Common Reasons for Disputing a Ticket & Evidence Requirements

Defective Ticket
A ticket is defective when a required element under the law is missing or misdescribed. Defective tickets may be dismissed even if you do not have another defense to a charged violation. Upon requesting a hearing, Finance will review recently issued summonses for these defects and dismiss them automatically.

Broken Meter
A broken meter may - or may not - absolve you from liability in a parking violation. At a broken meter (one that is not working at all or is too fast) parking is allowed only up to one hour. Where a meter is missing, parking is still allowed for the maximum time on the posted sign (an hour for a 1-hour meter, two hours for a 2-hour meter, etc.). If you were issued a ticket for an expired meter violation and the meter was broken, you must send your plea of "Not Guilty" to a different claim unit so that your claim can be substantiated.

Check "Broken Meter" in the third box at the bottom of the back of the ticket. This is an administrative claim, not a request for a hearing. Send the ticket to:

NYC Department of Finance Meter Unit
P.O. Box 29021
Cadman Plaza Station
Brooklyn, NY 11202-9021

• If your meter claim is valid, the ticket will be dismissed.
• If your meter claim is denied, you can still request a hearing on the ticket.

Missing or Illegible Signs
Section 4-08 (l)(i) of the New York City Traffic Rules provides that "one authorized regulatory sign anywhere on a block, which is the area of sidewalk between one intersection and the next, shall be sufficient notice of the restriction(s) in effect on that block."

For this reason, if your defense is that all the signs on the block were missing or illegible or that the sign where your vehicle was parked is different from the one stated on the summons, you should submit overlapping photographs of the entire block, corner to corner. Photographs are important evidence at your hearing, particularly when you plead "Not Guilty" due to missing signs.

Photographs should clearly identify the street name and the building address stated on the summons. The photos should also show all signs on the block, including the front and back of any illegible ones. You may also submit additional evidence, such as diagrams, witness statements, maps, videos, etc.

Got Tickets? Your Guide to Parking Ticket Hearings
Describes common defenses to most violations and what evidence is needed to support the defense you're claiming
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