Got a parking ticket? Pay it or fight it before the penalties start

Parking tickets in five cities, side by side

New York City parking tickets: pay, dispute, penalties

Pay or dispute within 30 days of the date the ticket was issued. Pay online at NYC CityPay, by app, by mail or in person. About 20 days after the ticket, the Department of Finance mails a pre-penalty notice to the owner's address on file at the DMV. NYC Department of Finance · NYC 311

• Dispute within 30 days. Request a hearing online, by mail, by the Pay or Dispute app or in person within 30 days after the ticket was issued to avoid late penalties. If you ask later and lose, you pay the penalties. A ticket in judgment more than one year old cannot get a hearing.NYC Department of Finance
• Not answering is an admission. Under state law, failing to plead to a parking ticket is deemed an admission of liability and is grounds for a default judgment; a notice of impending default gives you 30 days from its sending to respond.N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 241(2)
• Appeal within 30 days. Lost the hearing? File a Parking / Camera Violations Appeal Application by mail within 30 days; the decision comes within 60 days. After that, an Article 78 proceeding in court within four months of the appeal decision.NYC Department of Finance · N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 242(3)
• Boot and tow at $350. With $350 or more of tickets in judgment, your car can be booted, and towed if you do not pay within 48 hours. The boot fee is $185 for a boot on or after November 1, 2025. The City can also send the debt to a collection agency.NYC Department of Finance
• Payment plans (judgments only). Under $350 in judgment: a 60-day plan with a 50% down payment. $350 or more: at least 20% down and no more than 24 months.NYC Department of Finance

The Office of the Parking Summons Advocate helps with tickets you believe were already paid or dismissed. NYC Department of Finance

Chicago parking tickets: contest, penalties, boot

• 7 days, then 21 days. You have seven (7) days from the date of issuance to contest a ticket online. If nothing is received, the city mails a notice of violation, and you have 21 days to pay or contest the violations on it, by correspondence, virtual or in-person hearing.Chicago Department of Finance
• Late penalty. If payment is not received by the pay-by date, a late payment penalty equal to the lesser of the original fine or $250 minus the original fine is added.Chicago Department of Finance
• After a hearing. Found liable, you have 25 days from the decision to pay before the ticket doubles, and 35 days from the decision to appeal to the Circuit Court of Cook County (state filing fees may apply). A default determination can be set aside within 21 days of the date of the determination.Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings
• Collections and the boot. Final determinations can be enforced like a judgment: collection agency, credit bureau and liens. With 3 or more final determinations (or 2 at least a year old), your car can be booted: a $100 boot fee, towed after 24 hours, then $250 plus $50 a day storage.Chicago Department of Finance
• Payment plans. Up to 24 months (36 months for hardship), with a 15% down payment on a first plan (5% for hardship); a defaulted plan adds a 22% collection cost.Chicago Department of Finance

Los Angeles and San Francisco: California's contest rules

Both cities follow the California Vehicle Code, which sets the same three steps everywhere in the state. The dollar amounts of fines and late penalties are set by each city. Cal. Veh. Code § 40203.5

1. 1Initial review, free: 21 days. Ask for an initial review within 21 calendar days of the ticket, or 14 calendar days from the mailing of a notice of delinquent parking violation. There is no charge for the review. Cal. Veh. Code § 40215(a)
2. 2Administrative hearing. If you disagree with the result, request a hearing no later than 21 calendar days after the results are mailed. You deposit the penalty first, unless you qualify as indigent; the hearing is held within 90 calendar days, by mail, in person, or by phone or online where offered. Cal. Veh. Code § 40215(b)
3. 3Court appeal: 30 days. Appeal the hearing decision within 30 calendar days after it is mailed or delivered, to the superior court, which hears it anew as a limited civil case. The filing fee is $25 under the San Francisco court's statewide fee schedule (effective January 1, 2022), reimbursed by the agency if you win. Cal. Veh. Code § 40230 · Gov. Code § 70615

Los Angeles. Pay online, by the PayTix app, by phone at (866) 561-9742, in person at four LADOT offices, or by mail to the Parking Violations Bureau, P.O. Box 30247, Los Angeles, CA 90030; cards carry a $2.00 processing fee. Ask for an initial review or a hearing by phone or by mail at the same address. A low-income plan spreads the ticket over 3 months (60%, then two payments of 20%). With five or more delinquent citations your car can be booted ($150.00 boot fee) or towed. LADOT

San Francisco. The Superior Court does not handle parking tickets; the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) does, and publishes its fines and late penalties on its own site, which this page does not cite. The City Treasurer runs a low-income payment plan ($5 to enroll, $25 to $50 a month, and all late penalties removed if you finish it) and community service credited at $20 an hour, up to $1,000 in tickets a year. San Francisco Treasurer · San Francisco Superior Court

Philadelphia parking tickets: pay, dispute, appeal

• Pay. Online through the City's parking ticket payment site, by mail to P.O. Box 41818, Philadelphia, PA 19101-1818, by phone at (888) 591-3636, or in person at 48 N. 8th St.City of Philadelphia
• Dispute within 15 days. Request an in-person hearing, or submit evidence by mail or online. If you request a hearing within 15 days of receiving the ticket, no late payment fees are added; after 15 days, if you are found liable, you owe the late fees.City of Philadelphia
• Default, and undoing it. Under the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication's regulations, no answer within ten (10) days of a notice brings costs and fees and then an order of default; a default may be vacated within one (1) year.BAA Regulations § 4.03
• Appeal. Appeal a hearing decision to the Parking Appeals Panel within thirty (30) days, and then to the Court of Common Pleas, where state law gives 30 days after the order.BAA Regulations § 6.02 · 2 Pa.C.S. § 752 · 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b)

The late-fee amounts are in the Philadelphia Traffic Code and the Parking Authority's schedule, which are not checked for this page.

How to contest a parking ticket

1. 1Read the ticket. Check the plate, the state, the date, the time and the place. Each city lists the required elements of a ticket; a missing or wrong element can be a defense.
2. 2Collect proof the same day. Photos of the signs, the curb, the meter or pay station and your car's position; your meter or app receipt; your permit; repair records for a broken-down car.
3. 3Pick the hearing. By mail or online is fastest in most cities; NYC says an in-person hearing does not increase your chances.
4. 4Meet the deadline. Use the calculator above: the first deadline is 7 to 30 days, depending on the city.
5. 5Keep copies. Of the ticket, your letter, your evidence and the confirmation. If you lose, the appeal deadline starts from the decision.

Getting help

Common questions

Official sources

1. NYC: Parking and camera tickets (pay within 30 days; penalties $10 at 30 days, $20 at 60, $30 at 90, judgment at 100 days) nyc.gov
2. NYC Department of Finance: CityPay, parking and camera violations (pay online) nyc.gov
3. NYC Department of Finance: Dispute a ticket (30 days; judgment about 100 days; one-year limit in judgment) nyc.gov
4. NYC Department of Finance: Dispute a ticket FAQs (collections; $350 in judgment, boot and tow; payment plans) nyc.gov
5. NYC Department of Finance: Appeal a hearing decision (30 days; decision in 60 days; Article 78 within four months) nyc.gov
6. NYC Department of Finance: Booting (tow after 48 hours; boot fee $185 on or after November 1, 2025) nyc.gov
7. NYC Department of Finance: Office of the Parking Summons Advocate nyc.gov
8. NYC 311: Parking ticket payment (pre-penalty notice 20 days; 9% simple interest after judgment) nyc.gov
9. N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 241: failure to plead is an admission; default judgment; 30 days after a notice of impending default (read from the Internet Archive copy of September 12, 2025) nysenate.gov
10. N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 242(3): appeal within thirty days (read from the Internet Archive copy of October 11, 2025) nysenate.gov
11. City of Chicago, Department of Finance: Parking and red-light citation administration (help line 312.744.7275) chicago.gov
12. City of Chicago: CHIPAY, search and pay tickets online chicago.gov
13. City of Chicago: Notice information (21 days; late penalty the lesser of the fine or $250 minus the fine; enforcement; boot at 3 final determinations; $100 boot fee; tow $250 and $50 a day) chicago.gov
14. City of Chicago: eHearing FAQ (seven (7) days from issuance; twenty-one (21) days) chicago.gov
15. City of Chicago, Department of Administrative Hearings: vehicle FAQ (25 days before the ticket doubles; 35 days to appeal) chicago.gov
16. City of Chicago: Payment plan FAQ (24 or 36 months; 15% or 5% down; 22% collection cost) chicago.gov
17. LADOT: Pay your parking citation (online, PayTix, phone, in person, mail; $2.00 fee; low-income plan) ladot.lacity.gov
18. LADOT: Online services (request initial review or administrative hearing; appeal to Superior Court) ladot.lacity.gov
19. LADOT: FAQ (five or more delinquent citations: boot or tow; $150.00 boot fee) ladot.lacity.gov
20. San Francisco Treasurer: Can't afford to pay your parking ticket? ($5 enrollment, $25 to $50 a month, $20 an hour, up to $1,000 a year) treasurer.sf.gov
21. Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco: Traffic (does not handle parking tickets) sf.courts.ca.gov
22. Superior Court of California: statewide civil fee schedule, effective January 1, 2022 (appeal of parking decision, VC 40230, GC 70615(b), $25) (PDF) sf.courts.ca.gov
23. California Vehicle Code § 40215: initial review (21 or 14 calendar days, free), administrative hearing (21 days; within 90 days) (read from the Internet Archive copy of July 25, 2026) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
24. California Vehicle Code § 40230: appeal to superior court within 30 calendar days (read from the Internet Archive copy of July 25, 2026) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
25. California Vehicle Code § 40220: DMV registration hold only with a low-income plan of no more than $25 a month for $500 or less (read from the Internet Archive copy of July 24, 2024) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
26. California Vehicle Code § 40203.5: parking and late penalties set by the local governing body (read from the Internet Archive copy of January 27, 2023) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
27. City of Philadelphia: Pay a parking ticket (P.O. Box 41818; (888) 591-3636; 48 N. 8th St.) phila.gov
28. City of Philadelphia: Dispute a parking ticket (hearing within 15 days, no late fees) phila.gov
29. City of Philadelphia, Bureau of Administrative Adjudication: Regulations (§ 4.03 ten days, default vacated within one year; § 6.02 appeal within thirty days) (PDF) phila.gov
30. 2 Pa.C.S. § 752: appeals from local agency adjudications palegis.us
31. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5571(b): appeals from government units within 30 days palegis.us

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