If you can't afford to pay your traffic ticket

If you can’t afford to pay your traffic ticket fine, you can ask the court for help. The court may:

  • Lower the fine

  • Give you more time to pay

  • Set up a payment plan

  • Let you do community service instead of paying

This is called an ability to pay determination.

How to get help if you can’t afford your fine

Once the court decides that you owe a fine, you can ask them to look at your financial situation. You’ll need to share information about your income and expenses.

You can ask for this if you got a traffic ticket or a ticket for another infraction, like fishing without a license.

Option 1: Ask online using MyCitations

Courts let you make your request online using a program called MyCitations.

With this program, you can:

  • Ask for a lower fine

  • Upload proof of your financial situation

  • Track your request online

Go to MyCitations

Option 2: Use a court form

If you can’t use MyCitations, you can fill out a paper form:

A judge will review your request and send you a decision by mail.

You can ask again if things change

If your money situation changes, you can ask again. Just fill out the same form or use MyCitations.

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