date listed at the bottom. You must take action or appear on or before this date. If you fail to appear or take action, you may be held in contempt of Court and assessed additional costs/fee(s). In addition, the following may occur:
- A Warrant/Attachment may be issued for your arrest.
- Your driver’s license may be suspended by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.
- You may be subject to other action and assessed additional costs/fees.
If you missed your date you should appear at the Court immediately to address your case.
Procedure for Arrests
If you were arrested for either a traffic or misdemeanor violation, you or licensed legal counsel must appear in First Appearance Court as noted on the paperwork you received upon release. Failure to do so may result in a warrant being issued for your arrest, forfeiture of your bond (if applicable) as well as additional court fees and penalties.
License Reinstatement
If your license has been suspended by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles due to non-appearance on your Municipal and Traffic court of New Orleans ticket, you must report to court to request a document of clearance to provide to the OMV to free your license from suspension. All pending cases with the Municipal and traffic court of New Orleans must be resolved or brought current before any clearance will be given for the Office of Motor Vehicles.
Records Requests
To request record information regarding any traffic or misdemeanor cases filed with the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans please submit your request the following ways:
- By mail
- By email: MTCNOClerk@nola.gov
- In person
All requests must include defendant's name( including known alias's), date of birth, violation date(s) or arrest date(s), and violation description. Please include a forwarding email address or mailing address with your request. We cannot service facsimile requests at this time.
Expungements
Payment Procedures
Payment Methods for a Traffic Ticket
Payments on your traffic ticket can be made several ways.
-
In person with cash, cashier’s check, money order, credit or debit card. (Visa, MasterCard or Discover)
- By mail: Money order or cashier’s check only.
- In full by phone (504) 658-8500.
- Online: https://traffic.nola.gov
Payment is due by the appearance date listed on your traffic citation if you do not appear to set a trial date. If you appear to request a Time to Pay Schedule, you must make your scheduled payments on or before the dates given. Failure to pay the remaining balance by the last scheduled date, may result in suspension of your driver’s license, a warrant may be issued for your arrest as well as being subject to additional court fees and penalties.
Payment Methods for a Misdemeanor Summons
A defendant cannot pay on a misdemeanor summons prior to reporting to First Appearance Court. Once sentenced by a judge, only then may the defendant be free to make payment towards their fine.
Once a defendant is sentenced upon their misdemeanor case, they can make payment several ways.
- In person with cash, cashier’s check, money order, credit or debit card. (Visa, MasterCard or Discover)
- By mail: Money order or cashier’s check only.
- In full by phone (504) 658-8500.
- Online: https://traffic.nola.gov
Once sentenced and placed on a Time to Pay Schedule, you must pay your fine in full by the last payment date of your payment schedule. Failure to pay the remaining balance by the last scheduled date may result in a warrant being issued for your arrest as well as being subject ot additional court fees and penalties.
Pay your ticket (plead guilty)
Pay online by credit card
Click here to pay online. Please have your traffic citation available. Only Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted.
If you received a Louisiana State Trooper issued citation that reads Department of Public Safety and Corrections--Office of State Police at the top, please enter the prefix letter "S" before the numerical portion of your citation to make payment.
Pay by mail
Only money orders are accepted. No cash, personal checks or credit cards can be used for payments by mail. Please make your money order payable to the City of New Orleans.
Please include your ticket number, name, current address and day time telephone number on your money order. You must postmark your letter on or before the appearance date written on the front of your traffic ticket. “Open” cases that are delinquent are subject to additional fines and fees and the motorist’s driver’s license is subject to immediate suspension. Also, arrest attachments can be issued for motorists with “open” cases that are delinquent.
Payments may be mailed to or made in person at:
Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans
1601 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
The following forms of payment are accepted: cash, money order, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.
To contest a ticket (plead not guilty)
In order to contest a ticket, and if the First Appearance Date has not passed, the motorist or licensed legal counsel may request a trial date in person only at The Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans. To avoid additional fees and penalties, you must request your trial date on or before (if applicable) your first appearance date (the date given by the police officer at the bottom of your ticket).
If no action has taken place on a traffic ticket within an allotted time of the appearance date, the driver’s information will be sent to the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles for possible license suspension due to non-appearance. If this situation occurs, additional fees may be required not only by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles but any other state the motorist may be licensed in or seeking licensing in.
Failure to appear or take action on or before your first appearance date
The traffic citation or summons issued by the police officer has the first appearance/arraignment date written on the front. You must take action or appear on or before this date. If you fail to appear or take action, you may be held in contempt of Court and assessed additional costs/fee(s). In addition, the following may occur:
- A Warrant/Attachment may be issued for your arrest.
- Your driver’s license may be suspended by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.
- You may be subject to other action and assessed additional costs/fees.
If you missed your date you should appear at the Court immediately to address your case.