Missed Court in Connecticut: What Happens Next

What Connecticut law says can follow a missed court date: whether it is a separate crime, the driver’s license rule for traffic cases, what happens to bail, and the court’s own next steps. It runs in your browser and nothing is stored.

What kind of case was the court date for?
How was the person released before the date?

Pick the state, the kind of case and how the person was released to see what that state’s law says.

Connecticut failure to appear law

In Connecticut, 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: class D felony. Wilfully failing to appear while charged with a felony and out on bail or other release is failure to appear in the first degree, a class D felony. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-172)
    Failure to appear in the first degree is a class D felony.
  • Released on a misdemeanor charge: class A misdemeanor. Wilfully failing to appear while charged with a misdemeanor or a jailable motor vehicle violation is failure to appear in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-173)
    Failure to appear in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

The statute’s mental-state words are “wilfully”, so the reason the date was missed can matter.

When a date is missed, the court’s order is called a rearrest warrant or capias (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-2e).

Driver’s license after a missed traffic date in Connecticut

When a person charged with a motor vehicle violation or infraction wilfully fails to appear or pay, the court sends a report to the DMV commissioner, who has general discretion to suspend a license. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-140(b))

a report of such failure shall be sent to the commissioner by the court having jurisdiction.

Bail and bonds after a missed date in Connecticut

A defendant who returns voluntarily within five business days of the forfeiture may have the forfeiture vacated and the bond reinstated if the court finds the failure was not wilful. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-65a)

Window to ask the court to set the forfeiture aside: Five business days (voluntary return); six-month stay of execution on surety bonds of $500 or more.

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

How to deal with a missed date in Connecticut

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.

What this page does not do

  • It does not check whether a warrant was issued in any case or whether anyone will be arrested.
  • Whether a separate failure-to-appear charge is filed is the prosecutor’s decision; what happens to bail is the court’s.
  • It collects nothing; your choices stay in your browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is failure to appear a crime in Connecticut?

Yes. Released on a felony charge: class D felony under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-172; Released on a misdemeanor charge: class A misdemeanor under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-173.

Is missing court a felony in Connecticut?

In some cases. released on a felony charge: class D felony under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-172. Otherwise: released on a misdemeanor charge: class A misdemeanor under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-173.

Will Connecticut suspend my license for missing a traffic court date?

When a person charged with a motor vehicle violation or infraction wilfully fails to appear or pay, the court sends a report to the DMV commissioner, who has general discretion to suspend a license. The rule is in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-140(b).

Sources

Checked against the sources above on October 20, 2026.

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