I forgot about renewing my tag after my birthday and got a ticket for an expired tag shortly after my birthday. This is the first ticket for that I've ever gotten. I recieved my ticket by an atlanta city police officer in the city of Atlanta. He told me when he gave me the ticket that I could choose to "plead guilty" and just pay the fine which I planned on doing. When I called the next week to see how much the fine is, I was told by the court clerk that I had to appear in court and could not pay this. Is this normal for the city of Atlanta because I've never heard that I couldn't pay for this? She said that is a mandatory court appearance for expired tag / registration. The officer told me I could pay this, I would think he would know? And it even says on the back of the ticket "violations of: expired tag may be paid at the municipal court with valid documentation" but they still say I have to appear in court. Have you ever heard of this??? I would have thought I could just bring documentation to the clerk showing I have paid my tag fees and pay for the ticket. I know a few people who have gotten a ticket for this before but in other counties and they just paid it. Is this just Atlanta?

Understand that different courts have different policies. Often, these policies are put in place by the chief judge. You would be well advised to go to court on your regularly court date in order to speak to the solicitor(prosecutor). If you show them the that you've taken care of registration, they make dismiss the charge. If they won't dismiss it, the solicitor may significantly lower the fine amount. (Although paying early at the clerk's window may be an option with proper documentation, I've found this court not reliable when it comes to documenting your early appearance...SAVE YOUR RECEIPT!)  

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