Last Updated on October 27, 2022 by Lawrence Berezin
An NYC parking ticket falls into default judgment after 100 days
However, there is one avenue you can explore when your NYC parking ticket is in judgment before holding up your piggy bank to pay your fines and penalties. Meanwhile, it is called “A Request for Hearing after Judgment.” A judge may grant this application and either:
- Dismiss your parking ticket outright, or
- Grant you a hearing
To prevail, you must demonstrate:
- Excusable neglect, and
- A substantial defense to the violation
What is “excusable neglect?”
It’s like you meant to pay for your parking tickets but were kidnapped by Martians or spent the last year on a space station. Stuff like that. Likewise, the PVB provides you with examples of “excusable neglect:”
- The Evil Empire did not send the notice to me at the address where I registered this vehicle with the NYC Department of Motor Vehicles.
- I requested a hearing and did not receive a response (submit a copy of the hearing request materials).
- I had a severe medical condition when the violation was issued (submit a copy of my health records).
- I sold/transferred my vehicle before violation issuance (submit a copy of the DMV plate transfer report, insurance cancelation report and transfer paperwork).
- I reported my vehicle stolen at the time of violation issuance (submit a copy of the police report and insurance company report)
- The violations were issued to the plate(s) stolen from my car (submit a copy of the police report and insurance company report).
- The default judgment was entered while I served in the military and was covered by the Soldiers and Sailors Act (You must submit proof of active military service when the Evil Empire entered the default judgment).
- I was incarcerated.
- I was detained out of the country
What is a “substantial defense?”
Here are some examples offered by the PVB:
- I sold/transferred my vehicle before the violation was issued (submit a copy of the title transfer).
- I reported my vehicle stolen before the violation was issued (submit a copy of the police report and insurance cancelation report).
- Warriors or cops issued violations to a plate(s) that were/were stolen (submit a copy of the police report and insurance cancellation report).
- The violation is defective.
- Other defense(s). (Please list below):
For example, temporarily stopping my car to pick up or discharge a passenger in a no-standing zone is a winning defense.
Payment plan
You may opt to negotiate a payment plan with the NYC Department of Finance.
Here are the rules:
- To clarify, you must be the registered owner of the vehicle, the owner’s court-appointed agent, or a lessee of the car who has been designated as liable for judgment summonses by the vehicle’s lessor.
- Likewise, you must agree to include all open parking ticket judgments not already covered by an active payment plan in the payment plan.
- Further, you must pay 20% or more of the total amount due when you agree.
- For judgments under $350, you must agree to a 60-day plan.
- For judgments of $350 and more, you must agree to a payment plan of no more than 24 months.
- You must agree to pay the balance owed on all open judgment violations. If you wish to dispute any tickets in a hearing, you must do so before the payment plan begins.
- You must pay all outstanding booting, towing, and related fees in full.
- If your vehicle has been booted or towed, you must provide proof that your car is currently registered and insured for the vehicle to be released.
Good luck.
Have you had the experience of working out a payment plan with the PVB? Or better yet, successfully applied for a hearing after judgment, and the judge dismissed your parking ticket? Please Share!!
I have NY tickets in judgement and they suspended my registration because of that which has now expired and i need to renew it but can’t without paying the tickets which i have been doing from my job but i can’t work now without my car and therefore can’t pay the tickets. tremendous hardship to survive. is there any way to be allowed to renew the registration and the suspension so I can continue to work and pay the tickets which remaining bal is 1,900. let me know if possible. Greg
Hey Greg,
You are caught in the middle of a parking ticket “catch-22.” The general policy of the Evil Empire is not to renew a registration under the circumstances you describe. But, the reality is they can do whatever they please.
I represented a client in a similar situation. He was a young truck driver with $10,000 in outstanding parking fines in judgment. His truck registration was suspended and therefore, couldn’t use his truck to earn a living.
I appeared with him at the DOF business office at 66 John Street, NYC, and didn’t take my first NO for an answer. I politely asked to speak to a supervisor, and was fortunate to meet up with a very kind lady. I had my client, his wife, and their 6 month old child with us.
I presented tax returns and other documents to prove that my client had no current means to pay the money, or pay it in the future without entering into an repayment agreement and having them restore the registration. This story had a happy ending.
The tipping point was speaking with a supervisor who was pragmatic and had a heart…(The Mom with their child didn’t hurt, either).
Good luck.
Best,
Larry
I just want to add – for those who just want to pay it and move on – you can access paying online if you search using the violation number rather than your plate number.
Tickets which are “in judgement” do not come up on the pay tickets site if you search using your license plate number. There is another site, the old ticket paying site, which will list it and provide the violation number.
Copy the number and paste it into the violation number field on the ticket payment site and it will accept payment this way.
If you are like me – you thought, since it wouldn’t let you pay, that maybe they were considering waiving the fine for some reason (there’s always some reason why you think you should be excused…)
Anyway hope that helps someone – I searched for a half an hour and not a single site or blog gave this information – I finally figured it out myself.
Dear R,
Good evening.
Thanks for the helpful insight.
However, you and I disagree about “pay it and move on” versus “never pay a parking ticket, ‘no questions asked’.”
Thanks for stopping by and sharing the info.
Regards,
Larry
So I can pay for the ticket even if it said me it’s in judgement?
Sure…The Evil Empire will be happy to take your money.
Park safely, Zhang.
Regards,
Larry
What happens if the vehicle is registered outside new york state in someone elses name and the tickets are in judgement. If I bring a notarized letter from that person can I get a payment agreement to clear these tickets and how does this effect their information? If my mom finds out she’s going to KILL me lol
Hi,
I know the feeling…
But, I’m sorry to say that I don’t know the answer.
You’ll have to do some homework.
First I would check to see if vehicles registered
out-of-state are eligible for a payment agreement.
Next, find out whether a driver can enter into a payment
agreement. If yes, you won’t have to bother with
notarized documents.
Third, the minimum is $500 in judgment.
Good luck.
Best,
Larry
Hi,
I have $1300 worth of parking tickets from 2012. All are in judgemetn. Any way they will reinstate my regristration if I only pay 50% of the total cost of tickets?
Lady,
Good afternoon.
According to the standard line of the Evil Empire, NO.
If it were me, and I really needed my registration reinstated, I’d take a trip to one of the business offices and try to speak to a supervisor. You’ll need some pretty strong reasons why you haven’t paid to date, with supporting documents.
The tipping point is in a nice way, get past the first clerk that will speak to you about your case. The first clerk generally is the NO person.
Good luck.
Best,
Larry
can you help me I have $11,000 in judgement tickets, what can I do?
Dear Anthony,
Good morning.
I am sad about your costly dilemma.
We don’t work on parking tickets that are
in judgement…Sorry.
Larry
I have a parking ticket in judgement that $179. Can I still get booted at that price?
Dear Anthony,
I am sad to report (after dedicating 6 years, 7-days-per-week with two months off for my heart attack) that I will no longer be answering questions on Larry’s Blog. You’ll find a treasure trove of information in the 746 Blog Posts and growing, F.A.Q.’s, and comments.
If you need help, you may wish to check out of service offerings. Here’s a link
https://newyorkparkingticket.com/passenger-vehicles/
Hello,
I received a judgement in the mail today. Here’s what happened and I’ll try to keep it short:
Our vehicle was ticket on 3/3/16… for expired registration. We had already renewed our registration on 2/23/16 and therefor should not have been ticketed in the first place.
We’ve been staying at my parents house due to my wife being pregnant for the past 2 months+ and wasn’t aware of any previous notices being sent to our address registered with the DMV.
Today we open a mail and see that a judgement is against us, this mail was sent out maybe 6 days ago. I have proof that our registration was renewed several days if not a couple of weeks before this ticket was issued and was given a temporary in the meanwhile to be displayed.
What can I do at this point? Any advice you can provide is appreciated. Thank you so much for all of this useful information.
Tony,
Once a ticket falls into judgment, it is tough to fight.
You may wish to make a request for hearing after judgment.
Good luck.
Regards,
Larry
Hi,
What if you’re on a payment plan and miss one payment, what happens?
Josie,
Good morning.
I don’t know. Sorry, Josie.
Regards,
Larry
Hi Larry,
I received a letter saying three tickets are in judgement for an expired registration. My registration however was not expired, and I wasn’t even aware of the tickets. By the time I became aware of the tickets I mailed a dispute along with pictures of the registration. I didn’t hear anything back regarding my dispute, but received a judgement notice. I don’t want them to tow or boot my car. What should I do?
Best,
Tachina
Tachina,
What a shame and pain in the neck.
Once a parking ticket falls into default judgment, you can no longer simply submit a defense to the evil ticket. You are required to file a Request to Vacate Default Judgment and submit the proper proof to demonstrate:
-Excusable neglect
-Winning defense
Here’s a link to the application…https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/finance/downloads/pdf/jdmnt.pdf
Good luck, Tachina.
Regards,
Larry
Thank you!
Very sick and inmoral systemI was informed that once parking tickest went in to judgement they would not increase in dollar amounts WELL I HAVE 2 TICKETS THAT WENT FROM 60.00 to 120.00 after it went into judgement for 90.00 accrued. it was a way to get my car booted. I paid it anyways it is a very sick and inmoral system to get revenues from the poor.
I was also booted for 3 tickets in June that were dated 2013 when I checked all of my parking tickets paid at that time I found no record of the fines. If there was real terrorism in NYC this would be the first place to get hit. It is a den thieves and liars. Inmoral under the guise of the law.
If I were to be reimbursed for all the illegal fines imposed on me for the last 20 years I would be rich
Hi Pedro,
What a shame!
I always counsel anyone who’ll listen to pay or play within 30 days from issuance. And never let a ticket lapse into judgment because in 31 days_$10, in 61 days_$20, and in 91 days_$30, $60 in penalties will be added to the base fine.
Good luck, Pedro.
Regards,
Larry
I have two tickets in judgement one was paid but late an the other has not can i
try to get a payment for the original fine or am i forced to pay all penalties also thanks
Hi, Dan,
Good morning.
I’m sorry to say that you gotta pay the penalties. You can’t cut a deal with the Evil Empire since they eliminated the fine reduction program in 2011.
Regards,
Larry
I had two tickets I paid that were $75 each. One of them randomly went to judgement after I paid it on April 4th it’s now April 9th and one of them shows in Judgement when I already paid is this happening because it’s Easter weekend?
Hi Ruby,
Good afternoon.
It is never easy!
The delay may just be the normal course of business delay. But, if it continues, I would call 311 to resolve the issue.
Please don’t hesitate to follow up with me.
Regards,
Larry
I just found out I had a judgement summon yesterday. I’m trying to see online and can’t find it. Last time I had the car was 2019. Is there a way to find out by my name?. I don’t have the info of the car or license plate.
Hi Morrelle,
Good afternoon.
Sorry to hear about your bad judgment news.
I would call 311 and ask them if they can look up the judgment by your name or otherwise.
Good luck.
Regards,
Larry
If my tickets in judgement is only $ :350 which I can easily pay
Hi Margaret,
Good afternoon.
If you can easily pay your parking ticket judgements, it’s a good idea.
Regards,
Larry