A charge reading “SEATTLE MUNI INT” on your bank or credit card statement is a payment processed by the Seattle Municipal Court, almost always for a parking ticket, a traffic camera infraction, or another traffic violation paid through the court’s online portal or automated phone line. “MUNI” is the bank’s shortening of “Municipal,” and “INT” refers to the court’s internet payment channel. If you or someone with access to your card recently paid a Seattle ticket, that is what the Seattle Muni Int charge on your statement represents.
Why It Shows Up That Way
Seattle Municipal Court takes Visa and Mastercard payments through its online portal at secure8.i-doxs.net and by phone at (206) 233-7000. Both channels add a $3.60 transaction fee to cover processing.1Seattle Municipal Court. Pay Online Banks don’t display the court’s full name on your statement. They map the merchant to a shortened descriptor, and different card issuers use different mappings, which is why the same payment can look different on different cards.2Stripe. Why Do Customers See Statement Descriptors That Don’t Match “SEATTLE MUNI INT” is one common version of that shortened label.
The $3.60 fee is a useful clue. If the charge is a round ticket amount plus $3.60, it’s almost certainly a court payment made through the web or phone system.
What the Payment Was Probably For
The court handles payments for several kinds of civil infractions, so matching the dollar amount helps identify which one.
- Parking tickets. As of January 2025, Seattle parking fines range from $43 to $78, the first increase since 2011. The most common fine went from $47 to $69.3City of Seattle. Parking Fine Increase Effective January 20254KOMO News. Seattle Parking Ticket Cost Increase 2025
- Traffic camera infractions. These include red-light, bus lane, bike lane, blocking-the-box, and school zone speeding violations. School zone camera tickets are $237. Other camera infractions are capped by state law at $145.5Axios. School Zone Ticket Cameras6MRSC. Traffic Cameras Limitations
- Officer-issued traffic infractions, such as speeding tickets outside school zones, which are also paid through the court.
One wrinkle worth knowing: camera tickets are issued to the registered owner of the vehicle, not necessarily the driver.7MRSC. Traffic Safety Cameras If a car is shared within a household, a spouse, partner, roommate, or adult child may have paid a ticket in the registered owner’s name using their own card, which can produce an unexpected charge on someone else’s statement.
How to Confirm It Was Yours
You can look up any ticket tied to a name, license plate, or citation number through the court’s public portal at courtrecords.seattle.gov. No login is required.8Seattle Municipal Court. Find My Ticket Info If a ticket amount plus $3.60 matches the charge on your statement, you’ve found it.
Before calling anyone, be aware of the court’s standing scam warning: Seattle Municipal Court will never send text messages asking for payment, will never ask you to scan a QR code for a hearing notice, and will never demand immediate or direct payment to resolve a case.9Seattle Municipal Court. Dispute My Ticket A legitimate “SEATTLE MUNI INT” charge comes from a payment someone actively made through the court’s own portal or phone line, not from an unsolicited message.
If You Don’t Recognize the Charge
Start by asking anyone with access to the card whether they recently paid a Seattle parking or camera ticket, including on a vehicle registered to someone else in the household. If no one did, contact Seattle Municipal Court directly to verify the transaction. The main public services line is (206) 684-5600, and the email address is smc_publicsvcs@seattle.gov. Phones are staffed Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.10Seattle Municipal Court. Contact Information and Hours
If the court has no record of the payment coming from your card, treat the charge as potentially fraudulent and contact your card issuer to dispute it. Banks can reverse unauthorized transactions and reissue a new card number, which stops any further misuse.