Pasadena Parking Ticket: Fines, Deadline, and Appeals

A Pasadena parking ticket gives you 21 calendar days from the issue date to pay the fine or request a review, with most common violations costing $60 and the top fine reaching $476 for parking in a disabled space without a placard. Miss the deadline and the city adds a $27 late fee plus a $3 DMV charge, then places a hold on your vehicle registration until you pay. You can handle everything through the city’s online citation portal, by phone, by mail, or in person at City Hall.

What You Owe

Pasadena’s Fiscal Year 2025 fee schedule sets the amount for every citable offense.¹ The ones you’re most likely to see:

Expired meter: $60
Overtime parking in a 1-, 2-, or 3-hour zone: $60
Overnight parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.: $60
No parking anytime or restricted parking: $60
Parked in front of a driveway: $60
Parked on a sidewalk: $60
Too close to a fire hydrant: $69
Red zone or no stopping: $75
No current registration: $101
Parked beyond the 72-hour limit: $131
Commercial vehicle in a residential area: $162
Bus zone: $368
Disabled placard misuse: $439
Disabled parking space with no placard: $476

Fine amounts can change in future fiscal years.

The 21-Day Deadline

California law gives you 21 calendar days from the date the ticket was issued to either pay or request an initial review.² The deadline is printed on the citation itself.³

If you miss it, the city mails a delinquent notice. You then have 14 calendar days from that mailing to request an initial review.² The late penalty has already attached by that point, so even a successful contest leaves you chasing a refund rather than avoiding the fee outright.

How to Pay

You need the citation number from the upper-right corner of the ticket and your license plate. Lost the ticket? Call Parking Services at (626) 744-7665 to retrieve the citation number.⁴

Online through the city’s citation portal, by credit or debit card. A $3.50 convenience fee applies.⁵
By phone through the automated payment line, with the same $3.50 convenience fee.⁵
By mail, with a check or money order to City of Pasadena, C/O Citation Processing Center, PO Box 10479, Newport Beach, CA 92658-0479. No convenience fee, but give yourself enough mail time to arrive before day 21.
In person at the Parking Office, 100 N. Garfield Ave., Room N106, inside Pasadena City Hall. Open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Cash accepted.⁶

How to Fight the Ticket

The contest process has three tiers, and each one is a prerequisite for the next. You can’t skip ahead.⁵

Initial Review

City staff review your citation and statement to decide whether the ticket was issued correctly. Submit the request online, by mail, by phone, or in person at the Parking Office. The decision is mailed to the vehicle’s registered address, not given on the spot.⁵

Administrative Hearing

If the initial review goes against you, you have 21 calendar days from the date the review decision was mailed to request a hearing with an independent examiner.² The hearing can be held in person or by written declaration.⁷

You must pay the full penalty before the hearing will be scheduled. If you win, the deposit comes back.⁷ If the deposit is a hardship, you can apply for a deferral by submitting proof of income such as pay stubs, unemployment benefits, Social Security statements, or tax filings. Requests without documentation are denied. One important limit: if your citation is already delinquent and has a late penalty attached, you are not eligible for the deferral, and the full balance must be paid upfront.⁸

Superior Court Appeal

If the hearing goes against you, you have 30 calendar days to appeal to the Superior Court of California.⁹ The filing fee is $25, which the court keeps regardless of outcome, though the city must reimburse it if you win.¹⁰ The court reviews the case fresh, and the city’s file on your citation is automatically admitted as evidence.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

When a citation goes delinquent, the city adds a $27 late fee and a $3 DMV processing fee, which turns a $60 ticket into a $90 ticket.¹¹

The unpaid citation goes to the California DMV, which places a hold on your vehicle registration. You can’t renew your tags until every outstanding Pasadena ticket is cleared.¹¹ Once your unpaid penalties and fees exceed $400, the city can also file the debt with the court, where it has the same effect as a civil judgment against you.¹²

California Vehicle Code Section 22651(i) authorizes officers to tow a vehicle with five or more unpaid parking citations.¹³ A 2023 California appellate decision, Coalition on Homelessness v. City and County of San Francisco, narrowed that authority: towing a legally parked vehicle without a warrant based only on unpaid tickets violates the Fourth Amendment. If the vehicle is parked illegally or creating a hazard, towing is still available. If it is sitting legally, the city has to fall back on registration holds and civil judgment. Once a vehicle is towed, daily storage fees at impound lots typically run $20 to $68 per day, and every outstanding ticket must be paid before release.

If You Can’t Afford to Pay

Pasadena offers an indigent payment plan that breaks the balance into monthly installments of $25 or less, spread over up to 24 months. A one-time $5 fee is added, and late penalties are waived as long as you stay current.⁵ You have to apply within 120 days of the citation date, so don’t let the ticket sit while you work out your finances.

Fall behind on the plan and the city gives you a one-time 45-day grace period to catch up before escalating to the DMV.¹² Miss that window and the waived penalties come back.

Overnight Parking and the Permit That Avoids the Ticket

Pasadena bans street parking citywide between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The $60 ticket for breaking that rule is one of the most frequently issued in the city, and it hits visitors, new residents, and anyone with a full garage.¹

Two exemptions can keep you out of the fine column:

The Annual Overnight Parking Permit is available to residents whose household has more registered vehicles than off-street parking spaces. Up to two permits per household. The vehicle must be parked within 500 feet of the permit holder’s address, and all vehicles must be registered to that address. An application that requires a field inspection carries a $56 fee, deducted from the permit cost if approved.¹⁴
The Temporary Overnight Parking Exemption (TOPE) costs $3 per night per vehicle and is valid in any legal parking space in the city. Buy up to 30 consecutive nights online; a $3.50 service charge applies per transaction. Oversized vehicles — more than 7 feet high, 7 feet wide, or 20 feet long — are not eligible. No refunds for unused nights.¹⁴

For an overnight guest, $3 beats $60.

1
City of Pasadena. Fiscal Year 2025 General Fee Schedule
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 40215 – Procedure on Parking Violations
3
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 40202 – Notice of Parking Violation
4
City of Pasadena. Contact – Department of Transportation
5
City of Pasadena. Pay or Contest a Citation
6
City of Pasadena. Parking Services
7
City of Pasadena. Administrative Hearing Request Form
8
City of Pasadena. Administrative Hearing Payment Deferral
9
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 40230 – Procedure on Parking Violations
10
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 70615
11
City of Pasadena. Parking Citations FAQs
12
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 40220
13
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22651 – Authority to Remove Vehicles
14
City of Pasadena. Parking Permit In Front of My House