Sign Language Interpretation

You can request a sign language interpreter for transactions at the Department of Finance, including parking ticket hearings and appeals.

Online

Download the Sign Language Interpreter Request Form.

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

Call 311 for assistance.

Look up your parking tickets or camera violations.

Billing and Address Mismatch

Make sure that you’ve entered your address exactly how it appears on your credit card or debit card statement. Your card may be rejected if you enter an address that doesn’t match your bank or credit card company’s records.

If you entered your address correctly and the payment was rejected, you need to contact your bank or credit or debit card company to find out why the payment failed. 

Card ID or CVV Mismatch

Card ID or Card Verification Value (CVV) is required when paying by credit card or debit card. It is a numerical code that is 3-digits (MasterCard, Visa, Discover) or 4-digits (American Express) long. Make sure you enter the correct code from your card.

If you enter an incorrect code, you’ll get an error message. If the payment is rejected, you won’t receive a payment confirmation. If this happens, try using another card or payment method.

Duplicate Payments

You can get help if your card was charged more than once for the same violation.

If you mistakenly overpaid, a refund will be automatically mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle 30 business days later. Overpayments are first applied to any outstanding judgment debt before any funds are returned to the payee.

Call 311 for assistance.

Foreign Addresses

You can pay a parking ticket or camera violation using a credit or debit card on the DOF website with a foreign address. In addition to the standard 2% convenience fee for credit or debit card payments, your bank might also charge you an additional fee to convert the funds into US dollars.

If you receive an error that your zip code wasn’t accepted, you should type your entire foreign address, including county, province, borough, state, or district and your zip code in the Address and Address2 fields. In the Zip Code field, type "00000" (five zeroes).

For an address in Canada, select the correct province in the State field. You should choose "Canada" in the Country field.

For all other countries, select "FO-Foreign" in the State field and the correct country in the Country field.

If you continue to receive an error message, consider paying with e-check.

Holds

If a credit or debit card payment does not go through, your bank or credit union may still place a hold on your funds. Different banks and credit unions have different processes and timeframes for releasing holds.

• American Express: up to 3 days
• Bank of America Visa or MasterCard: up to 5 days
• Capital One Visa or MasterCard: up to 5 days
• Chase Visa or MasterCard: up to 5 days
• Citibank: up to 30 days
• Discover: up to 10 days
• HSBC: up to 3 days for its debit cards and 30 days for its credit cards
• TD Bank Visa or MasterCard: up to 5 days
• Wells Fargo: 1 to 5 business days
• Most credit unions: up to 30 days

If it can take your bank or credit union 10 or more days to release a hold, you can request assistance from the Department of Finance (DOF) after 10 days. If the bank or credit union takes fewer than 10 days to release a hold, you should wait until the hold is released before contacting DOF.

Call 311 for assistance.

After your request is submitted, a hearing will be held in about 45 days. You will be sent a copy of the administrative law judge's decision after the hearing. For in-person hearings, you get the decision at the conclusion of the hearing.

If you requested a hearing online or by app, you will be emailed the decision about 2 weeks after the hearing to the email address you provided in your request.

If you requested a hearing by mail, the decision will be mailed about 10 days after the hearing to the address you provided with your defense or the address where the vehicle is registered.

If it's been more than the normal timeframe and you haven't received a decision, you should check the status of your violation. If there's no information available in the system, you can request the status from the Department of Finance.

Look up your parking tickets or camera violations.

Call 311 if you need more help.

Blocked Violation or Vehicle

If your plate or ticket is blocked and you cannot pay or request a hearing, contact or visit the Department of Finance for more information.

If you have three or more returned online payments on the parking and camera violations website within a 6-month period, you will be automatically blocked from using the online payment system.

If you are blocked and try to pay online, you will see a message on the screen that says "This plate has been blocked from making payments online. You may pay in person or by mail. For more information on how to pay, go to www.nyc.gov/payonline or read payment instructions on your parking ticket."

If your license plate is added to the list of blocked payments, you will get an email with details about your returned payment and instructions on how to be removed from the list. Once your debt on the license plate is cleared for 15 calendar days, you will be able to pay online again. If the behavior continues, you may be blocked from making online payments permanently.

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

Evidence Adjournment

After submitting your defense, you may receive a letter or email requesting additional evidence. You have 30 days from the adjournment date (which is listed in the middle of the page) to send in the requested evidence. Along with the evidence, include your ticket or NOL number and your license plate number and the state the vehicle is registered in.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Hearing by Mail Unit
P.O. Box 29021
Brooklyn, NY 11202-9021

Evidence Submission Failure

If you received an “Evidence Upload Failure” message while disputing online or with the app, the evidence files you tried to attach weren’t submitted.

You may have exceeded the 20 MB limit. If you need to submit files that are over 10 MB, you should make your hearing request online, by mail, or in person.

Another reason you can get this kind of error is if you’re trying to upload file types that aren’t accepted by the app.

The acceptable image and file formats are:

• JPEG/JPG
• TIFF
• BMP
• Non-animated GIFs

If you requested a hearing and received confirmation but had a problem submitting evidence and still want to submit that evidence, you need to immediately request that your hearing be stopped. You should do this immediately, so it is stopped before the judge hears it.

Online

Your message should include the violation number and a note that this is an "Upload Problem." Don’t include evidence. DOF will email you instructions on how to send it.

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Bring your ticket or Notice of Liability (NOL) and evidence to a DOF Business Center.

Notice of Unpaid Violation

Twenty days after a parking ticket is issued, DOF will send a Pre-Penalty Notice of Unpaid Violation to the DMV address on file for the registered owner of the vehicle. This letter reminds owners about an outstanding violation on a plate registered to them and gives instructions on how to pay or request a hearing.

If you received a notice that you still owe money on a violation that you already paid or had dismissed, it’s possible that DOF mailed the letter before they processed your payment or accepted your hearing request. Depending on how you paid, it may take up to two weeks for a payment to be posted. You may also still have a remaining balance on a ticket that you thought you paid in full or a penalty was added because you didn’t pay on time.

You should check the status of your violations to verify the information in the notice.

If the ticket or Notice of Liability (NOL) number listed on the notice matches your payment or dispute records, you should send DOF proof of payment or dismissal and a copy of the notice.

Proof of payment or dismissal may include:

• A copy of the front and back of a canceled check
• A copy of a cashed money order
• A copy of a hearing decision or stamped printout
• A copy of a credit card statement
• The confirmation number for an online or phone payment

Look up your parking tickets or camera violations.

Online

Contact DOF.

By Fax

(212) 232-1891

By Mail

For requests by mail, be sure to submit copies of the documents, not originals.

DOF will respond to requests by mail in about 15 days.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Refunds Unit
59 Maiden Lane, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10038-4648

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

You can contact the Parking Summons Advocate for help if you keep receiving notices from the Department of Finance or a collection agency about a ticket that you already paid or already had a hearing on but for which you never received a decision.

Learn more on the Parking Ticket or Camera Violation Advocate page.

Payment Made Before Hearing Requested

Since paying the violation is "an admission of liability" (meaning you admit you are guilty) do not pay the ticket if you want to request a hearing.

If you mistakenly paid the ticket but still want to dispute the violation, you must do so by mail or in person within 30 days of the date of the ticket. Make sure to explain why you paid the violation.

Reinstatement of a Previously Dismissed Ticket

If fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct was committed to obtain a dismissal of a parking ticket, the Department of Finance (DOF) may reinstate it.

If DOF determines that they shouldn’t have dismissed your ticket, you will be mailed a Notice of Hearing with a Statement in Support of Setting Aside Prior Dismissals.

If you agree that you were guilty on the original ticket, you don’t have to appear at the hearing. You can call or send a letter to the DOF Fraud Investigation Unit to say you don’t object to the reinstatement and don’t plan to attend your hearing. DOF will submit the Reinstatement Petition and any evidence to a judge. You will get the judge’s decision by mail. The original ticket may be restored and you may have to pay up to three times the original fine and three times the additional penalties.

If you want to dispute the reinstatement, you must participate in a hearing. A hearing will be scheduled where you will have a chance to dispute the reinstatement. You can appear by yourself, with an attorney, or send an eligible representative who is authorized, in writing, to speak on your behalf.

You can contact the DOF Fraud Investigation Unit by phone or by mail.

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

By Mail

NYC Department of Finance
Fraud Investigation Unit
Legal Affairs Division
375 Pearl Street, 30th Floor
New York, NY 10038

Penalties

You have 30 days from the date of the parking ticket or camera Notice of Liability (NOL) to pay the fine or request a hearing. After 30 days, penalties and interest will begin to be added. If the violations go into judgment, additional enforcement actions may be taken.

Twenty days after a parking ticket is issued or the date of the NOL, the Department of Finance (DOF) will send a Pre-Penalty Notice of Unpaid Violation to the address on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for the registered owner of the vehicle. This letter reminds owners about an outstanding violation on a plate registered to them and gives instructions on how to pay or request a hearing. Make sure to keep your address up to date with the DMV to ensure that you receive these notices in the future.

Parking Tickets

• After 30 days, an additional $10 is added to the fine amount. 
• After 60 days, an additional $20 is added to the fine and first penalty. 
• After 90 days, an additional $30 is added to the fine and both penalties. 
• After about 100 days, the violation is entered into judgment and 9% simple interest per year is then added to the total amount due. Each month, one-twelfth of the 9% of the unpaid judgment is added to the amount due, until the outstanding amount is paid.

Camera Violations

• After 30 days, a $25 penalty will be added.
• After 65 days, a Final Notice is mailed.
• After about 75 days, the violation is entered into judgment and 9% simple interest per year is then added to the total amount due. Each month, one-twelfth of the 9% of the unpaid judgment is added to the amount due, until the outstanding amount is paid.

Enforcement Actions

Booting and Towing

When the combined judgment debt owed for parking tickets and camera violations exceeds $350 for all vehicles registered to the same owner, any of those vehicles may be booted or towed. For example, if you own two vehicles and have an $80 bus lane camera violation in judgment on one car and $271 in parking violations in judgment on the other car, either car may be booted.

If your vehicle is booted, a booting fee and marshal or sheriff fees will be added to the judgment amount owed.

If you don't resolve your judgment debt within 48 hours of being booted, or if your vehicle meets the criteria for an immediate tow, then a tow fee will be added. Vehicles that remain in the tow pound will be charged a storage fee after the first day they are brought into the pound.

 If you don't pay the total amount owed, the vehicle will be auctioned. To learn more about booting and towing, visit the Booted Vehicle or Find a Towed Vehicle page.

Other Enforcement Actions

In addition to booting and towing, DOF may take other enforcement actions against the registered owner of the vehicle.

DOF may:

• Garnish your wages
• Restrain your bank accounts
• Defer or suspend your NY State vehicle registration
• Place a lien against your real property
• Refer your account to a collection agency

CityScoff

CityScoff is applicable only to employees of New York City who have unpaid parking, red light, bus lane, or speed camera violation judgments. The commissioner of the Department of Finance (DOF) will periodically send letters to the commissioners of other City agencies requesting assistance in collecting money that is owed by their employees.

Included in the mailing is:

• A list of their employees and the amounts they owe for parking, red light camera, bus lane, and/or speed camera judgments
• Instructions on how to resolve the judgment debt

Employees that have outstanding judgments may have their salaries garnished by DOF.

Collection Agencies

The Department of Finance (DOF) hires collection agencies to notify vehicle owners of outstanding parking and camera violation judgments owed to New York City.

You may receive a call or letter from the collection agency about your debt. When calling or sending letters, collection agency staff members must identify themselves as employees of a collection agency.

Collection agencies that contract with DOF don’t accept payments directly. If you received a letter from a collection agency about violations, you can discuss the letter and debt with them, but any payments must be made to DOF.

If you have a question about your unpaid violations, you can write to:

NYC Department of Finance
Church Street Station
P.O. Box 3615
New York, NY 10008

You can make a complaint about a collection agency with DOF online or by mail

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

By Mail

NYC Department of Finance
Collections Division
59 Maiden Lane, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10038

You can contact the Parking Summons Advocate for help if you keep receiving notices from the Department of Finance or a collection agency about a ticket that you already paid or already had a hearing on but for which you never received a decision.

Learn more on the Parking Ticket or Camera Violation Advocate page.

Vehicle Registration Deferment

Your New York State vehicle registration can be deferred or suspended if you have:

• 3 or more outstanding parking, red light, bus lane or speed camera violations in any combination in judgment within an 18-month period, or
• 5 or more outstanding parking violation judgments within a 12-month period

Before you can register or renew your registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), you must resolve all of your parking and camera violation judgment debt. To do this, you must pay what you owe or request a hearing to fight the violations, even if you are on a payment plan.

After you resolve your violations, you need to request a Registration Clearance from the Department of Finance (DOF). Learn how to request a clearance on the Parking Ticket or Camera Violation Clearance page.

Payments aren't immediately reflected in DOF’s system. Depending on how you paid, it may take up to two weeks.

If it’s been more than the normal processing time and the payment still isn’t showing up in the system, you can ask DOF to investigate.

Your request should include:

• Full name
• Current address (note whether the address is different than the one on the notice or your DMV registration)
• Plate number
• State of registration
• Ticket (or NOL) number(s) and date(s) issued
• Copy of your proof of payment
• Any relevant details about your violations or payments

Proof of payment may include:

• A copy of the front and back of a canceled check
• A copy of a cashed money order
• A copy of a credit card statement
• The confirmation number for an online or phone payment

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

By Fax

(212) 232-1891

By Mail

For requests by mail, be sure to submit copies of the documents, not originals.

DOF will respond to requests by mail in about 15 days.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Refunds Unit
59 Maiden Lane, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10038-4648

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

Misapplied Payment

You can get help if you made a payment for the wrong violation. You can also request reimbursement for credit or debit card payments that haven’t been applied to a ticket.

Your request should include:

• Full name
• Current address (note whether the address is different than the one on the notice or your DMV registration)
• Plate number
• State of registration
• Ticket (or NOL) number(s) and date(s) issued
• Copy of your proof of payment
• Any relevant details about your violations or payments

Proof of payment may include:

• A copy of the front and back of a canceled check
• A copy of a cashed money order
• A copy of a credit card statement
• The confirmation number for an online or phone payment

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

By Fax

(212) 232-1891

By Mail

For requests by mail, be sure to submit copies of the documents, not originals.

DOF will respond to requests by mail in about 15 days.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Refunds Unit
59 Maiden Lane, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10038-4648

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

Blocked Violation or Vehicle

If your plate or ticket is blocked and you cannot pay or request a hearing, contact or visit the Department of Finance for more information.

If you have three or more returned online payments on the parking and camera violations website within a 6-month period, you will be automatically blocked from using the online payment system.

If you are blocked and try to pay online, you will see a message on the screen that says "This plate has been blocked from making payments online. You may pay in person or by mail. For more information on how to pay, go to www.nyc.gov/payonline or read payment instructions on your parking ticket."

If your license plate is added to the list of blocked payments, you will get an email with details about your returned payment and instructions on how to be removed from the list. Once your debt on the license plate is cleared for 15 calendar days, you will be able to pay online again. If the behavior continues, you may be blocked from making online payments permanently.

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

Bugs and Technical Issues

You can report bugs and other technical issues with the NYC Parking Ticket Pay or Dispute App by tapping the "Contact Us" link within the app's Help section.

Camera Access Issues

If you get a “Unable to Access the Camera” error, you haven’t given the app permission to use your phone's camera. You can’t take a picture using the app without this permission. If you have problems uploading evidence, try closing the app completely, reopening, and uploading again. If you’re unable to resolve the errors, you should fight your violation using a different dispute method.

Duplicate Payments

If you received a “Duplicate Payment Request” error, the system detected an additional payment request for the same violations. If you didn’t make a previous payment request, you should contact DOF for assistance.

Contact the Department of Finance.

Invalid Data Entered

If you received an “Invalid Ticket Number” error, the number you entered doesn’t have 10 digits or isn’t in the correct format. If you received an “Invalid Name/Address/Zip/Country” error, the information you entered isn’t in an acceptable format. Carefully complete all required fields to continue. You won't receive this error if the ticket isn't in the system yet.

Submission Errors

If you get a “Error Occurred While Submitting Your Request” or “Unable to Process Your Request at This Time” error, your request was not submitted. You should try again later or use another payment or dispute method.

If you get a “Server Unresponsive” error, your request wasn’t submitted because the application is having a planned or unplanned outage or a problem processing payments and hearing requests. You should try again later or use another payment or dispute method.

Evidence Submission Issues

If you received an “Evidence Upload Failure” message while paying or disputing online or with the app, the evidence files you tried to attach weren’t submitted.

You may have exceeded the 20 MB limit. If you need to submit files that are over 20 MB, you should make your hearing request online, by mail, or in person.

Another reason you can get this kind of error is if you’re trying to upload file types that aren’t accepted.

The acceptable image and file formats are:

• JPEG/JPG
• TIFF
• BMP
• Non-animated GIFs

If you requested a hearing and received confirmation but had a problem submitting evidence and still want to submit that evidence, you need to immediately request that your hearing be stopped. You should do this immediately, so it is stopped before the judge hears it.

Online

Your message should include the violation number and a note that this is an "Upload Problem." Don’t include evidence. DOF will email you instructions on how to send it.

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Bring your ticket or Notice of Liability (NOL) and evidence to a DOF Business Center.

Boot or Tow Warning Email

You may receive a courtesy email from DOF if you have previously paid a ticket for a vehicle with nearly $350 in unpaid parking or camera summons judgment debt.

The email warns you to take action to avoid having your vehicle booted or towed by paying or disputing the tickets that are in judgment. The email lists the license plate of the vehicle with the judgment debt, but any vehicles registered to the same owner are subject to booting or towing, even if they aren't listed on the email or don't have any judgment debt.

Confirmation Email

After an online or app transaction has been completed, you'll receive a confirmation page. You can capture a screenshot and keep that for your records. You’ll also get a confirmation email within one hour If you've provided a valid email address. If you’re using the app, you can choose to get a confirmation by text message.

If your payment didn't go through, you won't get a confirmation. Instead you'll see a message that says "Unable to process payment. Declined." The confirmation email includes:

• Your receipt number
• Transaction date and time
• The total amount you paid
• Ticket numbers, issue dates, and amounts
• Provisional credit statement

Keep this email for future reference. If you don't see the email, check your Junk or Spam folder. The email will come from an email address ending in @finance.nyc.gov.

Evidence Adjournment

After submitting your defense, you may receive a letter or email requesting additional evidence. You have 30 days from the adjournment date (which is listed in the middle of the page) to send in the requested evidence. Along with the evidence, include your ticket or NOL number and your license plate number and the state the vehicle is registered in.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Hearing by Mail Unit
P.O. Box 29021
Brooklyn, NY 11202-9021

Notice of Unpaid Violation

Twenty days after a parking ticket is issued, DOF will send a Pre-Penalty Notice of Unpaid Violation to the DMV address on file for the registered owner of the vehicle. This letter reminds owners about an outstanding violation on a plate registered to them and gives instructions on how to pay or request a hearing.

If you received a notice that you still owe money on a violation that you already paid or had dismissed, it’s possible that DOF mailed the letter before they processed your payment or accepted your hearing request. Depending on how you paid, it may take up to two weeks for a payment to be posted. You may also still have a remaining balance on a ticket that you thought you paid in full or a penalty was added because you didn’t pay on time.

You should check the status of your violations to verify the information in the notice.

If the ticket or Notice of Liability (NOL) number listed on the notice matches your payment or dispute records, you should send DOF proof of payment or dismissal and a copy of the notice.

Proof of payment or dismissal may include:

• A copy of the front and back of a canceled check
• A copy of a cashed money order
• A copy of a hearing decision or stamped printout
• A copy of a credit card statement
• The confirmation number for an online or phone payment

Look up your parking tickets or camera violations.

Online

Contact DOF.

By Fax

(212) 232-1891

By Mail

For requests by mail, be sure to submit copies of the documents, not originals.

DOF will respond to requests by mail in about 15 days.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Refunds Unit
59 Maiden Lane, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10038-4648

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

You can contact the Parking Summons Advocate for help if you keep receiving notices from the Department of Finance or a collection agency about a ticket that you already paid or already had a hearing on but for which you never received a decision.

Learn more on the Parking Ticket or Camera Violation Advocate page.

Blocked Violation or Vehicle

If your plate or ticket is blocked and you cannot pay or request a hearing, contact or visit the Department of Finance for more information.

If you have three or more returned online payments on the parking and camera violations website within a 6-month period, you will be automatically blocked from using the online payment system.

If you are blocked and try to pay online, you will see a message on the screen that says "This plate has been blocked from making payments online. You may pay in person or by mail. For more information on how to pay, go to www.nyc.gov/payonline or read payment instructions on your parking ticket."

If your license plate is added to the list of blocked payments, you will get an email with details about your returned payment and instructions on how to be removed from the list. Once your debt on the license plate is cleared for 15 calendar days, you will be able to pay online again. If the behavior continues, you may be blocked from making online payments permanently.

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Visit a DOF Business Center.

Browser Issues

Using Firefox to pay parking or camera violations online isn’t recommended because you may not be able to input all of the requested information. If you’re having an issue using Firefox, try using another browser, such as Chrome.

Evidence Submission Issues

Don’t submit any links in your online hearing defense. If you submit a link, the judge won’t open it and view any evidence contained in the link. If the information in the link is important to your defense, you should print it out and either scan it for an online hearing or submit it for a hearing by mail.

Videos, including animated GIFs, aren’t accepted with an online hearing request. If you have a video as part of your evidence, you must have a hearing at a DOF Business Center. You must bring a device with you to play the video on, such as your mobile phone or camera. The judge will not be able to open a disk or flash drive.

If you requested a hearing and received confirmation but had a problem submitting evidence and still want to submit that evidence, you need to immediately request that your hearing be stopped. You should do this immediately, so it is stopped before the judge hears it.

Online

Your message should include the violation number and a note that this is an "Upload Problem." Don’t include evidence. DOF will email you instructions on how to send it.

Contact the Department of Finance.

In Person

Bring your ticket or Notice of Liability (NOL) and evidence to a DOF Business Center.

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

Status

You can get help with the status of a payment or penalty adjustment.

Call 311 for assistance.

Call 311 to request a paper copy.

Refund Status

The Department of Finance usually takes about three weeks to process a submitted form.

Call 311 for status.

Stop Payments and Uncashed Refund Checks

You may not be able to cash a refund check if an overpayment bounced after Department of Finance (DOF) already sent out a refund check for the overpayment. If that happens, DOF will put a stop payment on the refund check if you haven’t cashed it yet.

DOF also puts stop payments on uncashed refund checks that are older than 6 months.

If your refund check can’t be cashed but you think the money is owed to you, mail DOF a letter that includes your:

• Name
• Address (especially if you have moved)
• License plate or ticket number
• An explanation of why you think the check should be replaced

Requests are normally processed within 15 days.

Mail to:

NYC Department of Finance
Refunds Unit
59 Maiden Lane, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10038-4648