Most courts will send a courtesy letter in the mail, typically about two weeks after getting your ticket. In the letter, the court will indicate your options for taking care of your traffic ticket and whether you are eligible for California traffic school. If you qualify, the court will let you know the cost of attending traffic school. In most cases, the court will charge you an election fee to attend traffic school. This fee is an administrative fee from the court and separate from any fee charged by traffic school businesses.
You must elect to attend traffic school and pay the court fees and fines before starting an online traffic school course. For some courts, you can take care of this by visiting the court's website, calling them, or visiting them in person.