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Disputing the Offense

If you believe you have been unfairly cited and want to handle the ticket yourself, you must research the matter, beginning with the ticket itself.

What has to be on the ticket for it to be valid?

The following elements must be present on the ticket or it is invalid and will be dismissed:

• the ticket must state the correct time, date and location;
• the car must be properly identified by make and model and its license plate must be correctly noted;
• the driver and the officer must sign the ticket; and
• speeding tickets must specify the speed limit and driver's speed.

The ticket must set out the laws that were violated with specificity. If the ticket does not reflect the correct law you violated, the ticket will be dismissed.

TIP: It is up to you to bring these issues to the prosecutor or judge's attention.