Appeal a traffic ticket decision

Fill out Notice of Appeal and Record of Oral Proceedings (form CR-142). Turn it in to the court where your trial happened.

You must file this no later than 30 days after the court made the decision. This is usually the day the judge told you to pay a fine or do something else.

✅ There’s no fee to file it.

On form CR-142, you need to tell the court if the appellate division should get a copy of what was said at your trial. This is called the record of the oral proceedings.

If your appeal involves something the judge or others said in court, the appellate judges need this record to review your case.

Check the box on the form to say you want to send a record. Then choose one of these three options:

• Official electronic recording or transcript – if your trial was recorded

• Reporter’s transcript – if there was a court reporter at your trial

• Statement on Appeal – if your trial was not recorded and there was no court reporter. This is a summary of what happened at your trial, and the judge who heard your case must approve it.

If you chose Statement on Appeal, fill out Proposed Statement on Appeal (form CR-143) within 20 days after filing form CR-142.

Steps:

1. Fill out form CR-143

2. Have someone (not you) who is 18 or older mail it to the prosecutor 

3. File the form with a Proof of Service (form APP-109) by the deadline at the trial court

Service can be tricky. Read more so you know how to do it.

After you serve and file form CR-143

• The prosecutor has 10 days to suggest changes (called amendments).

• The judge will read your statement and any suggested changes.

• If the judge makes changes, the court will send you both the updated version.

If you disagree with the judge’s version, you have 10 days to send in your objections. The judge will look at your objections and make any final changes.

Once it's final, the judge will approve (certify) the statement. The court clerk will send it to the appellate court as the record of oral proceedings.

You must write, serve, and file a brief by a deadline. This is the hardest part of the appeal process. You must follow many court rules and may need to do legal research.

The brief is a written explanation of:

• The facts in your case

• The law that applies

• What legal mistake the judge made

• How that mistake changed the outcome

The best briefs clearly explain your side using the trial record and the law. Writing a strong brief often takes special legal knowledge.

📅 Once the appellate division gets the full trial record, the court clerk will send you a notice with your deadline. This is usually 30 days after the record is filed, but it could be different.

1. Write your brief

2. Have someone (not you) who is 18 or older mail it to the prosecutor 

3. File your brief with a Proof of Service (form APP-109) by the deadline at the appellate division

Service can be tricky. Read more so you know how to do it.

If the prosecutor writes a brief in response (a respondent’s brief), they must serve it to you. If you want, you can write a reply brief to respond to theirs. You must serve and file your reply within 20 days of getting their brief.

Want to read the official court rules?

The rules about writing and filing a brief are in California Rules of Court, rules 8.926 to 8.928. These rules are written for lawyers, so they may be hard to understand.

If you want the appellate division to look at something used in your trial (like a photo), ask the trial court to send it. You must ask within 10 days after the last brief is filed.

After all briefs are turned in (or the deadline to turn them in has passed), the court will let you know if there will be an oral argument.

Oral argument is your chance to talk to the judges in person. You can explain your side and answer questions. It is optional.

• If you don’t want oral argument, you can give up your right to have it (this is called waiving)

• The prosecutor can also waive their right.

If both sides waive oral argument, the judges will decide the appeal by reading the briefs and the trial record.

If only one side waives, the judges will still hear oral argument from the side that wants it.

After oral argument (or the date it would happen), the judges have 90 days to decide.

The court will mail you the decision.