A littering ticket in California carries a base fine of $100 under Vehicle Code 23112 or $250 to $1,000 under Penal Code 374.4 for a first offense, but penalty assessments routinely multiply what you actually owe by four to eight times the base amount. Depending on how the citation is written, you can also be ordered to pick up litter for at least eight hours, reimburse cleanup costs, or, for commercial-quantity dumping, face misdemeanor charges and jail time.
Which Law You Were Cited Under
Two different statutes cover most littering tickets in California, and they carry very different fine ranges.
Vehicle Code 23112
CVC 23112 is the law officers use when something is thrown or dumped from a vehicle onto a highway. It prohibits depositing bottles, cans, garbage, glass, nails, paper, wire, or any substance likely to injure or damage traffic, and a second subsection bars dumping rocks, refuse, garbage, or dirt on a highway or its right-of-way without permission from the agency responsible for that road.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 23112
The statute reaches both the person who throws the item and the driver of the vehicle. If a passenger tosses a cup out the window, you can be cited as the driver. CVC 23112 does not set its own fine; it falls under the general Vehicle Code infraction schedule in CVC 42001, which caps the base fine at $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second infraction within a year, and $250 for a third or subsequent infraction within a year.2California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 42001
Penal Code 374.4
PC 374.4 is the general littering statute and applies whether you were in a vehicle or on foot. It covers litter on any public or private property and defines “litter” as small quantities of waste normally carried on a person, including beverage containers, packaging, wrappers, wastepaper, newspapers, and magazines, discarded anywhere other than a proper disposal container. Fines escalate with each conviction and are mandatory, meaning a judge cannot waive them:3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 374.4
- First conviction: $250 to $1,000
- Second conviction: $500 to $1,500
- Third or subsequent conviction: $750 to $3,000
If an officer writes you up for the same roadside toss under PC 374.4 rather than CVC 23112, your minimum starting point jumps from $100 to $250.
Why the Base Fine Is Not What You’ll Pay
This is the part that catches almost everyone off guard. Every criminal and traffic fine in California gets hit with a stack of penalty assessments, surcharges, and flat fees that can multiply the base fine by roughly four to eight times. A $25 base fine can reach $212 after assessments. A $250 base fine under PC 374.4 easily climbs past $1,000.
The additions include a state penalty of $10 for every $10 of base fine, county penalty assessments, a 20% state surcharge, a $40 court operations assessment per conviction, and a $35 conviction assessment per infraction. They are set by separate statutes and attach automatically. The judge has no discretion to remove them. Treat any fine range you see as the starting figure, not the amount you will pay at the window.
When a Dumping Ticket Becomes a Misdemeanor
Penal Code 374.3 covers waste dumped on a highway, on private property without the owner’s consent, or on public property not designated for waste disposal. For ordinary quantities the fine schedule mirrors PC 374.4 ($250 to $1,000 for a first offense, up to $3,000 for a third).4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 374.3
When the dumping involves commercial quantities of waste, the offense becomes a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail plus mandatory fines on a steeper scale:4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 374.3
- First conviction (commercial quantities): $1,000 to $3,000
- Second conviction: $3,000 to $6,000
- Third or subsequent conviction: $6,000 to $10,000
If the person convicted owns or operates a business with more than ten full-time employees and that business was involved in the dumping, the maximums roughly double: up to $5,000 for a first conviction, $10,000 for a second, and $20,000 for a third. A misdemeanor conviction here also creates a criminal record, which is a very different outcome than paying an infraction fine.
Related Violations You Might Also See
If the item tossed was on fire, the citation shifts to CVC 23111, the Paul Buzzo Act, which prohibits anyone in a vehicle or any pedestrian from throwing a lit cigarette, cigar, match, or other flaming or glowing substance onto any road, highway, or adjoining area. Given California’s wildfire risk, enforcement is aggressive, and additional criminal liability can follow if a fire results.
If something fell out of your vehicle because the load was not secured, the applicable statute is CVC 23114, which requires every vehicle on a California highway to be constructed, covered, or loaded so that nothing drops, sifts, leaks, blows, or spills.5California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 23114 You can be cited whether or not you meant to litter.
Community Service and Cleanup Costs
Under PC 374.4, a court can require anyone convicted of littering to pick up litter for a minimum of eight hours at a time and place within the court’s jurisdiction, imposed as a condition of probation on top of the mandatory fine.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 374.4 Eight hours is the floor. Judges regularly assign more for repeat offenders or for dumping in sensitive areas.
For larger dumping violations under PC 374.3, courts may also order the offender to reimburse the local government for actual cleanup costs. If a city sent a crew to haul away your illegally dumped construction debris, expect a bill for that work on top of the fine and any community service.
What a Littering Ticket Does to Your Driving Record
California’s DMV tracks unsafe driving through a point system. Accumulating four points in 12 months, six in 24 months, or eight in 36 months triggers a negligent-operator designation that can lead to license suspension or probation.6California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Negligence
Vehicle Code 12810 assigns one point to any traffic conviction involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle. The statute does not list CVC 23112 or CVC 23114 by name, but it includes a catchall for “any other traffic conviction involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle upon the highway.”7California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code 12810 Whether a particular littering or unsecured-load citation falls under the catchall depends on the circumstances. Debris that creates a road hazard is more likely to be treated as safety-related than a candy wrapper tossed out a window.
Even without a point, the conviction still shows on your record. If littering from your vehicle causes a crash, civil liability for injuries and property damage can follow, and insurance premiums will almost certainly rise.
Littering on Federal Land in California
If the ticket was written in a national park, national forest, or on BLM land, state law does not apply. On National Park Service land, 36 CFR 2.14 prohibits disposing of refuse anywhere other than a designated receptacle, and violation of any NPS regulation can result in up to six months in federal custody, a fine, or both under 18 U.S.C. 1865.8eCFR. 36 CFR 2.14 – Sanitation and Refuse9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1865 On BLM land, violators pay restitution for actual cleanup costs, which the agency estimates range from roughly $2,200 for a single barrel of household garbage to $8,500 for larger solid-waste sites.10Bureau of Land Management. BLM Urges Visitors to Recreate Responsibly and Encourages Public to Report Illegal Dumping
What to Do With the Citation
You can pay the fine or contest it. For Vehicle Code infractions, you can request a trial by written declaration and submit your defense on paper; if you lose, you can request a new in-person trial at no additional cost. For PC 374.4 infractions, you appear before a judge. Common defenses include arguing that the item was accidentally dropped rather than intentionally discarded, or that the citation identified the wrong person.
Misdemeanor charges under PC 374.3 for commercial-quantity dumping are more serious, and legal representation is worth considering given the potential for jail time and a lasting criminal record.
Whatever you decide, respond. Failing to answer the citation can trigger a failure-to-appear charge, additional fees, and a hold on your vehicle registration or driver’s license. Ignoring the ticket is the one move that reliably makes things worse.