Online Defensive Driving
DriverCampus.com offers convenient online defensive driving
and traffic school courses for ticket dismissal, point reduction
and insurance reduction.
Galveston, Texas
Online Defensive Driving Court Requirements
You may request a defensive driving course in person or by mail on or before your ticket due date. You are eligible for the course if you have not completed a defensive driving course for dismissal of a ticket within the past 12 months and your ticket is not in failure to appear status.
There are some traffic offenses that are exceptions and defendants charged with those offenses are not eligible for a driving safety course. The following traffic offenses are exceptions from taking a driving safety course:
- offenses committed by a CDL holder (Article 45.0511(a), C.C.P.);
- offenses committed in construction and maintenance zone when workers are present (Sections 472.002, 543.404, and 729.004, T.C.)
- offense of speeding 25 miles or more over the posted limit (Article 45.0511(c)(4), C.C.P.);
- offense of passing a school bus loading or unloading children; or
- offense of leaving an accident scene after causing damage to a vehicle (Article 45.0511(p), C.C.P.)
Requests by mail must include the Following:
- A written statement requesting the opportunity to take a defensive driving course for the dismissal of the citation. Said request must include a plea of Guilty or NoLo and a sworn statement that you have not completed a defensive driving course within the last 12 months for dismissal of another offense and must be received by the court on or before your ticket due date.
- A copy of your ticket
- A copy of your current insurance policy (or if submitting a copy of the insurance of the owner of the car that you drive, you must have a statement from the Insurance Company that states that the policy covers someone not listed on the policy that has permission from the owner to drive the vehicle); and
- A copy of your valid Texas driver's license.
- A $95.00 payment in the form of a cashier's check or money order. Do not put cash in the mail.
- A $120.00 payment in the form of a cashier's check or money order if your violation is for speeding in a school zone.
- If the issue date of your citation was before September 1, 2003 and was not in a school zone, you must submit a cashier's check or money order for $65.00.
Once your payment and request has been received, your case will be put on a "DDC Hold" status and you will have 90 days to complete the defensive driving course.
You will have an additional 30 days from your given course completion date to submit a copy of the course completion certificate to the Court along with a certified copy of your driving record.
The driving record can be obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety. This form is necessary to prove that you have not taken the course within the past 12 months. It takes approximately 3 to 6 weeks to get your driving record from the Department of Public Safety.
If you do not compete the course in the time period prescribed, your case will be set for a show cause hearing by written notice to you at the last known address on file with the Court. Failing to appear at the show cause hearing will result in the issuance of a capias warrant for your arrest.
Ticket Dismissals for Expired Offenses
Tickets for expired driver's license are eligible for dismissal by the judge if the violation was corrected by the ticket due date. Tickets for expired motor vehicle inspection are eligible for dismissal by the judge if the violation was corrected within 10 days of the ticket issue date and cannot have been expired more than 60 days prior to issue date of the ticket. Tickets for Expired License Plates are eligible for dismissal if the violation was corrected within 10 days of the ticket issue date.
In order to have your ticket dismissed, you must submit a copy of your ticket and proof of the renewal along with a $10.00 administrative fee. This fee must be paid in the form orf a cashier's check or money order (or cash if paying in person) at the time of the dismissal. If, for some reason, the Judge does not approve your request, you must be prepared to pay the fine and costs associated with the ticket.
Tickets for No Driver's License and No Proof of Financial Responsibility
These types of tickets will be dismissed by the Court if you can prove that you had a valid Texas Driver's License or Insurance at the time the ticket was issued. You must submit this proof in person or by mail on or before your ticket due date. If you are submitting proof by mail, you must send a copy of your ticket, your driver's license and your insurance and same must be received by the Court on or before the due date listed on your ticket. You must also provide your current mailing address and your day time phone number. Once documentation has been received and verified, your request will be presented to the Judge for Dismissal.
General Information:
Hours:
The Galveston Municipal Court's working hours are Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. However, the Court is in session to hear cases every Monday thru Friday, except holidays, beginning at 8:00 a.m.
Location:
The Galveston Municipal Court is located at 2517 Ave. H. in Galveston, Texas.
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 687,
Galveston, TX 77553
Contact Galveston Municipal Court by email
or call (409) 797-3880
General Payment Information
- Payments shall be made by cashier's check, money order, or cash. Do not mail cash. Credit card payments can be made by calling 1-800-530-8084. To pay by credit you must know your full balance as only full balances can be processed by the credit card system. Your ticket balance can be obtained by calling (409) 797-3885.
Failure to Respond and Answer Citations as Required by Law May Result in Any One or Several of the Following:
- The issuance of a warrant of arrest at an additionalfee.
- Referral of the unpaid fine to a collection agency.
- Denial of renewal of your driver's license by DPS and be assessed additional fees.
