Failure To Appear

If you missed a court date, you were probably told you failed to appear. Here’s what to do.

Criminal or Civil Failiure to Appear?

Courts use “failure to appear” in both civil and criminal cases, which is confusing. They are very different.

Criminal Failure to Appear

If a defendant in a criminal case fails to show up for a court date, the court will note that the defendant failed to appear. The court will issue a bench warrant for the defendant’s arrest and suspend the defendant’s driving privileges. The court may impose a bond amount that the defendant must pay to get rid of the warrant. And many courts will add a separate criminal charge for failing to appear.

Civil Failure to Appear

This should be called a default or default judgment, not a failure to appear. Courts often use the failure to appear language for civil tickets, but this is misleading because it confuses the situation with a criminal failure to appear. When a defendant fails to appear for a civil traffic ticket, the court just enters a default judgment. This means the court says the defendant knew about the court date but failed to show up, so the court just proceeds without the defendant. The court enters judgment against the defendant, imposes a fine, and that’s that.

Criminal Failure To Appear

When you receive a criminal traffic ticket, the police usually give you the ticket and send you on your way. This is called a cite and release. This means that you are cited with a violation, and then released to carry on driving.

When the police officer stopped you and issued you the ticket, you were technically arrested. The officer then released you with the condition that you promised to appear in court on a particular date. When you sign your name on the criminal traffic ticket, you are promising to appear for that court date.

An officer could arrest you and take you into custody, but this rarely happens in traffic cases unless the officer is particularly irritated with you, or if you refuse to sign. You won’t receive further notice of your court date after you receive your ticket.

What Happens If You Fail To Appear?

If you fail to appear for a court date in a criminal case, the court will likely charge you with A.R.S. 13-2506A2, Failure to Appear, a class 2 misdemeanor, and issue a bench warrant for your arrest.

The court will also issue an order to the Arizona MVD to suspend your driving privileges. This can all create a lot of problems. If you are pulled over while your license is suspended, you could be arrested, your car impounded, and you could be charged with driving on a suspended license, a class 1 misdemeanor.

If you have failed to appear for a criminal court date, you definitely want to address it as soon as possible. Some courts will not issue a warrant until about a week after the missed court date, whereas others will issue one immediately.

How To Deal With A Failure To Appear

This will vary from court to court. Some courts will quash the warrant and lift the license suspension order upon the filling of a Motion to Quash. Other courts will require the defendant to personally appear in the court and pay a bond, usually at least $500, before they will quash the warrant.

The idea of the bond is that it will secure your appearance at future court dates. If you fail to appear again, you forfeit the bond. Otherwise, upon the conclusion of your case, your bond will be applied to any fines assessed, and the remainder, if any, will be refunded to you.

Once you have gotten the warrant quashed, you can proceed with your case. Often, the case can be resolved with some sort of plea agreement wherein the failure to appear charge is dismissed.

Criminal vs. Civil Failure to Appear

If a defendant fails to appear for a civil ticket, the case is essentially over. However, in a criminal case, the court can’t just enter judgment against a defendant. The case will remain open, indefinitely, until the defendant finally appears.

Civil Failure To Appear (Default)

When you fail to appear for the court date on a civil traffic ticket, the consequences are very different from a criminal case. We often see a lot of confusion though because courts use the same “failure to appear” language for both criminal and civil cases. In practice though, civil and criminal cases are treated very differently.

How is a civil failure to appear different from a criminal failure to appear?

There are never any arrest warrants issued in civil cases. If you do not appear on your court date, the court cannot issue a warrant for your arrest, and there will not be a separate criminal charge for a failure to appear.

When you do not show up for your court date for a civil ticket, the court will enter what is called a “default judgment” against you. This means that the court has found that 1) you were provided proper notice of the court date, and 2) you did not show up. The court then finds you responsible for the civil violation and imposes a fine. Because you were not there to pay the fine, the court also issues an order to suspend your driving privileges until you pay the fine.

Is there a grace period?

Some courts will give you a grace period. Scottsdale for instance provides a 10 day grace period. When a defendant misses a civil court date, the court begins texting and mailing the defendant. If the defendant still does not take action, then the court will enter a default judgment after the 10 days run.

Most courts do not provide any grace period.

What can you do about a Default Judgment?

When you fail to appear and a default judgement is entered, there are only two options:

1. 1. Pay the fine.
   2. File a motion to set aside the default judgment.

   If you take option one and pay the fine, that will resolve the matter.

   If you want any chance of the violation not showing up on your driving history, you need to take option 2. Unfortunately, courts do not have to set aside a default judgment.

   We see mixed results on motions to set aside defaults. The outcome depends upon a number of factors. These factors include how much time has passed since the default was entered, what court the case is in, and the specific factual circumstances of the case.

   IF you can get the default set aside, then you have additional options such as requesting a civil traffic hearing or perhaps taking defensive driving school.

   Don’t Forget About The MVD

   If you failed to appear for a traffic ticket, the court told the MVD on you. Once you get the warrant quashed, or the default set aside, or the fine paid, we advise checking in with the MVD to make sure there aren’t any reinstatement fees due or any lingering license issues.

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   26 Comments

   Lindsey Feranda on at

   What happens when the court fails to appear? I drove 400 miles to find a note on the door saying no court today sorry for the inconvenience. And now I have a suspended license and lost job and insurance cancellation. What can I do to recover some of the damage that I am experiencing Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi, That sounds extremely frustrating. I suspect there will be no real way to recover any damages from court. It has been our experience that the State can pretty much do things without consequence that the rest of us cannot. I do think the suspended license and insurance issue may be able to be addressed though, but it you or your attorney will need to take some action with the court. If this happened in Arizona, and you’d like to talk about it in more detail, please give us a call. Reply

   morgan on at

   hey.
   i just recently got something in the mail (at a family members house) saying that i had fines due .. but i thought i paid off my ticket over a year ago. so i called an officer i knew & asked him to run my name & it came back “2 fta, no insurance & registration expired “. i have a 1 year old & 3 week old.. literally all by myself & had no idea i even had more to pay let alone had court. what can i do because my babies need me, i’m all they have. Reply

   James Wheeler on at

   FTAs can occur in various legal contexts, including criminal cases, civil cases, traffic violations, and more. Reply

   Nubia on at

   Hey my fta was dismissed for a DUI case. I’m trying to apply for a restricted license but the dmv has an fta/ftp in there system. What can I do to clear this situation with the dmv? Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi Nubia,
   I would start by getting an abstract from the court (the court will know what an abstract is) and then take that to the MVD. Odds are there was a failure in communication between the court and the MVD, or the MVD screwed something up. If that doesn’t work, give us a ring. Reply

   I received a letter from an attorney group trying to get monies due to santa Monica court. They say I have a fta from 2009 that was sent to GS services then the fta was sent back to the court. This is the first time that I can recall ever hearing about this. What are my options? Reply

   Adam on at

   I’m being raked over the coals on a failure to appear for a violation last year. I assumed it was all over with, because I kept checking public access records and found nothing. In fact, I’ve got a 6/6 bench date, and I was stopped by state troopers on 8/16 who specifically said “I’m surprised you don’t have a bench warrant out” I’ve been homeless since my first traffic stop and broke both my heels. I couldn’t walk, work, drive, nothing for a while. I also live remotely, being 10 miles from the nearest gas station. I drove with no lic ins or reg because everything is life threatening. If I needed food ,I had to drive. Water? Drive. Sell assets? Yeah..drive. See a doctor? Driiiiiive. Anyways. I’ve lost everything, and still managed to pay my tow fees ($1500) with no work, no assistance, nothing. Paid court fees. Truck is registered and insured through family(I paid it) paid all the DMV fees.and then they were like..oh wait….this court has a hold on your license, and we don’t know why. Reply

   Why would i be charged with 2 FTA on 1 traffic ticket? Reply Chris Rike on at

   Hi DJ,
   Courts use FTA in several different contexts. It can be a separate charge added to a criminal matter when a defendant fails to show up. It can also be used to indicate the entry of a default judgment in a civil traffic matter. I’m not sure what is going on in your case, but if I had to guess, I’d say there were at least two charges on the one ticket, and at least one of the charges was civil. So there may be two civil FTAs/defaults, or one civil FTA/default and one criminal FTA. It’s hard to say without more information. If you want to give our office a call, we could definitely offer more information. Reply

   Duane on at

   If I have a court date today for a DUI but I am sick and they will not let me in the building when I get there, will they give me a new court date without issuing a warrant? I did email them yesterday and I called this morning and they did say that my email was received and is under review but since it was so soon, there hasn’t been a new date issued yet. Am I okay to remain home since I am sick? Or will they still issue a warrant for my arrest? This was my initial hearing Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi Duane, I cannot say for sure what the court will do, but in our experience most courts are reasonable in these situations and will reset your court date. If for some reason the court does issue a warrant, that is something that can be easily resolved when you are feeling better, even though it would still be quite irritating. Reply

   Winifred C Lapre on at I had a civil court date yesterday that I totally forgot.. what can I do? Reply Grant on at

   I have a FTA Warrant for driving on a suspended license. I called the court and due to covid-19 they are not allowing in person walk-ins and was told I can pay the bond that is over $1,200 that I do not have. How should I go about getting this warrant quashed? Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi Grant, That’s a tough position the court is putting you in. You could try filing a motion asking the court to quash the warrant, explaining that you want to get the case back on track and see it to conclusion, that you are willing to appear in person but due to the court’s current policies you cannot, and that you cannot afford the bond amount. Some courts will quash a warrant with a motion, but some do require the bond payment. If this court insists on the bond payment, you may be in a position where you have to wait until you have the $1,200. Reply

   Tammy L Geyer on at

   I have a friend that they arrested over a failure to appear on a civil traffic citation and they are holding him on a $5,000 bond. I read above that they never arrest on a failure to appear on a civil which in turn would make it more questionable about the $5,000 bond when his fine looks like it is only $1741 originally for no registration or mandatory insurance which with the FTA they suspended his license which he went to take care of and they arrested him and are holding him on the $5,000 bond. A bondsman wont touch it without $500 and $2000 collateral because of the FTA. Could you enlighten me? Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi Tammy,
   There has to be something else going on besides the civil failure to appear. It sounds like your friend has some sort of criminal FTA in addition to the civil ticket, considering the arrest and the high bond amount. It just isn’t possible that someone would get arrested and held on a $5,000 bond for a civil traffic ticket. I’d start by looking here: https://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/caselookup.aspx and seeing if any other cases pop up. Reply

   Taylor Smith on at

   I have a class G drivers license. My license is currently suspended due to a FTA for a red light violation from a red light camera in 2018. I never received anything in the mail so I did not claim responsibility. Also, a processor did not serve me. When I spoke to someone from the Phoenix municipal court today, she recited an inaccurate address to me. What are my options? Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi Taylor, Sounds like the court believes you were served, and then when you did not appear, entered a default judgment against you, imposed a fine, and suspended your license. Options at this point are to 1) either pay the fines, take traffic survival school, and pay a reinstatement fee, or 2) you could motion the court to set aside the default because you were not properly served. It is the court’s discretion to set aside the default unfortunately, and if that request is denied, you are back to option 1. If you would like help preparing a motion to set aside the default, or would like to discuss in more detail, give us a ring at 480-626-5415. Reply

   Tony on at

   I got pulled over in my drive way for a bad tag. Went the next day got my tag updated and showed up to my court date. They looked over paperwork and said everything was good. Pay $170 and your good…. I did not have it on me at the time I moved since then and completely forgot about the fine it’s been over a year. I applied for a job with a thorough background check Andy warrant for failure to appear showed up but I did not fail to appear if they sat another court date I wasn’t aware of that nor did I know I jad a warrant until the background check came back. Anyway the company won’t hire me with the fta on my record. What can I do Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi, Assuming this ticket was from Arizona, I would contact the court that handled your ticket, and ask them what needs to happen to clear the warrant. It may be you need to appear in person, or you may need to pay a bond, or you may just need to pay some fines. Once you’ve taken care of the warrant with the court, then contact ADOT and pay any reinstatement fees that are due for your license. Anytime there is a warrant for a traffic related violation, there is almost always a license suspension that comes with the warrant. Reply

   Tony on at

   Can you get a failure to appear off your record or background the job was with the sherrifs department. I paid the fines already.

   Jordan on at

   I have a AZ Class A license. I just had a FTA on a driving without seatbelt criminal. I don’t know what my next options are. Do I turn myself in and then pay the fees? Call the court first? I don’t want to lose my license if I haven’t already. And if I have how do I get it reinstated? Reply

   Chris Rike on at

   Hi Jordan, If you have a FTA for a traffic violation, your license is probably already suspended. My first move would be to call the court and see what they want to take care of the warrant and suspension, and get the case back on track. It may be to make an appearance, it may be to pay a bond, or something else. Once you jump through whatever hoops the court wants you to and the court quashes or recalls the warrant, and lifts the suspension, then you can pay a reinstatement fee to the MVD to get your license reinstated. Then you can deal with the case. If you have more questions, give us a ring. 480-626-5415. Reply

   Chris on at

   Hi Randolph, The court in Arizona that handled your ticket can provide you with an “abstract”. The abstract is what would be provided to the AZ MVD to clear a suspension or hold, and it sounds like this is what GA wants too. I would have expected the GA hold to have been resolved once you squared away AZ, assuming that was the only issue, but these MVDs can be kind of a mess. Something else you may want to look into – when a license is suspended by a court and then the court lifts the suspension, there is typically a small reinstatement fee due to the AZ MVD to fully clear the suspension. If you did not pay a reinstatement fee, call the AZ MVD (602-255-0072) and see if there is a reinstatement fee due. Reply

   Randolph Pierce on at

   I have a GA license, but live in AZ. I failed to pay my civil traffic ticket on time here in AZ and my license was suspended. After finally paying my fine I am cleared through AZ, but have a hold out in GA. I am told to get an FTA Release in order to get the hold off. Any help?? Reply

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