How to Get Out of a Traffic Ticket in Atlanta

If you have a traﬃc ticket in the city of Atlanta, there is a way to get out of it without any points or a record. The city of Atlanta has a little known program called PTI, or Pre-Trial Intervention-Traﬃc.

Typically when you get a ticket in Atlanta, you have two choices: 1) you can pay the ticket online or 2) go to court and plead not guilty and come back for another trial date and take your chances.

Nolo contendere is an option sometimes, but it carries all of the consequences of a guilty plea, including the points. Georgia operates on a point system, and the city of Atlanta assigns certain amounts of points for various oﬀenses. The table can be found at atlantaga.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=1420.

In Georgia, your driver’s license will be suspended when you reach 15 points in a 24-month period. Furthermore, your car insurance rates can rise drastically. When you get a ticket in Atlanta and the citation is of a minor nature — like running a stop sign, expired tags, speeding 34 miles or less over the speed limit, improper lane change with no accident involved — you can avail yourself of the program. If you are accepted, you pay around $185, and the charges are dismissed with no points and no conviction, so your insurance company does not penalize you.

How Do You Do It?

This is the best part. In most cases, you can enroll via email and send payment by mail so you do not need to appear in court. Here are the two ways to do it without showing up:

1. Go to ditweb.atlantaga.gov/ptit/Defaultto apply online.

2. Send the court an email at PTIT@AtlantaGA.gov with:

Name
Date of birth
Driver’s license number
Email address or fax number
Telephone number
Citation number or case number
Number of citations received

Once you send the email, they will respond within the day to advise you that you are accepted. You will then need to get a money order or certiﬁed check and mail it in, and that takes care of it. Remember, you can only do this once every 12 months.