How to Pay NY Traffic, Parking, and Camera Tickets

To pay a New York traffic ticket, first figure out which of three agencies has your case: moving violations issued in the five boroughs go to the DMV’s Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB), tickets issued anywhere else in the state go to the local town, village, or city court printed on the ticket, and parking or camera violations inside New York City go to the NYC Department of Finance. Each agency has its own website, its own payment methods, and its own penalties for late response. Paying quickly matters, and for moving violations, so does thinking twice before you pay at all.

Figure Out Which Agency Has Your Ticket

The ticket itself tells you. TVB tickets are typically white and list a TVB hearing location. Parking tickets are orange or white with “Department of Finance” printed on them. Camera violations arrive by mail. If you’ve lost the paper, you can look the ticket up online using your license plate on the relevant agency’s site.

Non-criminal moving violations in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island — speeding, running a red light, improper lane changes, and similar offenses — go to the DMV’s Traffic Violations Bureau. The TVB does not handle parking tickets, camera violations, or criminal charges like DWI.¹
Traffic tickets issued outside the five boroughs go to the local town, village, or city court where the violation happened. The back of the ticket names the court and explains how to respond.²
Parking tickets, red light camera tickets, and speed camera tickets issued inside New York City are all collected by the NYC Department of Finance.³

Before You Pay a Moving Violation, Know What It Costs

Paying a moving violation in New York is the same as pleading guilty.⁴ The plea adds points to your driving record, and the points bring their own bill.

Speeding 1–10 mph over the limit is 3 points. Speeding 11–20 over is 4. Speeding 21–30 over is 6. Running a red light is 3. Failure to signal is 2. Higher speeds climb from there, up to 11 points for more than 40 mph over.⁵

Six points inside any 18-month window triggers a separate charge called the Driver Responsibility Assessment. The base assessment is $100 per year for three years — $300 total — and each point beyond 6 adds $25 per year, or $75 over the three years.⁶ A single ticket for 25 mph over the limit hits the 6-point threshold on its own. Add a red-light ticket within 18 months and the assessment climbs to $525, on top of every fine and surcharge you already paid.

For higher-point violations, pleading not guilty and requesting a hearing at least opens the door to a reduction. The TVB accepts not-guilty pleas and schedules hearings.⁴ Outside NYC, the not-guilty plea goes through the local court on your ticket.

Paying an NYC Moving Violation (TVB Ticket)

To pay a TVB ticket, you’ll need your full name, ZIP code, ticket number, violation date, and date of birth.¹ The balance shown includes the fine plus the mandatory state surcharge and crime victim assistance fee that Vehicle and Traffic Law adds to every conviction.⁷

Three ways to pay:

Online through the DMV’s e-services portal with a credit card. For multiple tickets or an outstanding balance, log into MyDMV.¹
By phone through the DMV’s automated system with your ticket number and credit card.
By mail: enter your guilty plea on the ticket and send it with a check or money order made out to “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles” to Traffic Violations Plea Unit, New York State DMV, P.O. Box 2950 – ESP, Albany, NY 12220-0950. Your response has to be in within 15 days of the violation date.¹⁸

Do not send cash. The DMV needs a traceable payment to credit your account.

Paying a Traffic Ticket Issued Outside NYC

Tickets issued anywhere outside the five boroughs skip the TVB entirely. They’re processed by the criminal or traffic court in the city, county, town, or village where the stop happened.² The back of the ticket has the court’s name and contact information.

Procedures vary by court. Some accept online payment through the NYS Courts electronic filing system. Others want you to appear in person, phone the clerk, or mail in a signed guilty plea with payment. Town and village courts add an extra $5 to the mandatory surcharge on traffic convictions.⁷ If you no longer have the ticket, the NY.gov traffic ticket page can help you find the right court.

Paying NYC Parking and Camera Tickets

Parking violations, red light camera tickets, and speed camera tickets in New York City all go to the Department of Finance. These do not add points to your driving record, so the decision to pay is more straightforward than with a moving violation. You need the violation number or your plate to pull up the balance.

Payment Methods

Online through the CityPay portal at NYC.gov. Credit cards, debit cards, Venmo, and PayPal all carry a 2% processing fee. Electronic check or money order avoids the fee.⁹
The NYC Pay or Dispute mobile app lets you pay or contest from your phone.⁹
In person at a Department of Finance Business Center in any of the five boroughs. Cash, money orders, and credit cards accepted.¹⁰
By mail: send a check or money order to NYC Department of Finance, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 3640, New York, NY 10008-3640. Write the ticket number on the check.¹¹

How Long Payments Take to Post

Online and app payments take 2 to 4 business days to show up in the Department of Finance system. Business Center payments take 2 or more business days. Mail-in payments can take up to 2 weeks.¹² Hold on to the receipt or confirmation number until the balance updates.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

The penalties escalate quickly, and they work differently depending on the ticket type.

Unpaid Moving Violations

Miss the deadline to answer a TVB ticket and the DMV suspends your license for failing to respond — not for being found guilty, but for not answering. Keep ignoring it and you’re convicted by default, with the same points and fines as if you’d pleaded guilty, and the DMV adds a second suspension for failure to pay.¹ Both suspensions are indefinite and stay in place until you either pay in full or set up a payment plan. Driving on a suspended license is a criminal offense in New York, so one unanswered speeding ticket can turn into a much bigger problem. Unpaid fines may also be sent to a debt collection agency.⁸

Unpaid NYC Parking and Camera Tickets

Parking and camera penalties stack up on a fixed schedule:⁹

30 days unpaid: $10 penalty added
60 days unpaid: another $20
90 days unpaid: another $30
100 days unpaid: the ticket is entered into judgment

Once a ticket goes to judgment, it becomes a legal debt. If your tickets in judgment total more than $350, the city can boot or tow your vehicle.¹³ The Department of Finance can also defer or suspend your New York State vehicle registration, which blocks renewal.¹⁴ A $65 parking ticket can become several hundred dollars and a booted car within a few months.

If You Live Out of State

Driving home doesn’t end the ticket. New York belongs to the Driver License Compact, an interstate agreement under which states report driving convictions back to the driver’s home state, which can then take its own action on your license — most commonly for serious offenses like DWI, hit-and-run, and vehicular manslaughter. For routine speeding, what your home state does with the report depends on its own rules; some states add their own points, others act only on major offenses. Either way, failing to answer a New York ticket can suspend your New York driving privileges, which stops you from legally driving in the state and may be reported through the National Driver Register. Treat a New York ticket with the same urgency you’d give one from home.

1
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Plead To or Pay New York City (NYC) TVB Traffic Tickets
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NY.gov. Pay a New York State Traffic Ticket
3
NYC Department of Finance. Parking Ticket Services – DOF
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New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Traffic Tickets in New York State
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New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The New York State Driver Point System
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New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Responsibility Assessment (DRA)
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New York State Senate. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law VAT 1809 – Mandatory Surcharge and Crime Victim Assistance Fee
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New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Traffic Violations Bureau
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NYC.gov. NYC Parking or Camera Tickets
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NYC Department of Finance. Visit a DOF Business Center
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NYC Department of Finance. NYC Official Payments – DOF
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NYC311. Parking Ticket or Camera Violation Status – Section: Payment Status
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NYC Department of Finance. Tickets in Judgment
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NYC311. Parking Ticket or Camera Violation Payment