San Francisco County Traffic School

San Francisco is a city and a county at once. The Census Bureau's guide to California geography says the two have consolidated functions, and its estimate for July 1, 2025 gives the county 826,079 residents, the same count it gives the city. Interstate 80 arrives over the Bay Bridge from the East Bay. US 101 crosses the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County and leaves south toward San Mateo County, and Interstate 280 runs from near the bay south into Daly City. State Route 1 splits from US 101 near the bridge and crosses the west side, and State Route 35, Skyline Boulevard, leaves the southwest corner.

The California Office of Traffic Safety ranks all 58 counties on crash harm, and 1st is the worst place to be. For 2023 it counted 4,260 people killed or injured in San Francisco County, 34th of 58, mid-table. Walking tells a different story. The county ranked 1st in California for pedestrians killed or injured, with 664, and 1st again for pedestrians 65 and older, with 126. OTS ranks San Francisco as a city too, in a separate table, so compare these figures only with other counties.

When the court allows traffic school, you pay the full bail plus a non-refundable administrative fee and select the traffic school option as you pay. The court sets that fee and the time you have to finish, counted from the day you pay, and its traffic school page shows both. The conditions are strict: a valid California driver's license, an eligible Vehicle Code infraction worth no more than one DMV point, nothing tied to alcohol or drugs, no more than 25 mph over the limit, and no tank vehicle citation under Vehicle Code section 22406.5. The court's agreement counts the 18-month look-back from the issue date of the earlier traffic school citation to that of the new one.

Adult traffic cases use two buildings downtown. The Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street offers window services only, where you pay, schedule an arraignment or ask for an ability to pay review. Hearings take place in a second-floor courtroom at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street. For the DMV, the code is what counts. The court's agreement tells drivers to give their school the Hall of Justice number, 38460, so the completion reaches the right court. Drivers under 18 go to Juvenile Traffic Court at 375 Woodside Avenue, DMV code 38200. A ticket from the CHP's San Francisco Area, whose patrol starts at the Bay Bridge toll plaza, or from its Marin Area goes to this same court as one from city police.

Some San Francisco tickets never reach the court. Parking tickets belong to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, SFMTA, and the court says it does not handle them. Since August 2025, SFMTA has also mailed speeding tickets from street cameras, which it calls civil penalties and handles through its own payment and protest steps. Red light camera tickets are court citations with a traffic school option. Check who sent your notice before you buy a course.