How to Handle a Traffic Citation in Georgia when You Don't Live Here.

Many people drive through Georgia with a driver's license from another state. Whether you are here for work, vacation, or just passing through, if you receive a traffic citation, you need to be careful how about you handle it. Under Georgia law, any ticket that results in a conviction for an out of state driver is supposed to be sent from the local court clerk's office to the Georgia DDS, who will then send it to the DMV of the state for the license.

If a ticket is payable online, and you pay that ticket online, it will almost always be reported back to your home state's license division, or DMV. This is particularly consequential for truck drivers who have commercial licenses. The consequences to your license, insurance rates, and any possible suspensions will be governed by the home state of the license. Just because a 90 mph speeding ticket in a 70 mph zone does not suspend a Georgia license does not mean it will not suspend a North Carolina license. You and your attorney should be aware of the consequences of any citation to your home state license.

In most traffic courts, a local attorney can appear on your behalf in court and resolve most traffic citations without you having to personally appear in Georgia. It might require you sending a notarized document to your attorney with your signature.

Be very careful about simply paying a ticket online, because it is difficult and costly to try to re-open a case. If you have received a citation in the metro Atlanta area, feel free to contact Kyle Jarzmik.