Missed Court Dates/Payments

If you missed a court date on a criminal or criminal traffic case and need to quash a warrant or make sure a warrant is not issued, please report to the District Court Clerk on the third floor of the Ferry County Courthouse. Please bring your case number with you.

If you have missed a court date for an infraction mitigation or contested hearing, you must write the Court or personally appear at the counter to request another hearing. Your request must be received by the Court within 15 days from the date of your missed hearing. Requesting another hearing does not stop your driver's license from being suspended by the Washington state Department of Licensing (DOL).

If DOL has notified you your driver's license will be suspended because you missed a mitigation or contested hearing, you may stop the suspension of your license by:

• Reporting to the District Court counter before the suspension date shown in the DOL suspension letter you received, and
• Paying or posting the entire penalty plus an additional $52 FTA fee.

You must pay by cash or money order to stop the immediate suspension of your driver's license. If you pay by personal check, the suspension will not be stopped until the check clears your bank. It normally takes up to 14 days for a check to clear a bank.

If you have received a traffic infraction or non-traffic infraction within the last 15 days and cannot, within 15 days from the date you received the ticket, either pay your penalty in full or respond to the Court requesting a mitigation or contested hearing, and if you have not received a prior extension, you may request and be granted a one-time extension.

If you did not respond within the required 15 days from the date you received your ticket, you are not eligible for an extension. After the 15-day period has passed, the Court automatically enters a finding that the infraction was committed and, pursuant to law, adds a $52 fee for failure to respond. If the infraction is a traffic citation, the Court, pursuant to law, issues a document called an FTA (Failure to Appear). The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is notified and DOL begins the process of suspending your driving privilege. DOL will send you a letter advising you your license will be suspended unless you take care of your ticket before the suspension date designated in their letter. To stop the suspension of your license, you must report to the Court and pay the full penalty plus the $52 FTA fee.

If your case has been sent to the collection agency, you must contact the collection agency that has been assigned to your case. You must contact Ferry County District Court at (509) 775-5225, ext 2504 for the number of the appropriate collection agency. It is helpful to have your case number (or numbers) available when contacting the collection agency. Once a case is sent to the collection agency, the court will not accept your payment on the fine. You must pay all amounts due directly to the appropriate collection agency. When you have paid your account in full, the collection agency will notify the Court and the Court will contact DOL to remove your FTA.