Information Regarding Violation Notices (Tickets) and Central Violations Bureau (CVB) - Bakersfield Court
Central Violations Bureau (CVB)
If a Defendant Cannot Make a Scheduled Court Date
If You Fail to Pay your Fine or Appear for Your Scheduled Court Date
Changing the Court Location Where Your Violation Notice is Heard
Contact Information for the Court
Central Violations Bureau (CVB):
The Central Violation Bureau (CVB) is the Federal Court’s national center for processing violation notices (tickets) and payments in federal petty and misdemeanor offenses. (“Petty offenses” are those punishable by up to six months in prison. Misdemeanors can be punished by up to one year in prison.)
For information on how to pay a ticket, please visit the CVB website at www.cvb.uscourts.gov or contact CVB directly at 1-800-827-2982. You may pay a ticket by mail or on-line through CVB’s website: Pay Violation On-Line. Do not mail a payment directly to the Court unless specifically told to do so by the Court.
Additional questions may be answered under the “FAQ” or “Instructions” captions at: www.cvb.uscourts.gov.
Violation Notices (Tickets) Information:
When a federal law enforcement agency issues a ticket, it sends the original to the CVB in San Antonio, Texas. CVB enters the ticket into its database and tracks it and its payment history until the case is closed.
If CVB does not receive payment on a ticket within 30 days of its issuance, it will mail you/the defendant a notice to appear in court. This notice will be mailed approximately three (3) weeks prior to the scheduled court date.
Violation Notice (Ticket) or Notice to Appear Marked with a fine amount
If a dollar amount is shown on your ticket in the section called “Total Collateral Due” (Box B) or in the “Amount Due” section of your Notice to Appear, you may choose to do one of the following:
· Pay the fine before the court date by mailing a check to CVB or pay on-line at www.cvb.uscourts.gov. Your record will show you have been convicted of the offense, the case will be closed, and you will not need to appear in court (See the CVB “Notice to Appear” sent to you for further information).
OR
· Appear in court on the scheduled hearing date and request a Payment Plan as provided in the section so titled, below.
OR
· Do not pay the fine and appear in court on the scheduled date, time, and place and contest the ticket. At the court hearing, you will be able to set your case for a later trial. No trial will be held on the date of your first appearance. Alternatively, you may also plead guilty at the court hearing and you will be sentenced at that time.
Violation Notice (Ticket) or Notice to Appear Marked “Mandatory Appearance” or “Appearance Required”:
If “MA” or “Mandatory Appearance” or “Appearance Required” appears in Box A of your ticket or in the “Amount Due” section of your Notice to Appear, you must appear in court at the date, time, and place indicated on the notice of hearing.
If you cannot appear in court at the scheduled time, you must call the appropriate Court Division (Bakersfield) to reschedule the appearance.
If you do not appear in court as scheduled or rescheduled in the manner provided below, an arrest warrant will be issued and/or a notice will be sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles which issued your license and your driving privileges may be suspended.
For additional information, please visit the ticket instructions page of the CVB website, or contact CVB directly at 1-800-827-2982.
If You Cannot Make a Scheduled Court Date:
First Appearance: The Court may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, grant one request for a continuance of a court date. No one should assume a continuance will be granted merely because requested. If you are represented by an attorney, no continuance will be considered until your attorney makes a formal written appearance in the case.
A request to continue must be made at least one week prior to the scheduled hearing date. Please send a written request for a continuance by email to Courtroom Deputy Susan Hall at shall@caed.uscourts.gov or call the Court at (661) 326-6624. You will not be excused from the original date until you receive notice of the continued date.
If You Fail to Pay your Fine or Appear for Your Scheduled Court Date:
If you fail to pay your fine or appear in court at the time scheduled, the Court will issue a warrant for your arrest and refer it to the United States Marshal for execution. If you are charged with a motor vehicle violation and fail to appear or pay your full fine, the Court will report a hold, an “abstract”, to the Department of Motor Vehicles of the state where your driving license was issued. This hold may affect your driving and registration privileges and the registration privilege for any vehicle involved in the offense.
Additionally, a failure to appear or timely pay a fine will cause the fine to be increased. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 58; Eastern District of California Local Rule 410; and Collateral Forfeiture Schedule (General Order No. 574), effective December 3, 2020, at Section (e).
To remove the warrant and hold on your driver’s license/vehicle registration, you have the following options (with further explanation as to each below):
OPTION ONE (Request a Court Hearing): If you wish to request a hearing, you must submit a written request by email to shall@caed.uscourts.gov. You will have only limited options for setting the matter on the Court’s calendar. You must appear at the time selected. Your request will be promptly processed. You will receive a confirmation email notifying you of the date and time your matter is scheduled for court. Your warrant will not be removed until you personally appear at the court hearing and then only if the judge orders it removed. Merely requesting a hearing or having a hearing scheduled will not remove your warrant or the hold on your driver’s license or car registration.
OR
OPTION TWO (Pay in Full Your Original Fine plus the additional Failure to Appear Charge): If your original ticket required only that you pay a fine, you can pay the original fine plus the additional fine assessment for your failure to appear. The total amount must be paid in full (original fine plus increased fine) before any warrant or hold will be removed. [NOTE: If your original ticket stated that your appearance was “Mandatory” or “Required”, your only option is to request a hearing under Option 1, above.]
Increased Fine Amounts
To determine the increased fine amount due to your failure to appear or pay on time, refer to the United States Marshal Service’s letter advising you of the warrant (that letter will advise you of the increased fine amount you need to pay). If you did not receive such a letter, you may call the Central Violations Bureau (CVB) at (800) 827-2982 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm (Central Time) or email at info@cvb.uscourts.gov. Include in your phone call or email your full name as it appears on your violation notice (ticket) and your violation notice (ticket) number. If you contact CVB within 30 days of your original failure to appear, your increased fine amount may not yet be calculated; be sure to ask CVB if the amount CVB shows due and owing includes a failure to pay fees or email the Court at shall@caed.uscourts.gov.
Once you determine the full amount due on your ticket, you may pay either on-line at www.cvb.uscourts.gov (click “Pay On-Line”) or mail a check, made payable to “CVB”, to Central Violations Bureau, P.O. Box 71363, Philadelphia, PA 19176-1363. Please put your name, ticket number and location code on your check for accurate processing.
Under Option 2, your warrant and hold will be removed only after the fine amounts are paid in FULL, not before (unless you appear in court and the Court orders your warrant to be removed). If you wish to contest your ticket or the amount of the fine, you must select Option One, above.
If you have questions about your ticket or your arrest warrant, you may contact the Federal Defender’s office at (559) 487-5561 and ask for the attorney who handles misdemeanor cases. You may be entitled to a court appointed attorney if you cannot afford counsel.
Motor Vehicle Offense Points:
If you plead guilty to a traffic violation, points may be assessed against your driving record. An accumulation of points may result in the suspension of your license. Your license may also be suspended if you plead guilty or are found guilty of certain offenses under the vehicle code of your state. A driver's education course (traffic school) may be an option to prevent accumulating points or having your license suspended. If you are considering this option, see discussion of Traffic School section, below.
Traffic School:
With consent from the United States Attorney’s office, the Court may offer you the opportunity to avoid points on your driving record by attending traffic school. You may qualify for traffic school if the following requirements are met:
- Your Violation Notice involves a moving violation;
- You have not attended traffic school for a moving violation within 18 months of the date of your ticket;
- You do not possess a commercial driver’s license;
- You were not cited for speeding more than 25 miles over the posted speed limit; or
- You were not cited for an offense involving alcohol or a controlled substance.
If you wish to attend traffic school, you must appear in court to make your request to both the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Court for traffic school. In the event you request and receive from the Court a continuance of your first appearance for good cause shown (request procedures discussed above), you may at that time request information about traffic school by submitting a written request to shall@caed.uscourts.gov at least one (1) week prior to your scheduled court appearance.
If your request for traffic school is granted, you will receive a “Notice and Order of Traffic School” from the Court. You must still pay the fine, but not until you complete traffic school. The Notice and Order of Traffic School will identify your case, the fine amount, and the deadline for completing traffic school (usually three months). You must complete traffic school by the deadline stated; no exceptions.
You must use a Traffic School certified by the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) in your state of licensure. (Consult your State’s DMV, telephone directory or internet for a listing of certified traffic schools. Do not contact the Court, its Clerk or CVB for such information.) The traffic school you select must email your completion certificate to you so you can mail a copy of it, along with your fine payment and the “Notice and Order of Traffic School”, to CVB at U.S. Courts-CVB, P.O. Box 780549, San Antonio, TX 78278-0549. Your completed certificate MUST be provided to CVB, and this is your sole responsibility. A completion certificate electronically sent by the traffic school will NOT reach the CVB.
Without exception, these items and the fine payment must be received by CVB prior to the completion date to avoid the ticket being reported to your State’s DMV. If you fail to comply with these procedures, your attendance at traffic school will not serve to protect your record from points or otherwise.
Please note, too, that these are the traffic school options and procedures for federal court only. You must check with the governmental agency that issued your driver’s license for the ultimate decision as to what, if any, credit you receive for traffic school.
The decision to allow traffic school lies solely with the Court. If your request is denied, you can pay the full fine listed on your ticket or appear in court at the time scheduled. If you receive no notice granting your request for traffic school before your scheduled court hearing, you must attend the scheduled court hearing. As noted, a failure to timely pay your fine or appear in court may result in a warrant being issued for your arrest, an increase in the fine amounts and a hold being placed on your driving record.
You always have a right to plead not guilty and receive a trial. You also always have the right to timely pay the fine listed on your ticket (if a fine is listed).
If your ticket is marked “MA”, “Mandatory” or “Appearance Required”, you must appear in court at the time scheduled and discuss the matter with a representative of the United States Attorney’s office. This traffic school procedure is not available for mandatory appearances.
Please note: If your fine has already been paid and your case is closed, the Court will NOT reopen your ticket for purposes of processing a request for traffic school; no exceptions.
Changing the Court Location for your Hearing:
The courthouse where you are ordered to appear is the courthouse for the judicial district where the offense was alleged to have been committed, not where you reside. If you wish to change the location to a courthouse closer to where you live, you have two options:
OPTION 1 (Appear in Original Court and file a Motion for Change of Venue): You may request that your case be heard in a different court, but you must do so by filing a motion in the court where you were originally ordered to appear. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 21. To do so, you must appear in the original court and request that a motion hearing schedule be set. The Court will set dates for you to file your motion, for opposition to it to be filed, and the date of the hearing on the motion. In deciding the motion, the Court will consider your reasons for wanting to transfer the case, views of the prosecution, convenience of witnesses and victims, and the interests of justice.
OR
OPTION 2 (Agree to Plead Guilty in the Transferred Court): Under federal law, you may have your case automatically transferred without the need for you to appear but only if you agree to plead guilty to the offense in the transferred court. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 58(c)(2). To pursue this process, you must first contact the United States Attorney’s office at USACAE.FresnoMisd@usdoj.gov or call the “Misdemeanor Unit” at (559) 497-4000 and obtain the necessary paperwork to plead guilty and transfer your case. Your email or telephone call must reference your name, violation number(s) and contact information.
If your case is not transferred before the date you are scheduled to appear, you must appear at the Court at the time and place originally ordered to appear; otherwise, a warrant for your arrest may be issued.
Contact Information for the Court:
If this website has not answered your question or you need to make a request over the phone, then contact the Court at (661) 326-6624. You may be required to leave a message, so please be prepared to leave your full name (as reported on your violation notice), violation notice (ticket) number, the date you are scheduled to appear in court, and state your question or request. Please note that under no circumstances can a Court representative give you legal advice.