Has your driver’s license been suspended due to not having enough money to pay a traffic fine plus court costs?
Please read this webpage carefully. It will save you days of time and help you get your life back!!
But it is up to you to take action!! No one else is going to do it for you. You are the only one who has to be determined enough to follow the instructions below if you ever hope to have your driver's license reinstated.
So, here is the information and downloadable forms you need to receive a Restricted License. Only then will you be allowed to legally drive while you are earning money to survive plus pay the fines and fees you owe. Further down you will find the forms you need to file a Manifest Hardship Motion to ask the Court to reduce that amount plus set up a realistic payment/community service plan.
Unfortunately, this information does NOT apply to people whose license has been suspended due to a DUI or is currently Revoked.
WHAT TO DO FIRST
Click HERE to check the status of your license.
Then download the PDF Application to modify failure to comply suspension to restricted driving privileges (DC-1020) to complete and mail it to:
Division of Vehicles
Drivers Solutions
PO Box 12021
Topeka KS 66612-2021
Or Fax to: 785-296-6851
After you have mailed your application to Topeka, if you qualify, they will mail you a Restricted License to drive legally while you pay your fines and fees. Call (785)296-3671 between the hours of 8am and 4pm or CHECK ONLINE to find out the citation numbers on which you still owe and to learn if they have been turned over to a collection agency.
The Kansas Department of Revenue also has an APP called iKan which you can download and install on your cellphone or other electronic devices. You can make payments using this APP and update your mailing address.
Go to https://ikan.ks.gov/ for more information about how to install and use this online service. It could save you lots of time rather than having to wait on the phone or having to take off from work to go talk to a Court Clerk!!
Once you receive a Restricted License in the mail from the KDOR, you are allowed to drive again legally while paying your fines and court costs. While you are waiting to receive it, do NOT drive on a suspended license. Doing so will be another $1,500 fine plus 90 days in jail and having the vehicle you were driving impounded.
You may pay what you owe in installment payments and/or by doing Community Service.
If you are financially unable to pay all of your accumulated traffic fines and fees, Senate Bill 127 which was passed in 2021 allows you to write out and file a MANIFEST HARDSHIP MOTION with the Clerk of the Court in each jurisdiction where you have one or more unpaid traffic ticket. This written Motion is to ask the Judge to reduce your fines, court costs and reinstatement fees back to the amount you would have owed for the original traffic ticket you received instead of the accumulated driving-on-suspended fines and fees which have been added since then.
You should file this motion ASAP!! Start by making a payment on your fines to show the judge that you are serious. Then file your Motion to ask the Traffic Judge in each jurisdiction where you have an unpaid traffic ticket to reduce or cancel the amount you owe.
Make sure to ask for a realistic payment plan which allows you to pay the full amount which the Judge has agreed to within 12 months. This is important because, until the law is changed, you are only allowed to drive on a Restricted license for one year. If you have not paid the full amount agreed to by the Judge, your license will be SUSPENDED AGAIN and you will not be granted another way to drive legally in Kansas until the full amount you owe is paid.
Below are Wichita Municipal Court and/or Sedgwick County Traffic Court Manifest Hardship motions for you to download, file and request a hearing.
Once you deliver your written Motion to the Clerk of the Court where your ticket was issued, that person will then schedule a hearing date for you to stand before the Judge and ask that your Motion to reduce and/or cancel your fines and fees is granted.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU APPEAR ON THAT DATE!! IF YOU DON'T COME, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT YOU WILL BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE TO ASK THE JUDGE TO REDUCE YOUR FINES AND FEES.
If the Judge grants your Motion to reduce what you owe, keep making the installment payments and do your Community Service as agreed so you pay the total amount within one year. If not, your license will be suspended again.
Below are the Wichita Municipal Court and Sedgwick County website links and forms for you to download and file with the Court Clerk.
This Driver's License Renewal Fact Sheet is a one page downloadable PDF. It provides links to key documents you may need--depending on whether your traffic ticket was issued by a Wichita Police Officer or a Sedgwick County Deputy Sheriff.
Feel free to print as many copies as you want. However, please take time to read and follow the instructions on the rest of this webpage so you know which forms you are required to file with which Court so you can get your driver's license back ASAP.
Suspended License Fact Sheet (pdf)
DownloadThis PDF document contains information which has been provided by the Kansas Department of Revenue, Department of Motor Vehicles in Topeka. It contains phone numbers, mailing and office addresses, their FAX number, website links and where to pay traffic fines and fees if they have been turned over to Butler & Associates to collect. This is hard to find information, so download and make as many copies as you need.
DMV Contact Information (pdf)
Download
The Sedwick County Traffic Division Court Clerk can be reached at (316)660-5670.
Download the Manifest Hardship Motion and Community Service PDF documents below if you received a traffic ticket from a Sedwick County Sheriff's Deputy and have had your driver’s license suspended.
To find out if you have an outstanding "Failure to Appear" warrant for your arrest, go to: https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/warrantsearch/. If you do, you may ask the Traffic Court Judge to withdraw your arrest warrant by appearing on the Walk-In Docket.
You are eligible for the Walk-In Docket if:
The Walk-In Docket is held Monday through Friday on the 1st Floor of the Sedgwick County Court House at 525 N. Main starting at 8:30am each morning (except Legal Holidays). An afternoon walk-in docket is also available Monday through Wednesday from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm. Sign-up for this docket is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Before you file your Manifest Hardship Motion and attend the Court hearing, download the list of approved Community Agencies below so you can tell the Judge to which locations you can find a ride to or connect with public transportation. Make sure to tell the Judge why you need to work off your fines and fees at $5 per hour served rather than pay the full amount owed with cash.
Complete your “Manifest Hardship Motion” to ask the Traffic Judge to reduce your fines and fees for County tickets back to the Original unpaid ticket--before your license was suspended. It is a two-page document. Only write on the first page. Leave the second page blank. Then take it to the 7th floor or mail both pages to the Sedgwick County Traffic Court Clerk, 525 N. Main, Rm. 714, Wichita, KS 67202.
They will set a Friday Court date and let you know when you are to appear while you are in the Clerk's office or by return mail. The Judge will hear your Motion approximately four weeks later on a Friday docket which starts at 10am.
While you are in the Clerk's office or when you mail your Motion, make sure that you also pay at least $20 toward the amount you owe. This will show the Judge that you are serious about complying with paying the final amount he approves.
In your Motion, write down what your monthly income is, the payments you have already made and/or the Community Service hours you able to work. Also, request in your written Motion and during your hearing a realistic amount which allows you to pay ALL of the fines, fees and court costs you owe within 12 months after you receive your Restricted License.
This is important!! If the Judges' agreed amount is not paid by then, your license will be suspended again and you will not be eligible for another Restricted License until the full amount owed on each traffic ticket--in Kansas or any other state--is paid in full. So, make sure that you ask the municipal and/or district Traffic Judge wherever you have unpaid tickets to lower your fines so you are in compliance on ALL of your traffic fines.
If the judge decides to lower the total of your fines and fees to an amount which you can realistically pay before your 12 month Restricted License period expires, go to the Court Clerk's Pay Station Window on the South side of the 1st Floor of the Sedgwick County Courthouse at 525 N. Main to set up an installment Payment Plan to pay every two (2) weeks on the reduced amount the Court has ordered.
Before you agree to the payment plan, make sure that you and the Pay Window Clerk divide the full reduced amount the Judge has ordered by the number of months remaining before your Restrict License expires. If there is no possible way that you can pay that amount by cash and/or Community Service, then go back to the Judge and ask for a further reduction.
This is a very important decision which you must make!! The way Kansas laws are currently, your license will be suspended 12 months after the DMV issued your Restricted License if the total amount the Judge has agreed to is not paid in full by then. Since it takes one month after you file your Manifest Hardship Motion before the Judge will hear and rule on your Motion, that means that you only have 11 months left—at best--to pay the balance in cash and/or by doing Community Service. Consequently, all of your hard-earned payments and Community Service hours worked will not result in the DMV reinstating your drivers license if you can't meet that deadline!!
But, if you decide that the remaining months to pay the total amount remaining is realistic, then sign your Payment Agreement and make a payment on what you owe while you are at the Traffic Court Pay Window on the 1stfloor of the Courthouse.
The rest of your payments can be paid online at paykscourts.org. You may also take payments--every TWO (2) weeks--to the same Court Clerk's Pay Station on the South side of the Court House at 525 N. Main. Or, you may mail your check or money order payments to the:
Centralized Court Payment Center, P.O. Box 750200, Topeka, KS 66675-0200
Make sure to write your NAME, CASE NUMBER AND SEDGWICK COUNTY on your check or money order. It should be made payable to: Clerk of the Sedgwick County Court. Do NOT MAIL CASH!!
To assist in satisfying the fines owed, you may bring completed Community Service Verification Forms (see below) signed by the administrator where you worked to a walk-in docket or otherwise mail them to the Traffic Court Clerk on the 7thFloor. Make a copy of every timesheet you mail. Once reviewed and approved by the District Attorney’s Office and the Judge, an order will be prepared to award credit towards your assessed fines at the rate of $5 per hour.
You may keep track of your balance paid, Community Service hours credited and how much more you owe by calling the Traffic Court Clerk at (316)660-5670.
Hopefully, after all of your hard work--you will finally have your driver's License reinstated so you can DRIVE AGAIN LEGALLY!!
The Municipal Court Clerk's phone # is: (316)268-4611. They are on the 2nd floor of the Wichita City Hall as 455 N. Main. Their website address is: https://www.wichita.gov/Court.
To find out the status of your case, go to https://online.wichita.gov/WebCourtsV2.
To find out if you have an outstanding "Failure to Appear" warrant for your arrest, go to: https://webcourts.wichita.gov/CaseLists.aspx.
You may ask a Judge to withdraw your arrest warrantby appearing on the Walk-In Docket. Please check in at the Municipal Court Clerk's Office on the 2nd floor of City Hall, between 7:00am and 7:30am.
You are eligible for the Walk-In Docket if:
The Walk-In Docket is held Monday through Friday at 8:00am (except on the first Friday of the month and Legal Holidays). Sign-up for this docket is on a first-come, first-served basis. Only the first fifteen (15) people to sign up are allowed to attend on that day.
If your court date has been set, it can only be changed by a judge. Court dates cannot be changed over the phone. If you need to change your court date, you may appear on the Walk-In Docket.
If your license has been suspended because you still have one or more unpaid WPD traffic ticket, download and complete the PDF below of the MANIFEST HARDSHIP MOTION in English or Spanish. It will take some time to find all of the information they are requesting.
However, the Municipal Court will NOT consider your Motion if your license is Revoked, you are asking to reduce the amount owed on a new traffic ticket or you have already paid the ticket.
In your Motion, write down what your monthly income is, the payments you have already made on your traffic fines, the amount you pay for housing, food and utilities, the number of dependents you have and/or the Community Service hours you are able to work. Also, request in your written Motion and during your hearing a realistic amount which allows you to pay the remaining balance of what the Judge orders within 12 months after you receive your Restricted License.
This is important!! If the Judge’s agreed amount is not paid within one year after you are issued a Restricted License, your license will be suspended again and you will not be eligible for another one until the full amount owed on each traffic ticket--in Kansas or any other state--is paid in full. So make sure that you ask the municipal and/or district Traffic Judge wherever you have unpaid tickets to lower your fines so you are in compliance on all of your traffic fines.
Once you have filled in the information requested, hand deliver your Manifest Hardship Motion to the Municipal Court Traffic Clerk on the 2nd floor of City Hall to file it if you want to personally have a hearing on your Motion. If you do, ask the Clerk to set a court date for you to stand before a Wichita Municipal Court judge to ask them to reduce your fines and fees to an amount which you can pay before the one year deadline.
OR, you may mail your written Motion to the Court and let a judge make their decision about reducing the total amount you owe based on the information you provided on the form which you download below without coming back to Court. Their mailing address is:
Wichita Municipal Court
City Hall
455 N Main, 2nd Floor
Wichita, KS 67202
While you are at the Court Clerk's office to file your Manifest Hardship Motion, make a payment toward the amount you owe on your traffic tickets. In your written Motion and during your hearing, make sure that you tell the Judge about the payments you have already made on your fines plus the Community Service hours you are able to work. That will show the judge that you are serious about complying with paying the fines, fees and court costs you owe.
The Court will make a ruling on your Motion to reduce or eliminate what you owe during your hearing or mail their decision to you if you choose not to attend. So make sure that you provide the Court Clerk with an accurate mailing address, phone number and email address if you have one.
Then, after the Judge has ruled on your Motion to reduce your fines and fees and you know the total amount you owe, download the Payment Plan PDF below. Read it carefully.
Take this installment payment contract to the 2nd floor in the Wichita City Hall. While you are there, sign the Contract agreeing to make installment payments on your traffic fines and fees online, by mail or in person.
The City has a webpage at https://www.wichita.gov/Court/Pages/Payment.aspx with various payment options. Write down and keep track of the amount of each payment you make and which day you made it!!
Here are the various ways to pay your Wichita traffic tickets:
1. To pay on-line, go to https://www.wichita.gov/webcourts. An additional $1.00 convenience fee is added per transaction.
2. To pay by telephone, call (316) 268-4611.
-Use automated phone system anytime, an additional $1.00 convenience fee is added per transaction.
-Choose the Customer Service Clerk Office, Monday – Friday 08:00 am to 05:00 pm, excluding holidays.
3. To pay by mail, send your check or money order to the City Hall address above. Do NOT pay with cash.
4. A Drop box on the 1st Floor of City Hall is also available. Do NOT pay with cash.
5. To pay in person please come to the Municipal Court Clerk's Office on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, Monday – Friday 07:00 am to 05:00 pm, excluding holidays.
If you need to earn $10 per hour to completely pay the total amount which the Judge says you owe within 12 months after you receive your Restricted License, then download the Community Service form below. While you are with the Court Clerk, they will add one of these approved nonprofit agencies to your Payment Agreement. Make sure that it is a location where you can get a ride or use public transportation to get to. But it is up to you to contact that agency, get on their schedule and do the work they assign.
Make sure that you keep your Payment Agreement with the Court and finish paying all of your fines, fees and court costs. If you don’t, your license will be Suspended again!!
If you need free legal assistance, please contact the Kansas Legal Services.
CLICK HERE to read information about how they help drivers with a suspended license.
Go HERE to apply for their legal services.
If you live in Sedgwick County, their attorney is Andi Elmore. Her phone number is (316)265-9681. Her email address is elmorea@klsinc.org. Matt Keenan is the Executive Director in Topeka. His phone number is (785)233-2068 and his email is keenanm@klsinc.org.
Their website is www.kansaslegalservices.org. Go there to learn more about their many different FREE legal services as well as how they can help you get your drivers license back.
Kansas Legal Services - Online Application (pdf)
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