If you just pay the ticket, you are pleading guilty to the violation. In Missouri, the fine range is between $50 and $150, but could be more depending upon a lot of factors, including the violation, your driving record, and the court.

There are five things you need to know before you just pay your ticket.

If you plead guilty and just pay a red light ticket, you will get at least 2 points on your driving record in point system states, including Missouri. Your insurance company will use these points to increase your rates hundreds, even thousands, of dollars for the next 3-5 years.

Just paying your ticket is the worst thing you can do. It will put points on your record for 3 years and result in an insurance increase of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year -- for 3-5 years, depending upon the state and your insurer!

Before hiring an attorney to fix a red light ticket, you should ask these five questions

The cost of a red light ticket lawyer in Missouri will vary depending upon a lot of factors, including the speed limit, how fast you were going, your driving record, and the court. At TicketTamer, a basic red light ticket is just $75.

You can go to court and ask the judge to dismiss it. He almost certainly won’t because red light tickets are often just about the money, and the judge is there to make sure you pay, not let you off the hook.

Most red light tickets are 2 points in Missouri. They stay on your record for three years, and insurance companies use these points to increase your insurance rates by hundreds of dollars a year, sometimes thousands, for 3-5 years.

Your red light ticket will stay on your record for 3 years.

It depends on your situation, including where you live, how many points you already have, and whether you have younger drivers on your policy.