Blount County - Forty-First Circuit Court of Alabama

Defensive Driving School

Instructions for those approved for driving school though Online Traffic Resolution (OTR) only.

NOTE: If you have not yet been approved for driving school, you can apply at: https://resolve.alacourt.gov. You must have a non-CDL current driver’s license to apply.

You may attend driving school locally when approved by the court. Contact 205-324-9797 to set up a date and time to attend. You must tell them your completion deadline date. You may also complete a four hour online driving school that is approved by the National Safety Council. You may attend a four-hour driving school in your county if it is NSC certified. The driving school will provide you with the cost information. Our Judge also accepts the online course with I Drive Safely.com or Alabama Safe Driver. In some instances the Judge may require you to attend an eight-hour class.

IMPORTANT! If you change your mind about attending defensive driving school after you have already submitted your request to the Court, you must wait until the Judge approves or denies your request. If, after you receive a response back from the Judge, you change your mind and want to just pay the ticket, go back to the OTR website, and then check the box to RESET Ticket.

“I have changed my mind and decided NOT to attend driving school.”

This action will allow the ticket to be reset in the system so that you can select another option in OTR or appear in court on the original court date on the ticket.

STEPS TO COMPLY

Successfully complete Defensive Driving School
Go back to https://resolve.alacourt.gov and upload the certificate of completion to the court.

After you have uploaded your certificate of completion, you will be able to Pay Court Costs from the OTR menu. Click the green button, Pay Court Costs.
After you have submitted the DDS Certificate to the Court and the Court Costs have been paid, the Judge will issue an order to dismiss the ticket.

FAILURE TO COMPLY

Failure to complete the Defensive Driving School (DDS) by the date on the original approval order from the Judge will result in you losing your driving school privilege and your case being set for trial.
If DDS is denied, you may plead guilty and pay the ticket, or select one of the other OTR options, or appear in court on the court date on the ticket. However, if you fail to do one of these by the court date on your ticket, you may be:
- subject to additional fines
- your driver’s license may be suspended by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA)
- a warrant may be issued for your arrest
- a new court date may be set for Trial or Review

REQUEST MORE TIME TO PAY (90 Days)

One of the options on the OTR website is to plead guilty but request more time to pay the citation. If this option is selected, the OTR system will give you a date that is 90 days from the date you agreed to this option. This request for more time to pay will be sent to the Judge and the Judge will issue an order based on this request.

FAILURE TO COMPLY

If you fail to pay by the allowed extension, you may be:

Subject to additional fines
Your driver’s license may be suspended by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA)
A warrant may be issued for your arrest
A new court date may be set for Trial or Review

If you are granted 90 days(90 days begin on the day you plead guilty and is not exactly three months from said date} to pay and go beyond the 90 days to make your payment/payments a 30 percent collection fee will be added to your balance.

PLEA OF GUILTY – WAIVER OF RIGHTS

The back of the defendant’s copy of the Traffic Citation issued by Alabama State Troopers or Sheriff’s Deputy contains the PLEA OF GUILTY – WAIVER OF RIGHTS form that the defendant should read carefully so they understand that by paying the ticket before their court appearance date, they are pleading guilty and are waiving their right to a Trial before a Judge. On the OTR system, when selecting Option B, the defendant must enter their full name in the box acknowledging that they have read this statement before submitting their request to the court.

OTR OPTIONS D-G

EQUIPMENT VIOLATION OR WINDOW TINT TICKETS

The equipment violation or window tint option on the OTR website allows the defendant an opportunity to upload a signed Defective Equipment Repaired (Officer’s Recommendation to Dismiss Charge) form or the form required for the window tint to the court. The Judge has the discretion to dismiss the ticket outright or to dismiss with conditions. You may have repairs/window tint removal inspected by any law enforcement officer with the information below filled in and the officer’s signature and ID#. This may be done anytime prior to the court date. Once this is complete upload your ticket here and it will be dismissed.

A copy of the form (see screenshot above) can be downloaded and printed from the OTR website (https://resolve.alacourt.gov by clicking on the More Information button).

NO INSURANCE TICKETS

The No Insurance ticket option on the OTR website allows the defendant to upload proof of current insurance that they had at the time of the citation or to upload proof of insurance obtained after the citation was issued. The Judge has the discretion to dismiss the ticket outright or to dismiss with conditions if the proof of insurance is accepted in either of these two options.

If you did not have insurance at the time of the ticket but have since purchased insurance, you may upload the proof of insurance (insurance card) and pay $205.00 court cost. If you had valid insurance at the time of your ticket you may upload proof of insurance and the ticket will be dismissed at no charge. If you do not have insurance the option to pay the ticket in full is available and you may also request additional 90 days to pay in full without penalty. If none of these options apply you must appear in court.

IMPORTANT! Alabama Code Section 32-7A-12 (2020)

Please Read!

NO DRIVER’S LICENSE TICKETS

The No Driver’s License option on the OTR website allows the defendant to upload proof of a valid driver’s license that they had at the time of the citation or obtained after the citation but before the court date on the ticket. The Judge has the discretion to dismiss the ticket outright or to dismiss with conditions if the proof of valid driver’s license is accepted by the court.

Proof of valid driver’s license at the time of the ticket may be uploaded and the ticket will be dismissed at no charge. If driver’s license was obtained after the date of the ticket, then you may upload proof of license and pay $205.00 court cost. If you do not have valid driver’s license the option to plead guilty and pay $280.00 is available. You may also request an additional 90 days to pay in full without penalty.

Expired Tag/Improper

The Expired/Improper Tag option on the OTR website allows the defendant to upload proof of a valid tag registration (receipt) that they had at the time of the citation or obtained after the citation but before the court date on the ticket. The Judge has the discretion to dismiss the ticket outright or to dismiss with conditions if the proof of valid tag registration is accepted by the court.

If you have proof of a valid tag at the time of the ticket you may upload proof of the same and the ticket will be dismissed at no charge. If you purchased your tag after you received the ticket you may upload proof of the proper tag and pay $205.00 to resolve the ticket. If you do not have a valid tag registration you may plea guilty and pay $230.00. You may request an additional 90 days to pay in full without penalty.

SWITCHED TAG MUST APPEAR IN COURT!

PLEAD NOT GUILTY AND REQUEST A TRIAL

The OTR website offers defendants who wish to plead NOT GUILTY and request a trial an opportunity to request this without having to come to court on a first appearance. The OTR menu gives an option to ask for an in-person trial or a Virtual Hearing (over Zoom). The Judge hearing your case has the discretion to order either option. However, if you are ordered to appear over Virtual Hearing per the Judge’s order, AND you do not have the requirements to appear over Zoom or if you are ordered to appear in-person AND you do not have the ability to do so, you must contact the Circuit Clerk’s office as soon as you receive the order from the Judge. Virtual hearings are not an option in Blount County District/Traffic Court. Any hearing/trial requested will be in person.

On the OTR system, when selecting Option H, the defendant must enter their full name in the box acknowledging that they have read this statement before submitting their request to the court. If you enter a guilty plea then you no longer have the option for a trial. If you enter a not guilty plea and request a trial, then you will receive an email with an order setting your trial date.

ANY HEARING OR TRIAL IN BLOUNT COUNTY DISTRICT/TRAFFIC COURT WILL BE HELD IN PERSON. VIRTUAL HEARINGS OR TRIALS ARE NOT AN OPTION PER DISTRICT JUDGE SHERRY BURNS.