How to Get Out of a Parking Ticket

Parking tickets are a seemingly unavoidable annoyance for anyone who lives or works in an urban environment. Between street sweeping, parking meters, ambiguously painted curbs, and unseen hydrants, parking on the street in the city can seem like a headache waiting to happen. You can forget about never getting a ticket; you will have more luck getting out of a ticket than you will in completely avoiding it in the first place. To that end, I've found a few helpful tips that will help you in your quest to get out of parking tickets. [Photo Credit: powerbooktrance]

Before getting into the tips, be aware that parking citation code varies from state to state. You may want to review your state's guidelines for parking violations in order to find the most feasible way to contest a ticket issued incorrectly. In most cases, parking citations are assumed by the issuing agency to have been properly issued, and the burden of proving otherwise is left upon the individual who received the ticket. The following list of appeal tactics offer a general basis for contesting a ticket and will be useful in most state systems.

(The completion of all tactics noted below may not be necessary if any are completed successfully; each step assumes that the previous step was not successful. During all phases of contesting a parking ticket, complete sincerity and respectful language, tone, and responsiveness to all parties discussing the issue with you is the safest bet toward progress in having the ticket overturned.)

Take a Picture of a Missing Sign: If a "No Parking" sign is missing because it was knocked over by a vehicle or misplaced during construction, take a picture of the spot from which the sign had been removed (i.e., the hole in the ground). It is also helpful to take a picture that proves the mobile construction sign was placed in a spot where visibility was limited, or if the sign was blocked from visibility by trees, or if it was particularly faded.

Take a Picture of the Broken Parking Meter: If you park in front of a meter that is not working, the best way to prove it is to take a picture.

Check for Mistakes on the Ticket: There is always a possibility that the issuing officer will write down incorrect information on the ticket. If the address or the parking meter number is written down incorrectly, you have a chance to argue that the ticket was issued to the wrong person (there may even be a number on the meter to call if it is malfunctioning). Incorrect information that may later be useful to you also includes make, model, and color of the car, VIN number, or license plate number.

Call the Ticketing Agency: When you are first issued a ticket, simply call the number on the ticket to contest the issuing of the ticket. It's generally a longshot, but by calling you set in motion an investigation of the validity of the ticket. If you can convince the investigator your ticket was issued invalidly, you can have the ticket dismissed right there. This step must be taken as soon as possible after the issuing of the ticket.

Request an Administrative Review: Following an immediate investigator's review of the validity of the ticket, noted above: If the investigator decides that the ticket was issued correctly, and that you were in violation, immediately request an administrative review. You will be notified as to how this can be done, whether by phone, by written notice, or in person. (You will generally have to pay the fine to engage the processing agency in an administrative review, but if you eventually win the case, you will be refunded the price of the fine. You may also request a review without payment, although this is not commonly granted.) You may need to appear in person for the administrative review, at which time you will bring with you any photos or evidence of wrongful ticket issuing .

Request an Appeal: If the administrative review noted above finds that the ticket was issued correctly, the game is still not over. You may then file an appeal and request a hearing, at which point the matter can be examined by a judge. (You will generally have to pay a filing fee, less than the fee of the original ticket, for this appeal, which you will be refunded if you win the case.) It's in the judge's hands at this point, so bring your best argument.

Suffice it to say that going through each and every one of these steps can be a bit of a time-consuming process, not to mention the fees you will need to rack up to get through the last steps. But taken on their own, each of these steps can provide legitimate ways out paying parking fines. If you feel you have been wrongly ticketed, fight for your legal right to not be taken advantage of. You'd be surprised at how far a simple, respectful phone call can go toward rectifying an incorrectly issued ticket. If that doesn't work, diligence--and following the procedures described above--has been known to get many a disgruntled and unjustly ticketed citizen out of a fine.

By: robert o'neill