Last Updated on September 7, 2023 by Lawrence Berezin
The new N.Y.C. parking ticket payment plan options.
The Evil Empire tweaks its parking ticket payment plan from time to time. That is to say, they add a little of this or remove a pinch of that to persuade you to open your wallet and pay a parking ticket. Or, rather, pay a whole bunch of parking tickets.
N.Y.C. drivers woke up from pandemic hibernation to the shock and awe of costly, unpaid parking tickets. Likewise, it is good to offer drivers an opportunity to pay their parking ticket judgment debt over time.
Could you use a little debt relief? If so, here are the facts.
The parking ticket payment plans F.A.Q.’s
A parking ticket payment plan is an agreement between you and the Department of Finance under which you agree to pay the total amount you owe for parking ticket judgment debt in installments, over time, instead of paying all at once.
Entering into a parking ticket payment plan can prevent enforcement actions, such as having your vehicle booted or towed.
Although your payments will be more manageable with a payment plan, the total amount you owe will increase because interest will continue to accrue until the amount you owe is completely paid off. For example, if you owe $1,000 and choose a 24-month payment plan with 9% interest, you will pay more than $1,100.
Yes. There are the following:
-Standard Parking Ticket Payment Plan
-Moderate Income
-Hardship Parking Ticket Payment Plan
-Low Balance Payment Plan
O.K. Keep reading
-You must be the registered owner of the vehicle, the owner’s court-appointed agent, or a lessee of the vehicle who has been designated as liable for judgment summonses by the vehicle’s lessor.
-You must agree to include all open parking ticket judgments not already covered by an active payment plan in the payment plan.
-You must pay 20% or more of the due amount when you agree.
-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.
The Department of Finance offers a moderate-income payment plan for motorists with adjusted gross income below $86,400.
-A moderate-income payment plan requires a minimum down payment of 15% of the judgment debt amount owed.
-The plan may last as long as 36 months.
-It requires a motorist to apply supporting documentation that must be reviewed and approved by D.O.F.’s Collections Division.
For more information, please get in touch with the Collections Division at (212) 440-5300 or via our Customer Service Portal.
A hardship payment plan is available to unemployed individuals who have suffered the loss of an income-earning family member or have lost their home due to a natural disaster.
Hardship plans are also available to small businesses that have suffered economic losses and not-for-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service.
-A hardship payment plan requires a minimum down payment of 5% of the judgment amount debt owed.
-The plan may last as long as 48 months.
-It requires a motorist to submit an application and supporting documentation that must be reviewed and approved bD.O.F.’sFs Collections Division.
For more information, please get in touch with the Collections Division at (212) 440-5300 or via our Customer Service Portal.
-A completed Parking or Camera Violation Payment Plan Form for the type of payment plan you are requesting
-Valid government-issued photo I.D. I.D. (driver’s license, passport, New York State benefit card, etc.)
-Current vehicle registration and insurance card
-Current corporation or company bank signature card (if applicable)
Additional documentation related to income may be required for the hardship payment plan.
Read more about these three payment plans
Low-balance payment plans are available for judgment debt under $350. You may enroll in this plan as long as your judgment debt does not exceed $350.
Under this plan, you must make a minimum payment of 50%. You will then have up to 60 days to pay the remaining balance.
Read more about how to apply and where to secure the application
New parking ticket payment plans with a heart?
Nah. But be gone old parking ticket payment plan. And, in with the new.
For example, check out some of the differences between the old plan (on the left) and the new plan:
Parking ticket debt in judgment must exceed $350
The vehicle’s owner must have more than 40 days left in the current registration. Once approved, the plan will last only as long as the current registration.
You must pay 50% upfront of the total amount of judgment debt if your vehicle was towed or booted and 35% for all other plans.
There were no special low-income or hardship payment plans.
Parking ticket debt in judgment is not required to exceed $350. There are separate plans for judgment debt <$350 and >$350
There are no such terms in the new parking ticket payment plans. For judgments under $350, you must agree to a 60-day plan. For judgments $350 or more, you must agree to a payment plan for up to 24 months
You must pay 5%, 15%, or 20% of your total judgment debt at the time of signing the payment plan, depending on the plan you are enrolling in.
There are special low-income and hardship payment plans
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Larry’s Money Saving Registration and Inspection Cheat Sheet
Larry shares helpful information for each subsection of the status violations rule related to registration and inspection—a veritable plethora of money-saving insights.
Larry’s Notice
The information for this blog post came from the NYC 311 Website and the NYC DOF Website (aka, Evil Empire).
Commentary
I hope these payment plans afford drivers reasonable options to pay off significant parking ticket debt.
Good luck.
Raise your hand if you are like me and have difficulty remembering to renew our registration and get our car inspected (we can lower our hands). Sadly, one of the consequences of our memory infirmity is costly registration and inspection parking tickets. Argh!
Don’t worry. Be happy, a cure is only a click away. I prepared a cheat sheet to help us beat those aggravating and expensive parking tickets.
Good morning
My son paid a ticket for parking in a no standing zone. Two days latter he walked by that area and realized the address the agent wrote was wrong. The no standing zone began at the next address. He clearly would have beaten this ticket. Can he still fight it, or once he paid its too late.
Thank you
Tee Kay
Hi Tee,
Greetings!
I’m afraid once you pay for the original ticket, you can no longer fight it.
Meanwhile, if you fight and lose, you have 30 days to appeal the bad decision (and you are permitted to pay the fine and still appeal).
Be safe.
Regards,
Larry
What happens if u miss one payment
Hi Michael,
Good afternoon.
I don’t find a direct answer to your question. However, if you need more time to pay, the Evil Empire suggests contacting the Collections Division to re-establish your payment plan terms. (See FAQ)
Good luck.
Regards,
Larry
I’m on a payment plan on my parking tickets. And I have 3 tickets in judgment I did my first payment plan now the total amount is now$402.52 can I still drive my vehicle Or I could still get booted even though I’m in a payment plan?
Hi Peter,
Good afternoon.
You are not supposed to be booted or towed once you start a payment plan and make your payments on time.
Good luck.
Regards,
Larry
PS. Here are some payment plan FAQ’s that you may find helpful.
I’m on a payment plan on my parking tickets. And I have 3 tickets in judgment I did my first payment plan now the total amount is now$402.52 can I still drive my vehicle Or I could still get booted even though I’m in a payment plan? And what if I get booted or towed away what should I do what proof can I show. Them ?
I recently set up a payment plan with DOF. After getting a notice from a collections agency. I set up the payment plan within the 30 days given by the agency. Since I set up a plan, will this be reported to any bureaus?
Hi Courtnay,
Sorry, but I’ve retired.
(By the way, I don’t know the answer to your excellent question).
Regards,
Larry