What masking a ticket means
A masked ticket still exists. The record that insurers and the public read shows it without points, or leaves it out. Four state rules publish a course that does this, and federal law bars it for every commercial license holder.
4 + 24 states and 2 Las Vegas courts keep a ticket's points off with a course
Rules checked . Updated .
Four things a course can do to a ticket
Every state rule in our data leads to one of four outcomes (checked October 2026). A course can dismiss the ticket, mask it, take points off it, or leave the record as it is and only lower an insurance premium. The outcomes differ in what stays on your driving record once you finish.
| Outcome | What stays on the record | State rules |
|---|---|---|
| Dismissal | No conviction, once you finish the course or meet the terms. | 7: Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Washington |
| Masking | The ticket stays on the record, kept confidential or out of view, with no points. | 4: California, Florida, Kentucky and Michigan |
| Points off | The conviction, with fewer points on your total. | 22, listed on the state table |
| Insurance only, or no program | The ticket and its points. A voluntary course may lower a premium where the state publishes one. | 18, listed on the state table |
Masking in the four states that publish it
Masking is our word for the group. Each state describes the outcome in its own terms, and the terms differ in who can still see the ticket.
California
California's Traffic Violator School keeps one conviction in any 18 month window confidential, so its point stays off the record insurers see. The court decides the request, and the clerk can approve an eligible ticket. Each court sets its own fee and the date to finish, and prints them on the courtesy notice. California rule, checked October 2026; source: Traffic school, California Courts Self Help Guide.
Florida
In Florida you choose a 4 hour Basic Driver Improvement course through the county clerk within 30 days of the ticket, in place of going to court. Adjudication is withheld and no points go on the record. You can elect it once in 12 months and, under the statute, 8 times in a lifetime; some county clerk pages still print a lower number, and the Florida page names them. Checked October 2026; source: The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception; procedures.
Kentucky
In Kentucky a District Court judge decides whether to refer you to State Traffic School; you cannot enroll on your own. After the referral you have 30 days to enroll. Finish it and the state assesses no points, and the entry stays off your 3 year public driving record. It still shows on the 5 year record that courts and agencies use. Kentucky rule, checked October 2026; source: KRS 186.574, State traffic school for new drivers and for traffic offenders; county attorney-operated traffic safety program.
Michigan
In Michigan the Department of State decides who may take the Basic Driver Improvement Course and mails a letter to eligible drivers. You then have 60 days to finish a course of at least 4 hours. Pass it and the ticket goes on your record without points, and insurers are not shown it. You still pay the fine and court costs, and you can pass the course once in your life. Michigan rule, checked October 2026; source: Basic Driver Improvement Course (BDIC) eligibility, Michigan Department of State.
Two Las Vegas courts
The Nevada state rule takes points off. Two Las Vegas courts publish a route of their own: they amend a moving violation to a non-moving one before it reaches the DMV. At the Las Vegas Justice Court that follows a 5 hour traffic safety course or a demerit point reduction fee; the Las Vegas Municipal Court applies its Rule 2.7. Both court records checked October 2026.
A masked ticket stays on file
Each of these states keeps a trace of the ticket. Kentucky keeps it on the 5 year record that courts and agencies read. Michigan puts it on your record without points. California keeps the conviction and holds back the point. Who may read the full record is set by each state's record laws, which this guide does not cover.
Commercial license holders cannot have a ticket masked
Federal rule 49 CFR 384.226 forbids a state to mask a traffic conviction of anyone who holds a commercial driver's license or a commercial learner's permit, or to defer judgment or allow diversion that would keep the conviction off the driver's record. It covers violations in any vehicle, your own car included, in your home state or another one. Parking, vehicle weight and vehicle defect violations fall outside it.
The checker applies that rule. A CDL holder gets Not eligible where a dismissal or masking program is closed to commercial license holders or publishes nothing about them. Where a state opens its program to them anyway, as Kentucky and Arizona do, the course can keep the points off while the conviction posts, so the answer is Points off. Point reduction programs sit outside the federal bar; where one publishes nothing for CDL holders, the answer asks you to confirm with your court.
| Ticket | Answer |
|---|---|
| California, Los Angeles County, 10 mph over on a 65 mph road | Not eligible |
| Florida, Orange County, 10 mph over on a 65 mph road | Not eligible |
| Arizona, Phoenix Municipal Court, red light | Points off |
| Kentucky, court not known, 10 mph over on a 65 mph road | Points off (confirm with your court) |
| New York, 10 mph over on a 65 mph road | Points off (confirm with your court) |
California describes a point-only route for a commercial license holder ticketed in a personal car: the course holds back the point, and the conviction stays visible. The California rule records the program as closed to CDL holders, so the checker answers Not eligible there; the California page describes the route.
How the checker shows masking
Dismissal and masking both lead to Eligible, and the first reason under the answer names the program and what it does. Points off covers every program that leaves the conviction in place. The methodology sets out the order of the checks.