I Have A Hold For Failure To Appear
Why do I have a hold for failure to appear? When you get pulled over and receive a ticket for a California traffic violation, you are also required to pay the ticket or attend a court hearing. This means that if you do not pay the ticket before the deadline, you must stand before a judge who will review your infractions and decide what punishment you should receive. However, if you miss your court date for any reason, the court issues a hold on your driver’s license.  Pursuant to the California Vehicle Code, they issue a VC 40509.5 hold, which is the law that tells the court to notify the DMV that you missed your court date.  The hold will prevent you from renewing your license and if you fail to lift the hold after a set period of time, the DMV is authorized to suspend your driver’s license.
What Does This Mean For Me?
If the DMV suspends your license and you are caught driving, you could be arrested and your car could be towed to an impound lot. This means that you will have to pay bail to get out of jail, pay fines incurred by the DMV, pay for the new traffic violation ticket incurred from driving on a suspended license and then also pay to have your car removed from the impound lot. If you find yourself thinking, “I have a hold for failure to appear” and need more information consider the following :
- A hold on your license could also lead to arrest warrants being issued.
- Collection accounts could potentially be generated.
- You could incur an additional criminal charge just for failing to appear.
- You could be jailed for up to 6 months for failing to appear under VC 40508(a)
I Have a Hold for Failure to Appear? What Should I Do?
If you miss a court date and are unsure of your status, you might be wondering, Do I have a hold for failure to appear? To confirm, you can contact the DMV and they will be able to tell you. Some courts also have the information available on their websites. In order to keep the penalties to a minimum, you need to contact a lawyer and tell them, “I have a hold for failure to appear.” There are a number of ways a lawyer can assist you in this situation; it will cost you to pay for the lawyer, but it will be much cheaper than having to pay for any of the other penalties that you undoubtedly will incur. Having a hold placed on your license is like the snowball effect and you will need a professional to help you navigate and minimize the damage.
I Have a Hold for Failure to Appear Learn More
If you want to learn more about your California failure to appear hold, here are some recent blog posts from our California lawyers about how to deal with I have a hold for failure to appear
https://www.markagallagher.com/socaldefenselawyers/405095-hold-how-do-i-clear-hold/
https://www.markagallagher.com/socaldefenselawyers/got-old-california-traffic-ticket-collections-dont-pay/
