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Written by:
Shivani Gite
Contributing Writer
Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.

There is no real difference between a citation and a ticket.  The word “ticket’ is considered a little less formal. A citation or ticket is an official summons for a violation and the two words are interchangeable when talking to law enforcement about a moving violation.

A citation or ticket will only affect your insurance if you are convicted of the moving violation for which it was written. For example, if you receive a ticket for speeding and you decide to plead guilty and pay the fine, the court will inform your Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV will enter the offense on your driving record. Your insurance company will then be able to see that offense the next time they pull your motor vehicle record (MVR).

How an offense affects your insurance bill depends on your insurance company. For example, a single speeding ticket may not affect your rates but likely will take away any good driver discount you may have gotten. However, if you have a previous moving violation conviction on your MVR, a second speeding ticket may cause your rates to rise.

Laura Longero

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Laura Longero

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Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.

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John McCormick

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John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.

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Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.

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Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.

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Contributing Writer

Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.