I can’t get my license because of old tickets in Louisiana

Sometimes people can’t get their license because they have old tickets in Louisiana. They want to get their license in their new home state, but the old tickets they got during Mardi Gras five years ago is holding them up.

Essentially there is a national database where states communicate about tickets, flags, and suspensions for licenses. If you have old tickets in Louisiana and you now live in North Carolina, it’s very possible the DMV in your new town will know and deny your new license. I’ve found states are communicating even more because I’m getting more calls from out of staters about this issue. Sometimes these tickets are even from 10 or 15 years ago and haunting people from their past. Regardless of how it happened, now you have to address it.

What can you do about these old tickets?

It can depend on what kind of ticket it is. If it is a moving violation, it is well worth keeping off your record, so you want to try to get it reduced in court. This requires you coming to New Orleans, setting up a court date, appearing at the court date, and this is even if you can get the case opened back up. I won’t tell you that every situation needs a traffic ticket attorney, but this is one scenario where it can be well worth your money and time. It’s also possible the cost of the attorney will be less than actually paying the ticket that has accrued penalties over time and will go on your driving record increasing your insurance rates. If you drive for work like Uber or deliveries, just paying the fees will put the ticket on your record and show up if the job does a background check or needs to insure you on their policy.

If your ticket is a non-moving violation, it’s reasonable to say you can pay the fine and be done. Non-moving violations normally don’t go on your driving record and cause issues in the future.

If you have any questions about whether you have a ticket or not in Louisiana and what to do with that ticket, you can shoot me a text and I’m happy to lend you my thoughts with a free consultation.