At a transportation company, freight forwarder, manufacturer, or court system, you handle the clerical work around traffic operations — shipment paperwork, BOL processing, route documentation, or in court settings the processing of traffic-violation matters.
The setting determines what the role actually does — in a transportation context, the traffic clerk processes shipping documentation (BOLs, manifests, freight bills, customs paperwork) that moves goods between shippers and carriers; in a court context, the traffic clerk processes traffic citations through the municipal court system. Both involve high-volume documentation work with specific procedural rules. Documentation accuracy and processing throughput are the operating measures.
Variance across employers depends entirely on the setting: at freight operations the role tilts toward transportation-management systems (TMS) and carrier coordination; at municipal traffic courts the work runs heavy on ticket processing, plea handling, and fine collection. The compliance overlay differs — DOT regulations in freight, court procedure in traffic court — but both reward consistency.
The disposition this favors is detail-oriented, comfortable with high-volume processing, and patient with the procedural strictness either freight or court work requires. Industry-specific training (TMS for freight, court certifications for traffic court) anchors advancement. The trade-off is the limited variation in daily work and the modest pay typical of high-volume clerical positions in both transportation and municipal court settings.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →At a transportation company, freight forwarder, manufacturer, or court system, you handle the clerical work around traffic operations — shipment paperwork, BOL processing, route documentation, or in court settings the processing of traffic-violation matters.
Median pay for a Traffic Clerk is about $48K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $35K to $72K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Social Perceptiveness.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 3% through 2034, with roughly 170,010 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Process Server, Utility Clerk, and Permit Specialist.
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