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So you’ve been convicted of a traffic violation and are now looking at a hefty fine. But what do you do if you can’t afford to pay a traffic ticket in New York? 

Unfortunately, the fine is there to stay, whether you can pay it or not, and failure to pay can lead to serious consequences (including imprisonment). On the bright side, you might qualify for a payment plan.

What Is a Payment Plan?

Payment plans are methods of paying for something through smaller payments spread out over time. The total amount paid will often be at least as much as the original fine with the possibility for the government to charge more in interest. 

Let’s look at parking ticket payment plans in New York City, for example. In New York City, payment plans for parking tickets must meet all of the following requirements:

• You must be the registered owner of the vehicle or own the vehicle through other court-approved means.
• You must agree to pay the entire value of all outstanding parking ticket judgements (which could include fines, fees, surcharges, etc.).
• Your first payment must equal at least 20% of the total amount due.
• If your balance due is less than $350, then you must pay it off within 60 days.
• If your balance due is equal to or greater than $350, then you must pay it off within 24 months.
• You must agree to pay the entire balance on all outstanding parking tickets, including any and all booting, towing, or related fees.

The actual amount paid is often greater than the amount in fines and other costs because the government frequently adds interest fees to long-term payment plans. For example, a $1,000 parking ticket on a 24-month payment plan with a 9% interest rate will end up costing a total of $1,090 ($90 more than the total judgment).

How to Apply for a Payment Plan

Unfortunately, not everybody qualifies for payment plans under New York state law. In order to be approved by the government for a payment plan, you must first go through the application process. That process is outlined in the three steps listed below:

Step 1: Examine Your Traffic Ticket to Determine Where to “Answer” Your Ticket

The process of responding to a traffic ticket is also called “answering” the ticket. You have only a few weeks to answer your traffic ticket after it is issued to you. Failure to respond to the ticket in time can result in you being charged with a violation fittingly referred to as “Failure to Respond.”

Where you have to answer your ticket depends on where you received the ticket. The majority of tickets issued in one of New York City’s five boroughs, for example, are answerable to the Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB). 

Tickets received in other locations are typically answerable to the local courts with jurisdiction over the area in which the ticket was issued. For example, if you get a traffic ticket in Nassau County, your ticket will need to be answered and resolved in Nassau County’s traffic court system. This is true whether you live there or not.

Step 2: Resolve Your Traffic Ticket with the Court

There are two plea options for most traffic tickets in most parts of New York: not guilty and guilty. If you intend to fight your ticket in court, you’ll need to plead not guilty. Pleading not guilty enables you to go before a judge and make your case with the hopes of possibly getting the ticket dismissed.

A ticket is considered “resolved” if one of the following things happens:

• You plead guilty.
• You are found guilty.
• You are found not guilty.
• The ticket is dismissed.

If you are found not guilty and the ticket is dismissed, you will not have to pay for that ticket.

Step 3: Fill out an Application for a Payment Plan

The last step in qualifying for a payment plan on a New York traffic ticket is to fill out the Financial Disclosure Report for Payment Plans (Form AA-FDR) and submit it to the court. This application must be turned in as soon as possible after being found guilty of the traffic ticket.

Failure to turn it in on time will result in you being found delinquent on your traffic ticket’s balance, which can substantially decrease your credit score—among other things.

How to Make Monthly Payments

Monthly payments can be made by mail (or, in some cases, over the phone or through the DMV’s online payment portal). Your ticket will have information on it describing how to pay it. Follow those instructions to the best of your ability to avoid any bureaucratic mishaps along the way.

*Note

It is important that you make your minimum monthly payment each month, no matter what. Failure to do so will result in your payment plan being voided and the entire remaining balance coming due immediately. 

For example, if your payment plan covers multiple tickets and the balance owed on one ticket is less than the monthly minimum payment, then you must pay all of that ticket and then some from others until you have met the minimum payment.

If the entire balance owed on your payment plan is less than the monthly minimum payment, then you must pay off the entire remaining balance in that one payment.

Payment Plans and Tickets in Multiple Jurisdictions

If you have multiple traffic tickets from different jurisdictions, each ticket must be resolved in the court that has jurisdiction. The best way to learn which court has jurisdiction over your ticket is to read the ticket and see which court is listed on it.

If you have an existing payment plan with one court and you get another ticket in another court’s jurisdiction, that second ticket will not apply to your existing payment plan. You will need to enter into a separate payment plan with that other court, following the three-step process outlined in this document.