Connecticut Restitution: Orders, Calculation, and Collection

Criminal restitution in Connecticut is money a convicted defendant must pay directly to the victim to cover real financial losses caused by the offense. Since 2018, a judge must order it when three things line up: the defendant is convicted of an offense that caused injury or property loss, the victim asks for restitution, and the court finds the victim actually suffered the loss.¹ The money goes to you, not the state, and the order stays enforceable for up to 20 years.²

When a Connecticut Court Must Order Restitution

Under Connecticut General Statutes 53a-28(c), restitution is mandatory, not discretionary, once three conditions are met:

The defendant was convicted of an offense that caused injury, property damage, or property loss.
The victim requests financial restitution.
The judge finds that the victim actually suffered the claimed injury or loss.

The statute also requires the judge to ask on the record at every sentencing whether any victim is requesting restitution. If you stay silent, you can lose the chance. The process depends on you asking.¹

There is one way out for the defense. If the court finds the offender’s financial resources are so limited that no workable payment terms exist, the judge may decline to order restitution. But the judge has to explain that decision on the record, running through four factors: the offender’s resources and other obligations, ability to pay in installments, the rehabilitative effect of paying, and the financial impact on the victim.¹

Restitution can also be attached separately as a condition of probation under 53a-30(a)(4). When it rides along with probation, the court or the Court Support Services Division sets the amount and the payment schedule, and the victim must be told the order can be enforced like a civil judgment.³

What Restitution Covers in Connecticut

The statute draws a hard line between economic losses, which are covered, and intangible harm, which is not. Restitution must be based on “easily ascertainable damages” and is limited to three categories:¹

Property losses: the cost to repair or replace stolen, destroyed, or damaged property.
Treatment expenses: actual bills for medical care, dental work, prescriptions, and similar treatment tied to the injury.
Lost wages: income you missed because of the injury.

Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other intangible losses are excluded. The one carve-out is counseling. If therapy is reasonably related to the offense, those bills are recoverable, but you cannot claim a separate dollar amount for emotional distress.¹

That boundary matters if your losses go beyond documented bills and missed paychecks. Criminal restitution will not make you whole for everything a civil court could award. A separate civil suit may be worth considering.

How the Amount Is Calculated

Judges work from documentation. Prosecutors help victims pull together medical invoices, repair estimates, employer wage statements, and receipts. Expert testimony can come in when something like future treatment cost or long-term disability needs to be estimated.

For stolen or damaged property, the standard is fair market value, with industry pricing tools often used for vehicles and other items with resale markets. If repair is feasible, restitution covers the repair cost. Medical expenses come from provider invoices; lost wages come from pay records.

The “easily ascertainable” standard is where many restitution awards end up smaller than victims expect.¹ It isn’t that the court doubts the harm. It’s that losses you can’t document with reasonable specificity usually won’t make it into the number.

Payment Schedules

Lump-sum payment is rare. Installment plans are the norm, with the schedule tailored to what the defendant can realistically manage. The judge weighs the same four factors used to decide whether to order restitution in the first place: financial resources, ability to pay in installments, rehabilitative effect, and impact on the victim.¹ When restitution is a probation condition, the court or the Court Support Services Division sets the schedule and tracks compliance.³

Each victim receives the written order by certified mail on a form prescribed by the Chief Court Administrator. That order spells out the total owed and tells the victim it can be enforced as a civil judgment, a detail that becomes important the moment payments stop.¹

Collecting Unpaid Restitution

Section 53a-28a gives victims a strong tool. Any restitution order can be enforced the same way as a civil judgment, which means wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens are all on the table.²

To start, the victim or monitoring agency files a copy of the restitution order with the Superior Court, along with an affidavit showing how much has been paid and how much is still outstanding. The affidavit uses a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator. Notice then goes to the offender by certified mail, and execution on the judgment can proceed 30 days after proof of service is filed.²

There are no filing fees. The statute waives both the entry fee for bringing the enforcement action and the fee for filing an execution.²

Wage garnishment follows Connecticut’s general execution-on-wages rules. The amount taken from a paycheck is capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly earnings exceed 40 times the applicable minimum wage.⁴

When Restitution Is a Probation Condition and the Defendant Stops Paying

When restitution is tied to probation, missed payments can trigger a probation violation under 53a-32. The court can issue an arrest warrant or notice to appear. If the violation is established, the judge can continue probation with modified terms, extend the probation period, or revoke probation entirely and impose the original prison sentence.⁵

Revocation isn’t automatic. Courts distinguish between a defendant who willfully refuses to pay and one who genuinely cannot. A defendant who brings pay stubs, bank statements, and proof of other obligations may get the schedule adjusted. Showing up with no documentation and no explanation is a fast path to incarceration.

How Long the Order Lasts

A Connecticut restitution order does not end when the sentence does. Under 53a-28a, the order is enforceable for 20 years after release from confinement or termination of probation, or 20 years from the date the order was entered, whichever is longer.²

For a defendant, finishing prison or completing probation does not erase the debt. For a victim, there’s a long window to collect even if the defendant has no assets when first released. And bankruptcy generally won’t wipe it out. Federal bankruptcy law contains specific exceptions preventing discharge of criminal penalties and restitution.⁶

When Restitution Isn’t Enough: Victim Compensation

Restitution depends on the offender being caught, convicted, and able to pay. When that doesn’t happen, Connecticut’s Victim Compensation Program, run by the Judicial Branch’s Office of Victim Services, provides a separate source of funds. The money comes from the state, not the offender, with its own eligibility rules and caps.⁷

The crime generally must have occurred in Connecticut, the victim must have reported it to police (with alternative reporting routes for domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault victims), the victim must not have caused or participated in the offense, and cooperation with the investigation is required. Caps run up to $15,000 for physical injury expenses, up to $5,000 for emotional injury treatment, and up to $25,000 in survivor benefits, with a $6,000 sub-cap on funeral costs and up to $1,000 for crime scene cleanup. Applications must be filed within three years of the injury or death, though a waiver is possible.⁷

Compensation and restitution can work together. Compensation can cover expenses restitution never reaches, whether because the offender was never identified, the case did not end in conviction, or the defendant has no ability to pay.

1
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-28 – Authorized Sentences
2
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-28a – Enforcement of Orders of Financial Restitution
3
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-30 – Conditions of Probation and Conditional Discharge
4
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 52-361a – Execution on Wages After Judgment
5
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-32 – Violation of Probation or Conditional Discharge
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
7
Connecticut Judicial Branch. OVS Victim Compensation Program