Court Administrator

Lake of the Woods County belongs to the Ninth Judicial District along with the counties of Beltrami, Roseau, Red Lake, Mahnomen, Cass, Hubbard, Aitkin, Crow Wing, Kittson, Marshall, Pennington, Koochiching, Polk, Clearwater, Itasca and Norman. The Court Administrator is appointed by the District Judges and is responsible to the District Court Administrator in Bemidji.

The Court Administrator is responsible for administration and record keeping for the Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Conciliation, Juvenile, Traffic and Tax Courts. The office files wills and issues warrants, subpoenas and executions on judgments. The office maintains a file of monetary judgments. The Court Administrator's office works closely with the County Sheriff's Office and the Social Service Department to insure that court orders and domestic abuse petitions are carried out.

The Court Administrator is present and keeps records at all District Court sessions.

Contact Information

Beginning June 15, 2010

Fine and Ticket Information

Unpaid Fine?  No Need to Wait in Line!

You may pay many fines online.  Visit https://webpay.courts.state.mn.us/CourtWebPay/default.aspx to begin!  You will need either your ticket/citation number or your court file number to access your fine.

Paying By Phone

To pay by credit card, call 1-800-657-3611, or in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area 651-281-3219.  You will need either your ticket/citation number or your court file number to access your fine.  There will be a $1.25 convenience fee for paying by credit card.

Requesting Payment Plan for Payable Citations

You can request a payment plan from the Call Payment Center by calling the number listed above, or by appearing at Itasca County Court Administration on the court date written on your ticket.

Checking Your Fine Balance

To access your fine account balance online, visit the Minnesota Judicial Branch at www.mncourts.gov/

1.  Click on “Find Court Records”

2.  Select “Access Trial Court Records”.                                                                                                       3.  Read and accept the terms of use.  This will bring you to the Minnesota Public Access   Remote View.                                                                                                                                                                  4.  From the drop-down menu select Itasca.                                                                                                                                   5.  From the list of options, select Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records.

6.  From the Search By drop-down menu, you have the option of searching by Case, Defendant, Citation or Attorney.  If you are search by case number, remember to enter 31 at the beginning.

7.  From your search results, locate and click on the blue hyperlink of the case you want to review.

8.  On the register of actions page, scroll to the bottom of the page to review the Financial information portion of the case for the balance owing.

Please note:  If there is any reference in the “other events and hearings” section of the register of action that the case has been referred to collections you will need to contact Court Administration at 218-634-1451.

When you Need to Appear in Person

You must appear in court at the address location noted on the citation if:

1.  You wish to plead not guilty.                                                                                                                                                               2.  You wish to plead guilty with an explanation.                                                                                                                               3.  You have endangered life or property.  (Box will be checked on the front of the ticket)

4.  The offense you have been charged with is court required.                                                                                        

You may elect to plead “Guilty as Charged” to all listed violations, and pay the fine(s) indicated below.  Payment of a fine(s) is deemed to be a “Plea of Guilty.”

NOTE:  It may take up to 30 days for your citation to be entered into the system.

To Pay By Mail or in Person

Make check payable to:  Minnesota Court Payment Center.

DO NOT MAIL CASH.  Payment can be mailed to:

 Minnesota Court Payment Center

               PO Box 898

               Willmar, MN  56201

If you would prefer to drop the payment off in person, we can accept payment at Lake Of The Woods County Court Administration during business hours from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

Paying No Proof Of Insurance Violations

If you have received a citation for No Proof of Insurance and the vehicle you were driving was insured on the date and time of offense, you must provide proof there was valid coverage on the date of the offense:

A letter from your insurance agent on their letterhead with the agent’s signature, it must include the name of the insured and the vehicle identification: Year, Make, Model, VIN Number, and must specify that the vehicle you were operating was covered on the offense date and time that you were stopped by an officer.  The information can be faxed to the Court Payment Center at 320-231-6507.  Include a copy of the ticket with your proof of insurance.

If you are also charged with another payable violation, you my mail your payment for the violation along with your proof of insurance to the Minnesota Court Payment Center.

    Minnesota Court Payment Center

                        PO Box 898

                        Willmar, MN  56201

You may also show your proof of insurance to Lake of the Woods County Court Administration by the due date/court date on your ticket or citation.

Common Violation Fine Amounts

(Fine amounts subject to change without notice.)

PLEASE NOTE:  Each fine amount noted below includes a mandatory state-imposed surcharge of $75.00 that is imposed pursuant to Minnesota Statute 357.021, Subd. 6.

Failure to Appear Notice

Failure to pay by or appear on the court date indicated on your ticket will be considered a plea of guilty and waiver of trial for petty misdemeanor offenses, and may result in one or more of the following actions being taken against you:

Certification of charges to your driving record,

Drivers License suspension,

Issuance of a bench warrant for your arrest,

Referral of your debt to a collection agency.

If referred, the collections agency will assess additional fees.  The collection agency is authorized to take the following actions to collect your debt:  levy your bank account, seizure your property, file a judgment or lien which will affect your credit rating, revoke or deny personal or business license, offset vendor payments owed to you by a state agency, levy wages, seize tax refunds or refer your debt.

It is your responsibility to notify the court of a change of address.