Search Gulf County Traffic Records

Traffic ticket records in Gulf County are filed at the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Port St. Joe. This small panhandle county handles all traffic citations through its single courthouse on Fifth Street. Whether you got a speeding ticket on US-98 heading through the county or a moving violation on a local road, the Gulf County Clerk is where you pay, contest, or set up traffic school for that citation. The office deals with both civil traffic infractions and criminal traffic matters, though each type follows a different process.

Gulf County Clerk of Court Office

All traffic ticket records in Gulf County go through the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The clerk takes in payments, files court documents, and keeps records for every traffic case. Staff can help you look up a citation by number or by name. They handle the full cycle of a ticket from start to finish: the initial filing, payment processing, traffic school paperwork, and court scheduling. Gulf County is part of the 14th Judicial Circuit, which also includes Bay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties.

The clerk's website at gulfclerk.com has basic info about court services. For online payments, you can also use the statewide portal. The office is inside the Gulf County Courthouse on Fifth Street, which is the main government building in Port St. Joe.

Paying Gulf County Traffic Tickets

You have 30 days from the date your citation was written to pay or respond to a traffic ticket in Gulf County. This rule comes from Florida Statute 318.14. Miss that deadline and you face a $16 late penalty. The Florida DHSMV will then move to suspend your license 20 days after a notice is mailed. Getting your license back costs at least $60 on top of whatever you owe. The 30-day clock starts the day the officer writes the citation, not the day you receive it.

Gulf County gives you several payment methods. Walk into the clerk's office in Port St. Joe to pay with cash, check, or money order. You can mail a check or money order to 1000 Fifth Street, Port St. Joe, FL 32465. For online payment, go to PayFLClerk.com, select Gulf County, and follow the steps. Credit and debit cards work online, though a service fee will be added. Some people also use AMSCOT locations across Florida to make cash payments toward their Gulf County tickets.

Keep your receipt. The clerk's office can look up your payment later, but having proof on hand saves time if there is ever a question about whether you paid.

Note: Paying a traffic ticket in Gulf County is the same as a guilty plea, and points will be added to your driving record.

Gulf County Traffic Fine Amounts

Fine amounts for Gulf County traffic tickets follow Florida Statute 318.18. These are base fines. Court costs and surcharges get stacked on top. A $60 base fine for a moving violation ends up costing well over $100 once all the extras are added. Nonmoving violations have a $30 base fine. Pedestrian infractions are just $15.

Speeding fines in Gulf County depend on how fast you were going. Between 6 and 9 mph over the limit is a $25 base fine. At 10 to 14 over, the base fine is $100. Go 15 to 19 over and you pay $150. Between 20 and 29 mph over carries $175. If you hit 30 or more mph over the speed limit, the fine jumps to $250 and a court hearing becomes mandatory. School zone speeding doubles the normal fine. Construction zone speeding also doubles when workers are on site. These amounts are set by state law, so they apply across all of Florida, Gulf County included.

Traffic School in Gulf County

If you want to avoid points on your license for a Gulf County traffic ticket, you may be able to elect traffic school. The formal name is the Basic Driver Improvement course. Contact the Gulf County Clerk within 30 days of your citation date and tell them you want to take this route. You will pay the citation fine with an 18% reduction. Then you have 90 days to finish an approved course. Once done, send your certificate to the clerk. Points will not go on your record if you complete everything on time.

Not everyone qualifies. CDL holders cannot use traffic school. Neither can anyone cited for going 30 mph or more over the speed limit. You can only elect this option five times in your lifetime, and not more than once in any 12-month period. The FLHSMV list of approved traffic schools shows which courses are accepted. Most are available online, so you do not have to attend in person.

Contesting Traffic Tickets in Gulf County

You can fight a ticket in Gulf County. Call or visit the clerk's office within 30 days and request a hearing. The clerk will schedule your day in court. At the hearing, you can present your side. If the judge agrees with you, the case is dropped. No fine, no points. But if the court finds you guilty, the penalty can be higher than the original ticket amount.

For standard traffic violations, the maximum court-imposed fine is $500 in Gulf County. School zone and construction zone speeding cases can result in fines up to $1,000. Court costs will also be added. People who plan to contest a ticket in Gulf County sometimes hire a traffic attorney, though it is not required. You can represent yourself at the hearing.

Gulf County Driving Record Checks

Traffic ticket records from Gulf County show up on your Florida driving record once the case closes. The FLHSMV keeps this record, not the Gulf County Clerk. You can pull your own record through the MyDMV Portal. A 3-year history costs $14.25. The 7-year or full history is $16.25. This report shows all tickets, points, suspensions, and other actions on your license from any Florida county.

For more information about your driving record, visit the FLHSMV driving record page. The FLHSMV traffic citations page also has general guidance about what happens when you get a ticket anywhere in Florida, including Gulf County.

The Gulf County Clerk's website at gulfclerk.com is a good starting point for local questions. The statewide Florida Clerks and Comptrollers site has a directory of every county clerk in the state, with direct links to payment portals.

Nearby Counties

Gulf County sits in the Florida panhandle and borders four other counties. Your ticket must be handled in the county where it was issued. Check the citation to confirm it says Gulf County before paying or contesting it here.