Parking Violation Citations
Parking tickets may be issued for parking:
- At a meter after time has expired.
- At a broken/malfunctioning meter or pay
station.
- On the wrong side of a street with
alternate parking; or for more than 12 hours on all other streets. (Six hours
for commercial vehicles.)
- In a loading zone.
- In a no-parking zone.
- Less than five feet from a driveway.
- In a no-standing zone or stopping in a
no-stopping zone.
- Less than fifteen feet from a fire
hydrant.
- On a sidewalk.
- Contrary to snow ordinance regulations.
- Without displaying a valid handicapped
permit.
- Without displaying a valid inspection
certificate.
- Contrary to other City and State
parking regulations as applicable.
Parking Violation Fines
All listed fines already
include a $15 NYS surcharge, and handicapped fines already include a $30 NYS
surcharge.
Fines from parking tickets must
be paid within 30 days of a ticket's issue date. If not, fines will increase
according to the table below.
If Initial Fine Value Is: |
$40 |
$50 |
$105 |
$150 |
After 30 Calendar Days, Fine Plus Late Fee Is: |
$75 |
$95 |
$190 |
$235 |
After 75 Calendar Days, Fine Plus Late Fee Is: |
$95 |
$115 |
$200 |
$245 |
After 90 Calendar Days, Ticket Is In Default, Goes To Collection: |
$95 |
$115 |
$200 |
$245 |
BOOTED/TOWED VEHICLES
The
City's booting program is part of the ticketing process. A car can be booted if its owner has three or
more unpaid parking violation tickets, at least ninety days old. If
your vehicle has been booted, contact Paylock at 877-208-5421, call 311 or come
in to our office. DO NOT PAY the parking tickets on our online portal.
Vehicles
can also be held at the City’s Auto Impound for parking tickets owed on a
vehicle(s) or previously registered vehicle.
- If your car is booted and/or towed, or
has a registration hold, please submit a Clearance Form
before coming in to our office to receive a detailed report of all fines owed.
- If you’d like to contest the towing of
your vehicle, please submit a Tow Hearing Request Form within the allowed timeframe.
PARKING & MUNICIPAL CODE
VIOLATIONS HEARING PROCESS
All hearings for Parking &
Municipal Code Violations are held at the City of Rochester, Parking &
Municipal Code Violations Bureau, 200 East Main St, Suite B-001, Rochester, NY
14604.
It is recommended that you appear
in person to testify. This allows you to express your testimony, bring evidence,
and ask/answer questions. Any evidence submitted at the time of the
hearing must be in hard copy form and will remain in the case file. All
hearings must be scheduled in advance. Hearings start at 9:45am until
1:00pm occurring every 15 minutes. You
must bring Photo ID when signing in for the hearing. If you do not
appear for your hearing, a default judgment will be entered against you.
PARKING VIOLATIONS
If you are contesting a Parking
ticket, you must be the registered owner of the vehicle to which the ticket was issued to testify. If you are not
the registered owner, but you were the operator at the time the ticket was
issued, you must have notarized authorization to testify (unless the owner is appearing with you). See "Authorization Forms for Others' Appearance" section below to obtain a form. If the ticket was
issued to a rental vehicle, you must provide a copy of the rental
agreement. Hearings for parking tickets are held on Wednesdays and Fridays.
*NEW (Starting
July 1, 2022):
Hearings for a parking violation may be requested up to one year after
default judgment has been entered, given that a first hearing had never been
scheduled. Default Judgments are entered if you fail to appear for your
scheduled hearing. Once a default judgment has been entered, a new
hearing will not be granted unless you provide a reasonable excuse. The
decision to grant a new hearing after a default judgment has been issued, is
solely in the discretion of the Hearing Examiner. If you wish to have
your case reopened, within the year following the default judgment, you must
submit a Motion to Vacate form. There is a non-refundable
$50 application fee required in order for the Hearing Examiner to review your
case and determine if the case will be reopened. Note: Approval
for the reopening of a case is not guaranteed.
It is recommended that you
call to schedule your hearing within 30 days from the date the ticket was
issued, to avoid any penalty fees being added and/or the need to file a Motion
to Vacate. You will be allowed one reschedule as
long as your request is received prior to the original hearing date. If
your original hearing date is rescheduled and you fail to appear, a default
judgment will be entered and you will need to file a Motion to Vacate and pay
the $50 fee.
HOUSING CODE VIOLATIONS
If you are contesting a Housing
or Get Tough ticket, you must be the deeded
owner of the property to which the ticket was issued to testify. If
you are not the deeded owner, you must have notarized authorization to testify (unless the owner is appearing with you). See "Authorization Forms for Others' Appearance" section below to obtain a form. Hearings for HC/GT
tickets are held on Mondays only.
*NEW (Starting
July 1, 2022):
Hearings for a housing code violation, in most cases, may be requested up to
one year after a default judgment has been entered, given that a first hearing
had never been scheduled. However, no person may make a request for a new
hearing after April 1, of the following year. Default Judgments are
entered if you fail to appear for your scheduled hearing. Once a default
judgment has been entered, a new hearing will not be granted unless you provide
a reasonable excuse. The decision to grant a new hearing after a default
judgment has been issued, is solely in the discretion of the Hearing Examiner.
If you wish to have your case reopened, within the allowable timeframe
following the default judgment, you must submit a Motion to Vacate form.
There is a non-refundable $50 application fee required in order for the Hearing
Examiner to review your case and determine if the case will be
reopened. Note: Approval for the reopening of a case is not guaranteed.
It is recommended that you
call to schedule your hearing within 30 days from the date the ticket was
issued, to avoid any penalty fees being added and/or the need to file a Motion
to Vacate. You will be allowed one reschedule as
long as your request is received prior to the original hearing date.
If your original hearing date is rescheduled and you fail to appear, a
default judgment will be entered and you will need to file a Motion to Vacate
and pay the $50 fee.
ALL OTHER MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATIONS
If you are contesting any other
Municipal Code ticket, i.e. dog ticket, anti-noise, fire code, etc., the ticket
must be issued in your name (Respondent) to testify. If you are not the
Respondent, you must have notarized authorization to testify (unless the owner is appearing with you). See "Authorization Forms for Others' Appearance" section below to obtain a form. Hearings for these municipal code tickets are
held on Wednesdays only.
*NEW (Starting
July 1, 2022):
Hearings for a municipal code violation may be requested up to one year
after a default judgment has been entered, given that a first hearing had never
been scheduled. Default Judgments are entered if you fail to appear for
your scheduled hearing. Once a default judgment has been entered, a new
hearing will not be granted unless you provide a reasonable excuse. The
decision to grant a new hearing after a default judgment has been issued, is
solely in the discretion of the Hearing Examiner. If you wish to have
your case reopened, within the year following the default judgment, you must
submit a Motion to Vacate form. There is a non-refundable
$50 application fee required in order for the Hearing Examiner to review your
case and determine if the case will be reopened. Note: Approval
for the reopening of a case is not guaranteed.
It is recommended that you
call to schedule your hearing within 30 days from the date the ticket was
issued, to avoid any penalty fees being added and/or the need to file a Motion
to Vacate. You will be allowed one reschedule as
long as your request is received prior to the original hearing date. If
your original hearing date is rescheduled and you fail to appear, a default
judgment will be entered and you will need to file a Motion to Vacate and pay
the $50 fee.
EX-PARTE HEARING
If you live outside of Monroe
County or if it is absolutely not possible for you to appear in person, you may
request an ex-parte hearing by submitting your testimony in writing. Please note that with an ex-parte hearing, there
is no interaction with the Hearing Examiner. The Examiner will read your
testimony, look at any evidence provided by you, and make his/her decision
based on the facts before him/her. Please provide all evidence in hard
copy form to substantiate your case. All
evidence will remain in the case file. You
must send a letter by mail, to our office, specifically requesting an ex-parte
hearing, stating the reason you are unable to appear in person and stating the
reason you are not guilty of the violation. Please include the ticket
number and/or plate number of the vehicle or the ticket number and/or property
address the ticket was issued to. Submit your request before 30 calendar
days to avoid additional penalties. Mail
your testimony and supporting documents to the address above with “ATTN: Ex-Parte Hearing Examiner”.
APPEAL PROCESS
If you feel the Hearing Examiner
made an error in the fact of law, you have the right to appeal the
determination only if your plea at the hearing was Not Guilty. You must file your request for
appeal within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of your original hearing on this matter. You must also state the reason for your
appeal on the back of the Appeal Request Form. Appeal hearings are
held on the third or fourth Thursday of every month.
AUTHORIZATION FORMS FOR OTHERS’
APPEARANCE
If you
are not the registered owner of a vehicle, or you are not the respondent of a
municipal code ticket, you must obtain written authorization from the
respondent (or registered vehicle owner) to appear for a hearing. The authorization must be notarized. To authorize such an appearance, please use
the appropriate affidavit forms below:
PARKING
Please
note: If you received a parking
ticket on a rental vehicle, you must provide a copy of the rental agreement at
the time of the hearing, or when the hearing is scheduled.
MUNICIPAL
Please
note: If
the property manager is a company, the company must submit proof that
the individual appearing for the hearing is employed by their company and must submit notarized authorization for the individual to appear on the
company’s behalf.
Questions?