Failure to Appear Lawyers in Los Angeles County

A missed traffic court date can add a separate failure to appear charge, and the court can respond with a bench warrant or a civil assessment of up to $100. Our attorneys handle failure to appear charges, and the ticket underneath them, in Los Angeles County courts and across California, starting with a free consultation.

What a Failure to Appear Means

When you signed your ticket, you promised to appear in court. Willfully breaking that promise is a misdemeanor under Vehicle Code 40508(a), whatever happens to the original ticket. The court can then do one of two things:

issue a bench warrant for your arrest (Penal Code 978.5(a)(4)); or
impose a civil assessment of up to $100, after mailing you a warning notice at least 20 days before it takes effect (Penal Code 1214.1). When the court imposes the assessment, it cannot also issue a bench warrant for the same missed date.

How Our Attorneys Handle a Failure to Appear

We find out what the court has done on your case: whether a warrant issued, whether a civil assessment was imposed, and where the original ticket stands. Then we appear for you to put the case back on the calendar, ask the court to vacate an assessment where there was good cause for the missed date, and fight the original ticket. An attorney can appear for a driver charged with a misdemeanor or an infraction (Penal Code 977 and 19.7). We handle these cases in courts across Los Angeles County. We also take cases in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties, and anywhere else in California.

Our attorneys have over 45 years of combined experience in fighting traffic tickets. In over 90% of our cases the client has had their case dismissed, been found not guilty, or has had reduced fines and/or charges reduced to no points.

Our Victory List shows 11 failure to appear cases under Vehicle Code 40508(a) listed as dismissed, as of October 8, 2026. The most recent:

Date	Court	Code section	Result
6/4/25	Glendale	40508(a)	Dismissed
5/12/25	Downey	40508(a)	Dismissed
10/6/23	Santa Monica	40508(a)	Dismissed
10/6/23	L.A. Metro	40508(a)	Dismissed
9/25/23	Glendale	40508(a)	Dismissed

Past results do not guarantee a future outcome.

Questions About Failure to Appear

Is Failure to Appear a Misdemeanor?

The Vehicle Code makes it one (VC 40508(a)). It is also one of the offenses that can proceed as an infraction instead: the prosecutor can file it as an infraction, or the court can treat it as one with the defendant’s consent (Penal Code 17(d) and 19.8). Which way a case goes depends on the court and the facts.

What Is a Civil Assessment?

A civil assessment is an amount of up to $100 that the court can add when a defendant misses a court date or a payment without good cause (Penal Code 1214.1). The cap has applied since July 1, 2022. The rules that come with it:

The court must mail a warning notice first, and the assessment takes effect no sooner than 20 days after it.
If the defendant appears within the notice period and shows good cause, the court must vacate the assessment.
The court cannot require the assessment, or the fine, to be paid before it vacates the assessment or schedules a hearing on the original ticket.
A court that imposes the assessment cannot also issue a bench warrant for the same missed date.

Will My License Be Suspended?

The answer depends on dates. Since January 1, 2023, California courts no longer report a failure to appear to the DMV for a license suspension (AB 2746, 2022). The DMV’s remaining authority to suspend for a failure to appear, Vehicle Code 13365, is repealed on January 1, 2027, and the same bill ends any suspension the DMV issued under it before that date. The original ticket can still affect your license through points (VC 12810.5).

Can I Still Fight the Original Ticket?

Yes. The failure to appear is a separate charge “regardless of the disposition” of the original one (VC 40508(a)), so the original ticket stays open until the court decides it. Paying a civil assessment is not required to schedule a hearing on it (Penal Code 1214.1(b)(2)). For an infraction, the law also lets the court treat a driver who failed to appear as having chosen a trial by written declaration (VC 40903).

Get Your Case Back on Track

A missed court date leaves two charges open instead of one. Call (310) 455-6810 or contact us today for your free consultation.

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Sources

California Legislative Information