Failure to Appear for a Traffic Ticket

What is Failure to Appear?

If you do not respond to your Traffic Citation in a timely manner a Failure to Appear (FTA) will be added to your court file.

When you receive a traffic citation, you are required to respond to the court within 15 calendar days from the date of the infraction.

A failure to appear may make resolving your infraction more complicated. This depends on when the ticket was issued and which court has jurisdiction.

Failure to Appear Can Cause a License Suspension.

According to RCW 46.20.289.The Washington State Department of Licensing can suspend all driving privileges if they receive notice from the court that a person has:

Failed to respond to a traffic citation.
Failed to appear at a hearing.
Violated a written promise to appear in court for the infraction.

How Long is my License Suspended or Revoked?

Your license can be suspended until you pay the fine or comply with the requirement to appear in court.

Steps to Reinstate Your License.

Once your failure to appear has been cleared with the court, they will issue a certificate of adjudication.
After the court notifies DOL that your failure to appear has been cleared, DOL will update your driving record to show your license is not suspended or revoked any more.
You will need to apply for a new license. You may need to pay a:
- $75 reissue fee plus your licensing fees if the original charge wasn’t drug or alcohol related, or
- $150 reissue fee plus your licensing fees if the original charge was drug or alcohol related.

There are many ways an experienced traffic attorney can fight your ticket for you.

      
   Merrill Law
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   Shannon Jackson 
 September 6, 2026
 
 
  He’s like Santa for speeding tickets. Anytime someone says they got a ticket, I always tell them “I got a guy”
  
 
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   Nathan Turner 
 September 6, 2026
 
 
  My son got his first speeding ticket. We called these guys and sent them a photo of the ticket. They took care of everything and got the ticket dismissed. Lucky kid. Hope he learned his lesson...
  
 
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   Kymberly Hoyle 
 September 3, 2026
 
 
  I have gone through Merrill Law 3 times now for speeding violations and expired tabs and they are efficient and super easy to work with every time. Reece is fantastic and communicative. I highly recommend them as they have saved me a lot of money in the end.
  
 
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   Jamie Lee Fada 
 September 3, 2026
 
 
  I have used Merrill Law several times from speeding tickets to HOV violations. Everyone has been dismissed. I can't reccomend them enough.
  
 
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   Laura Taylor 
 August 18, 2026
 
 
  Going to Merrill Law was one of the best decisions I could have made. From start to finish, their team was kind, professional, helpful, and excellent at communicating throughout the process. I truly appreciated their support and would highly recommend Merrill Law to anyone in need of their services.
  
 
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   Xavier Hecker 
 August 17, 2026
 
 
  Second speeding ticket in a row dropped, and I never had to step foot in a court room.
  
 
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   Matthew Matyuk 
 August 15, 2026
 
 
  Great experience, big thanks, ticket dismissal went smoothly.
  
 
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   Jordan Cabral 
 August 14, 2026
 
 
  Huge thank you to Reece Merrill for helping me resolve an issue with the Department of licensing. He was so quick to help me fix what seemed to be an overlook on the DOL’s part. I highly recommend him to anyone who needs legal help big or small.
  
 
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   Alex Nelsen 
 July 28, 2025
 
 
  Reliable, Professional, and Effective Big thanks to Merrill Law for getting my ticket dismissed. I’ve used them before after a friend recommended them, and they’ve made the whole process easy and stress-free every time. It’s a huge relief knowing they’re in your corner, fighting for you. Highly recommend to anyone needing a solid attorney
  
 
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   Stephan A 
 June 14, 2025
 
 
  Fantastic as always 
  
 
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   Marc Calague 
 November 5, 2024
 
 
  Merrill Law is fantastic Got my infraction dismissed and all I did was call them. Saved my record, my time, and my money.
  
 
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   John Miranda 
 October 24, 2023
 
 
  Great Result.  Dismissed speeding Ticket!! I got a speeding ticket that I presented to Mr Merril.  Very easy to process. Excellent communication.    He called me during the process to l ask my opinion.   He felt there may be a chance that my ticket would not be dismissed and wanted to know if I would be willing to pay a fine, to keep the ticket off of my record.  I agreed and was thankful to be included in the process.  Mr. Merrill went to court, fought for me and WON!  my ticket was dismissed!! Great result.
  
 
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   Brian 
 August 17, 2023
 
 
  The Best Legal Team I will begin by saying the professional and courteous manner in which they (the whole practice) treat people is second to none. Not only have they kept my driving record impeccable, the cost is fair and they can be counted on 100%. I cant say enough how grateful i am to have been recommended to these guys, here i am doing exactly the same i recommend them beyond plain recommendations haha Thank you to all the people in your firm Rick!!
  
 
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   Cecilia Jones 
 June 21, 2023
 
 
  Grateful is an understatement! Quick and concise work on the part of the firm, ensuring clear direction of what documentation needed to be submitted in order to dispute. I was given reassurance that once everything was handled id receive an email of the overall outcome of my case. Im happy to say it was a successful favorable outcome and I can continue working without any additional financial hardship thanks to this firm!
  
 
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   Arteom Lupekha 
 April 14, 2023
 
 
  Excellent Experience Reece and his team worked quite quickly and we’re very responsive. They under promise and over deliver. Excellent experience from 3 traffic violations over a few years. Highly recommend!