Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's 10-day clock, and why paying counts as a conviction
No dismissal course. No supervision. No nolo card. In PA you either fight the ticket at a summary trial or it becomes a conviction with points, and the clock to choose runs 10 days from the citation. The one mercy: a clean year quietly erases 3 points.
Verified against: PennDOT · PA Code · PA General Assembly
Pennsylvania · verdict machine
Question 1
Has it been more than 10 days since the ticket was issued?
- Speeding: 2 points at 6-10 over, 3 at 11-15, 4 at 16-25, 5 at 26+, and 31+ adds a mandatory departmental hearing. Work-zone versions stack a 15-day suspension. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1535 PennDOT fact sheet
- 6 points the first time: written exam within 30 days or suspension. Second time: a hearing. 11 points: automatic suspension, 5 days per point. PennDOT fact sheet
- 12 violation-free months removes 3 points; hit zero and stay clean a year and the counter fully resets. § 1537
- There is no "just pay it quietly" in PA: payment is a guilty plea, and an unanswered citation can be recorded as one by default. Pa.R.Crim.P. 407single source · verify
- At the summary trial the officer must appear and prove the case; a respectful not-guilty plea costs you the hearing time and, if you lose, the fine you'd have paid anyway.
75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1535, 1537 · Pa.R.Crim.P. 407 (234 Pa. Code) · PennDOT point system fact sheet (March 2024). Linked inline; single-source claims chipped.