Dallas County has begun a traffic ticket roundup to collect revenue on more than 600,000 unpaid tickets. Some of the tickets are decades old, but they are limited to tickets written by Dallas County sheriff’s deputies and deputy constables.

During the roundup, the Dallas County sheriff’s office will be issuing warrants. The total amount of unpaid traffic tickets is more than $200 million. The revenue from the tickets will help make up the $34 million shortfall in the county’s budget.

If you have an unpaid traffic ticket that is less than twelve days old, you can now pay online with a credit card. Go to the Dallas County web site between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. any day of the week, read the instructions, make sure you have your citation in front of you, and click the big, red “Begin” button at the bottom of the page.

If you have an unpaid ticket that is more than twelve days old — as are the tickets targeted in this roundup — you must appear in court. It should say on the ticket which court to appear at so give them a call to schedule a time.

You can also call any of the many defense attorneys that will represent you at court. If the ticket has gone to warrant stage, it’s usually around $150 to retain their services — but they will the ones to schlep to court more than likely and not you!