An Aventura red light camera ticket is a $158 civil penalty mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner, and you have 60 days from the date on the Notice of Violation to pay it, submit an affidavit, or request a hearing.1 It carries no points on your license and is not reported as a moving violation, but ignoring it is expensive: the city escalates unpaid notices to a Uniform Traffic Citation with added court costs.
What the Notice Is
Aventura operates its cameras under Florida’s Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act. The system captures still images of the rear license plate and video of the approach, and an authorized traffic infraction enforcement officer has to review that footage and confirm a violation before any notice goes out. Nothing is generated automatically. Once the officer confirms it, the city has 30 days from the date of the infraction to mail the Notice of Violation to the registered owner.
The notice includes a reference number and login credentials for the vendor portal at violationinfo.com, where you can watch the video and view the stills yourself. The statute guarantees you the right to review that evidence before deciding what to do.
Watch the Video Before You Do Anything
Log in and look at the footage first. A few things decide whether you have a defense:
- Where your front tires were relative to the stop line at the moment the light turned red.
- Whether the light was solidly red before you entered the intersection, or changed while you were already committed.
- If it was a right turn, whether you came to a complete stop at any point before completing the turn.
That last point matters more than most drivers realize, and it has its own section below.
Your Three Options and the 60-Day Deadline
From the date on the notice, you have 60 days to do one of three things.
Pay the $158. You can pay online at violationinfo.com by credit or debit card, or mail a check or money order to the address on the notice. Once payment processes, the case closes.
Submit an affidavit. If you weren’t driving, or one of the other statutory exemptions applies, you file an affidavit instead of paying. The specific grounds are listed further down.
Request a hearing. You contest the notice by requesting a hearing through the clerk of court’s office within the 60-day window. A hearing officer reviews the case, and the camera footage is admissible as evidence. The statute treats the video as a rebuttable presumption that a violation occurred, meaning you need to present evidence that shows otherwise. You don’t need an attorney, though some drivers hire one once a case has escalated to a Uniform Traffic Citation.
Right Turns on Red
Florida law prohibits the city from issuing a notice or citation for a right turn made “in a careful and prudent manner” at an intersection where right turns on red are allowed. The statute draws the line at the turn itself, not the stop line. Even if you rolled past the stop line before stopping, you are still protected as long as you came to a complete stop before actually completing the turn.
A large share of camera notices involve right turns, and the system can flag a rolling approach even when the driver did stop before turning. If your video shows a complete stop before the turn, that is a strong basis for contesting.
When You Aren’t Liable
The statute lists specific situations where the registered owner is not responsible for the violation:
- Someone else was driving. You submit an affidavit identifying that person by name, address, date of birth, and driver license number if you know it. The city can then pursue the actual driver. This covers rental cars, company vehicles, and family members who borrowed the car.
- The vehicle was stolen. You submit an affidavit with a copy of the police report.
- You proceeded through the intersection to yield to an emergency vehicle, or as part of a funeral procession.
- A law enforcement officer directed you through the intersection.
- An officer already cited you at the scene for the same violation, which makes the camera citation duplicative.
For the “someone else was driving” defense once the matter has escalated, the affidavit must be submitted within 30 days of receiving the Uniform Traffic Citation.
What Happens If You Ignore It
If you do nothing within 60 days, the city converts the notice into a Uniform Traffic Citation and sends it by certified mail. Court costs and additional fees stack onto the original $158, and the total climbs significantly. The escalation is automatic. Letting the notice sit on the counter is the single most expensive way to handle it.
Points, License, and Insurance
A Florida red light camera violation is a civil, non-criminal infraction. It does not add points to your driver’s license and is not reported to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as a moving violation, which is why it doesn’t trigger the license and surcharge consequences that follow a points-based ticket.
Insurance is less tidy. Florida’s camera statute does not include an explicit prohibition on insurers using these violations in rating, so impact varies by carrier. In practice, most drivers who pay the notice promptly report no change to their premiums, but there is no statutory guarantee of that outcome.