What must I do if I receive a traffic ticket in NYS?

The back of your traffic ticket contains information on how to answer the ticket. You must respond to the ticket to prevent a suspension of your driver license or driving privileges. It is a crime to drive with a suspended or revoked license. Note: You can answer most DMV Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) traffic tickets on-line. Even if the ticket does not include information about on-line pleas, you can attempt to enter a plea on-line as explained below. Local courts handle traffic tickets for moving violations in most parts of New York State. The DMV Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) only handles non-criminal moving violations that occur in:
  • the five boroughs of New York City,
  • the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, and
  • portions of the towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip and Smithtown in Suffolk County.

New York State DMV Traffic Violations Bureaus:

For most TVB traffic tickets, you can plead to the TVB ticket on-line. You can then either schedule a hearing for the traffic ticket, or you can pay with your credit card for the fines, and the fees, and the surcharges for the ticket. See the information about how to plead on-line to TVB traffic tickets. You cannot plead on-line to traffic tickets that must be answered in a local court. If you must respond to the ticket at a TVB office, follow the instructions on the ticket. You can also contact a TVB office listed on the DMV Offices page or one of the following offices: To pay by mail: Plea Unit P.O. Box 2950 - ESP Albany, NY 12220-0950 You can also contact: Albany Traffic Violations Division Rm. 313 6 Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12228 (518) 474-0941 (If you visit, go to the Customer Service Counter in Room 136.) New York City area: Traffic Violations Bureau Call Center 1-718-488-5710 Bring proof of identity (for example, your driver license) when you visit a TVB office. Note: The DMV does not handle parking violations, or regulate parking. The DMV cannot respond to questions about parking tickets. Contact the locality if you have parking tickets or questions about local regulations. Your failure to respond to parking tickets can prevent the renewal of your vehicle registration or cause your registration to be suspended.

What if I do not respond to a traffic ticket, pay a fine, or pay a mandatory surcharge?

The traffic court or Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) notifies the DMV. The DMV suspends your driver license until you respond to the ticket pay the fine, or pay the mandatory surcharge. A suspension for the failure to respond to a ticket does not indicate that you are guilty of the charge. The suspension only indicates that you failed to respond to the ticket. To remove the suspension, you must respond to the ticket, pay the fine, or pay the mandatory surcharge. You also must pay the suspension termination fee of $35 to the traffic court or the TVB. Contact the traffic court or TVB to remove these suspensions. If you continue to ignore the ticket after you received a suspension from a TVB for failure to respond to the ticket, you will receive a default conviction. The default conviction is equivalent to a guilty finding. The DMV then suspends your driver license for your failure to pay the fine. To remove a default conviction from a TVB, you must pay the suspension termination fees, which total $70. The suspension termination fees are separate charges from the fines and the surcharges for a conviction. You must pay the suspension termination fees, the fines and the surcharges to remove the suspension. Some convictions can cause the suspension or the revocation of your driver license. To get information about suspensions and revocations, read the DMV brochure, "Suppose Your License Were Taken Away". If I get a ticket for a moving violation in another state, do I receive points on my NYS driver license? The NYS DMV does not record out-of-state violations committed by NYS drivers in other jurisdictions. The exceptions are alcohol-related violations, drug-related violations, and moving violations committed in Quebec or Ontario. Under special agreements, traffic convictions in Quebec or Ontario are recorded on NYS driver license records and carry points. Except for violations in Ontario and Quebec, points are not added to your NYS record for out-of-state violations. If you do not respond to a ticket or fail to pay a fine for a moving violation that you committed in any state except Alaska, California, Michigan, Montana, Oregon or Wisconsin, the DMV suspends your NYS driver license until you respond to the ticket or pay the fine. If a driver from a state except these six states fails to respond to a traffic ticket issued in NYS, their driver license will be suspended until the driver responds to the traffic ticket in NYS. Drivers from other states must contact the DMV in their home state to get information about the effect of a traffic violation conviction that occurs in NYS. If you receive a conviction for an alcohol-related or drug-related driving violation in any state, your NYS driver license is revoked for at least six months.

What must I do if I receive a parking ticket?

The DMV does not handle parking violations or regulate parking. If you receive a parking ticket or have questions about local parking rules, contact your city, town or village. Do not contact the DMV. You must respond to the tickets in the locality where they were issued. If you fail to answer parking tickets, the locality can notify the DMV. The DMV can prevent the renewal of your vehicle registration, or suspend your vehicle registration. You can renew your registration after you respond to the tickets and pay the fines. Note that you can reduce points on your driving records by competing a DMV approved Defensive Driving Course. Online Defensive Driving Courses are now available. The Completion of the NYS DMV approved Defensive Driving Course will reduce 4 points from your driving record.