Editing Summons (section)

===Citation/claim (legal term)===
{{see also|Traffic ticket}}
[[File:Parking ticket - Washington DC - 2011-08-25.jpg|thumb|A parking ticket issued in Washington, D.C.]]
A '''citation''', '''traffic violation ticket''', or '''notice to appear''' is a type of summons prepared and served at the scene of the occurrence by a [[Police|law enforcement]] official, compelling the appearance of a defendant before the local [[magistrate]] within a certain period of time to answer for a minor [[Traffic ticket|traffic infraction]], [[misdemeanor]], or other [[summary offence]]. Failure to appear within the allotted period of time is a separate crime of [[failure to appear]].

In [[Australia]], minor traffic and some summary offences are known as an infringement notice or a [[Fine (penalty)|fine]] and can be dealt with by paying a particular monetary amount depending on the offence. The accused person has the right to have the matter heard in a court; if found not guilty the accused person pays nothing other than his legal costs (if any); if found guilty the accused person faces the prospect of a conviction for the offence and/or a substantial increase in the fine up to the maximum. For example, proceeding through a red light could go from A$353 up to A$2,200 if convicted in [[NSW]]. For more serious offences, a field court attendance notice is issued.

In the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, law enforcement officials may deal with certain minor offences, such as [[litter]]ing, by issuing a [[fixed penalty notice]], colloquially called an "on-the-spot fine", although legally they are not fines. They allow the recipient to avoid going to court by paying a penalty fixed by statute. If such a notice is ignored or disputed, a court summons will be issued as for any other offence.