Parking Tickets

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Once you receive a Parking Ticket you have seven (7) days to address it in Court. If you fail to appear within seven days, the registered owner of the vehicle will receive a summons with a date and time to appear in court. You must decide how you want to plea to the violation by the time of your court date.

You have two options for addressing the parking ticket:

Option #1: Plea of Responsible (Guilty)

Option #2: Plea of Not Responsible (Not Guilty)

This plea means that you are denying that you committed the violation. See Hearing Information PDF.

If you received a complaint with more than one violation, you will need to enter a plea for each violation. You are not required to enter the same plea for all violations.

To request a hearing, see the Request a Trial/Hearing by Mail Form PDF or:

If you request a hearing, it will be scheduled approximately four weeks from the date your request was received.
You may be represented by an attorney or you may present your own case at your hearing. If you decide to have an attorney represent you, he/she must notify the Court in writing at least 10 days prior to your hearing. You cannot be represented by someone who is not an attorney.
A hearing is similar to a trial, but there will be no prosecutor present to represent the State. The State's witnesses will testify first. After each witness has testified, you will have an opportunity to ask the witness questions. After the State's witnesses have testified, you may present your case. You may call other witnesses who know something about the incident to testify for you. You may testify on your own behalf. In addition, you may present other evidence such as documents, photographs, etc. The Judge may also question you, the police officer, and other witnesses, to find out what happened. The burden of proof required for a Judge to make a finding of responsible is preponderance of the evidence. The Judge will listen to the facts presented at your hearing and decide whether it is more probable or not that you committed the civil violation alleged on your complaint.

If you are found "responsible", the Judge will indicate what your penalty will be. This penalty may be different from the amount listed on the fine schedule given to you by the Police Officer. If the Judge's sentence includes a fine, payment in full is expected on the day of sentencing. Payment may be made by cash, check, money order, or credit/debit card. If you meet certain financial requirements, you may be allowed some time to pay. However, a time payment fee will be added to the amount that you owe.

If You Fail to Pay Your Fine or Appear For Your Court Date:

If you fail to appear on your assigned Court date, or fail to comply with the Judge's sentencing requirements, a default judgment of responsible will be imposed.

In addition, for all Civil violations for which a default judgment has been imposed, the Court may notify a collection agency of any outstanding and delinquent balances, notify the Arizona Department of Revenue to attach your tax refunds, and take any other legally appropriate collection action against you, your income, or your property. If the Court refers your account to a collection agency or the Arizona Department of Revenue, additional collection fees will be added to your account balance.

Right to Appeal:

You have the right to appeal a final decision of this Court by filing a Notice of Appeal within fourteen (14) calendar days of the judgment of responsible. You are not required to pay the fine or post the bond to exercise your right to appeal. However, if you choose not to pay the fine or post the bond on the day the final judgment is entered or make arrangements to pay with the Court, the Court will enter a default judgment against you and additional fees will be assessed.

An appeal is a legal process in which a higher court (Maricopa County Superior Court) reviews the decision of a lower court (Tempe Municipal Court) based on the audio record of your hearing. An appeal is not a retrial of your case and you cannot present new evidence or testimony. You are responsible for all appeal charges/fees.

City of Tempe, AZ

Top Searches:

Parking Tickets