Missed Court in California: What Happens Next

California failure to appear law

In California, missing a required court date after release can be charged as its own crime. The statute grades it by the kind of case:

• Released on a felony charge: felony. A person charged with or convicted of a felony who is released on bail and willfully fails to appear in order to evade the court is guilty of a felony. (Pen. Code § 1320.5)

  who in order to evade the process of the court willfully fails to appear as required, is guilty of a felony.

• Released on a felony charge: felony. A person released on own recognizance on a felony charge who willfully fails to appear in order to evade the court is guilty of a felony. (Pen. Code § 1320(b))

  Every person who is charged with or convicted of the commission of a felony who is released from custody on his or her own recognizance and who in order to evade the process of the court willfully fails to appear as required, is guilty of a felony

• Released on a misdemeanor charge: misdemeanor. A person released on own recognizance on a misdemeanor charge who willfully fails to appear in order to evade the court is guilty of a misdemeanor. A willful failure to appear within 14 days of the date is presumed to be intended to evade the court. It does not apply to a person who posted bail. (Pen. Code § 1320(a))

  Every person who is charged with or convicted of the commission of a misdemeanor who is released from custody on his or her own recognizance and who in order to evade the process of the court willfully fails to appear as required, is guilty of a misdemeanor. It shall be presumed that a defendant who willfully fails to appear within 14 days of the date assigned for his or her appearance intended to evade the process of the court.

• Summons or citation: misdemeanor. Willfully breaking a written promise to appear given on a citation, or a granted continuance of it, is a misdemeanor, whatever happens to the original charge. (Pen. Code § 853.7)

  Any person who willfully violates his or her written promise to appear or a lawfully granted continuance of his or her promise to appear in court is guilty of a misdemeanor, regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he or she was originally arrested.

• Traffic citation: misdemeanor. Willfully violating a written promise to appear on a traffic citation is a misdemeanor, whatever happens to the original charge. (Veh. Code § 40508(a))

  A person willfully violating their written promise to appear or a lawfully granted continuance of their promise to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail is guilty of a misdemeanor regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which the person was originally arrested.

The statute’s mental-state words are “willfully, in order to evade the process of the court”, so the reason the date was missed can matter.

When a date is missed, the court’s order is called a bench warrant of arrest (Pen. Code § 978.5).

Driver’s license after a missed traffic date in California

AB 2746 repealed the rule that courts notify the DMV when a driver breaks a written promise to appear, so a new missed traffic date no longer leads to a DMV suspension; Vehicle Code 13365 reaches only notices already on file and is itself repealed on January 1, 2027. (AB 2746 (Stats. 2022, ch. 800), Legislative Counsel's Digest)

The bill would repeal the above-described authorization and requirement that the court notify the DMV of a violation of a written promise to appear or a lawfully granted continuance of their promise to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail. The bill would make other conforming changes.

Note: Veh. Code § 13365 remains in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed (Stats. 2022, ch. 800).

Bail and bonds after a missed date in California

If the defendant appears, is surrendered or is arrested within 180 days of the forfeiture (or of the mailed notice), the court vacates the forfeiture and exonerates the bond. (Pen. Code § 1305(c)(1))

Window to ask the court to set the forfeiture aside: 180 days from forfeiture or from mailing of the notice.

To compare what posting bail costs in California, see the California bail bond calculator.

How to deal with a missed date in California

Only the court that set the date can recall a warrant or give a new date. Contact that court’s clerk, or the lawyer or public defender on the case, who can ask the court to recall or quash the warrant.

• The court system’s own guide: California Courts Self-Help: traffic tickets
• Official case search: California Courts: find your county court (case searches are run by each court)
• How to check for a warrant in California