City-Issued Summons Payment

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New York City agencies can issue summonses for violations of City rules. The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) holds hearings for these summonses.

If you get a summons with a hearing scheduled with OATH, you must respond to it by the hearing date. All the information you need is provided on the summons, including the penalty amount.

If you have a hearing and are found in violation, you must pay the penalty, even if you want to appeal the decision.

Check your summons to see if you’re eligible to pay a summons without having to go to a hearing.

  • If it does not say you must appear, you can pay it without having to participate in a hearing.
  •  If it says you must appear, you must participate in a hearing. Visit the City-Issued Summons Hearing page to learn more.

You need your summons number to pay. Your payment options depend on the type of summons.

Note: if the summons was issued by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), you must make a payment to them directly. Visit the Business Fine Payment page for information.

Learn more about paying a summons.

Online

You can pay a summons online if it has been filed with OATH and is in OATH’s system.

You can pay by

  • Credit card
  • Debit card
  • Electronic check

A convenience fee will be charged.

Learn more and pay a penalty online.

By Mail

You can pay certain summonses by mail with a check or money order. Cash is not accepted.

Your check or money order must:

  • Be for the full amount indicated on the front of the summons or decision and order
  • Include the summons numbers
  • Be payable to: Finance Commissioner, City of New York

Mail the payment to:

NYC Finance Commissioner
Post Office Box 2307
Peck Slip Station
New York, NY 10272

In Person

You can make a payment in person at any OATH Hearing Center, except at the Long Island City location. Restaurant violations can only be paid in person at the Manhattan center.

OATH Hearing Divisions are open Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.

Brooklyn
9 Bond Street, 6th and 7th Floor
(between Livingston Street and Fulton Mall)
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Manhattan
66 John Street, 10th and 11th Floors
(between William and Nassau Streets)
New York, NY 10038

Queens
31-00 47th Avenue, 3rd and 4th Floors
Long Island City, NY 11101

Staten Island
350 St. Marks Place, Main Floor (corner of Hyatt Street and St. Marks Place)
Staten Island, NY 10301

You can find penalty payment information for your summons, including:

  • Original amount of the penalty
  • How much you paid
  • How much you still owe

Use OATH's Ticket Finder.

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) doesn't offer payment plans for City-issued summonses. All fines imposed by OATH Hearing Officers are set by law.

As long as a violation is in OATH's system, payment plans are not an option. However, once a case is sent to the Department of Finance (DOF) for collection, you can request a payment plan if you owe $500 or more in charges.

How to Apply

To request a payment plan, you must contact the Department of Finance Collections Division.

You will be required to submit a Financial Statement. You may also be asked to provide one or more of the following items to document your sources of income: 

  • Proof of employment (two recent pay stubs) 
  • Copies of the front and back of two canceled salary checks paid to you by your employer 
  • Photo ID (for example, a valid driver’s license) 
  • Business certificate accompanied by Federal Income Tax Form 1099 or Form 1040 with Schedule C

Down Payment

You will be required to make a down payment of one-third of the amount you owe.

Further Assistance

For more information, you can contact the Department of Finance

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

By Mail

Write to:

NYC Department of Finance
Dunning Unit
59 Maiden Lane, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10038

By Phone

  • Agency: Department of Finance
  • Division: Environmental Control Board (ECB) Violation Collections Division
  • Phone Number: (212) 440-5300
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM

If you fail to appear at a hearing for an Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) violation (formerly ECB violation), a default judgment is entered against you and you are charged a default penalty. 

You may be eligible to participate in the OATH-Adjudicated Settlement Program and have half of the default penalty waived. 

To find out if you have eligible violations, visit the CityPay website and search for your docketed OATH violations. 

If the violation is eligible, it will appear in the search results with a "Settlement Amount." The amount due will be the base penalty amount, interest, and one-half of the default penalty. You can then pay for the violation online or at a DOF Business Center. You must agree to the terms and conditions of the settlement program.

Online

Learn about the OATH-Adjudicated Settlement Program.

Visit CityPay.

By Phone

  • Agency: Department of Finance
  • Division: Environmental Control Board (ECB) Violation Collections Division
  • Phone Number: (212) 440-5300
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM

Eligibility

To be eligible for the OATH-Adjudicated Settlement Program, you must meet the following conditions:

  • You were issued a violation by a City enforcement agency, such as the Departments of Buildings or Transportation, for violating a City rule or regulation that is meant to protect the City’s quality of life.
  • Your violation has been adjudicated by OATH, you have been found in default for failing to attend your hearing, and a judgment has been filed in court for your outstanding violation.
  • You’ve taken action to correct a condition on compliance violations (if applicable). 
  • Your violation hasn’t been turned over to an enforcement officer or agency--such as the sheriff, a city marshal, the NYC Law Department, or an outside agency--for collection.

Compliance Violations

To fully resolve a compliance violation, you must not only pay a fine, but also must correct a condition.

The OATH-Adjudicated Settlement Program requires proof of correction before you are eligible to pay a reduced penalty on a compliance violation.

To learn how to correct your compliance violations or get proof of correction, contact the agency who issued your ticket:

Department of Buildings (DOB)

Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675) for help.

Fire Department

Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675) for help.

Bureau of Environmental Compliance

Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675) for help.

Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC)

By Email

Send a message to violations@lpc.nyc.gov.

By Phone

Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675) for help.

Proof of Correction

To submit proof of correction, you can contact DOF online or by phone.

Online

Contact the Department of Finance.

By Phone

  • Agency: Department of Finance
  • Division: Department of Finance Collections
  • Phone Number: (212) 440-5300
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

If you overpaid your summons, you can request a refund.

By Email

Send the Refund Request Form to ClerksOffice@oath.nyc.gov.

By Mail

Send the Refund Request Form to:

OATH Clerk's Office
Penalty Processing Unit
66 John Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10038

You can contact the Clerk’s Office if you have questions or concerns regarding payments.

Online

Contact the Clerk's Office.

By Phone

  • Agency: Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings
  • Division: OATH Help Center
  • Phone Number: (212) 436-0845
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM
  • Leave a voicemail and a representative will return your call the following business day.

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