Let’s go over how to pay a traffic ticket for people in the Ontario province.
Where to Pay an Ontario Ticket or Fine
Tickets can be scary and inconvenient, inducing penalties and unwanted fines. You deserve to know what your options are and how to resolve your ticket.
There are several ways that people in Ontario can quickly resolve a traffic ticket. To pay a ticket Ontario locals and visitors can go online, pay in person, send payment through the mail, or even pay over the phone. How you pay and how much you owe depends largely on how serious the offence is.
Simple offences
Paying a ticket for a simple offence is a quick and easy process.
How to Pay a Ticket Online
If you’ve recently received a ticket for a traffic violation in Ontario, you may be wondering: how do I pay a traffic ticket online? To pay speeding ticket online Ontario residents must do the following:
- Go to the Paytickets.ca website.
- Enter the necessary information from your ticket, including location number and offence code.
- Pay your ticket using an approved checking, debit, or credit method.
How to Pay a Ticket In-Person
If you want to pay with cash, you can go to the nearest Municipal Provincial Offences Court in-person to pay any traffic fine. You can also pay with other methods such as credit or debit if you so choose.
How to Pay a Ticket By Mail
You can’t pay tickets by email, but you can by traditional mail. To pay your fine, simply look up the mailing address of your local Municipal Provincial Offences Court. When you send your payment, it’s a good idea to include tracking.
How to Pay a Ticket Over the Phone
If you want to quickly reach a government representative, you can call your local Municipal Provincial Offences Court over the phone. Visit the Municipal Provincial Offences Court contact page, or the official ServiceOntario website to find contact information.
It’s a good idea to have your ticket and payment method handy to provide any necessary information. Your ticket should also have information about the agency to contact to pay over the phone.
Serious offences
The Provincial Offences Act only covers non-criminal traffic violations such as speeding, noise, driving without a license or insurance, and ignoring traffic signs. For a more serious offence, you will often have to show up in court to defend yourself, such as in cases of hitting a pedestrian, driving under the influence, stunt driving, and other acts that can cause property damage, injury, or death.
Any offence can incur responsibilities for payment. You are required to attend court for any serious offences, but are not permitted to pay them the same way as with a minor traffic ticket. If your license is suspended, you will have to pay a reinstatement fee. This is why it’s best to avoid or prevent a license suspension entirely with the help of legal counsel.
Check the Status of a Traffic Ticket or Fine
The exact amount of your fine is included on your ticket, as well as where to pay it. You can check your status online and make your payment easily by visiting the Provincial Offences Act online services page. Your ticket should have all of the information that you need to look up your case. Simply enter the location code and offence number printed on your ticket, and the online portal will tell you just how much you need to pay.
If you’ve lost your ticket, don’t worry. You can retrieve all of the information you need by contacting the municipal court office in whichever Ontario jurisdiction you received your ticket.
There are some traffic tickets that you can’t look up through the Provincial Offences Act system. It only deals with non-criminal offences and traffic violations. You won’t be able to find information about parking tickets, cases under appeal, or cases with public bans. The online portal also doesn’t offer up information about incidents involving a minor under the age of 16.
If You Pay Your Ticket, You Are Entering a Plea of Guilt to Your Charge(s)
If you pay the ticket for a traffic violation without scheduling a trial, you’re entering a guilty plea. Any conviction of a driver is registered to their record, and your offences will be displayed. This will affect your insurance premiums moving forward. You can schedule a first attendance or early resolution with your prosecutor to resolve the issue out of court, but this often means a conviction in exchange for a reduced fine or fewer demerit points. Setting a trial is the only way to absolve yourself of responsibility. With the help of a professional and fighting your ticket, you may be able to eliminate fines, avoid demerit points or suspensions, and keep insurance rates low. You need to know how best to fight your ticket.
Paying a ticket is not your only option. You have legal means at your disposal, and often it can be better to fight your ticket than pay it, especially if you feel that you were not in the wrong. With the help of a professional, you can find the best means to resolve your ticket.
Do You Need To Defend Yourself Against An Ontario Traffic Ticket?
If you need to defend your driving rights against an Ontario traffic ticket you should contact us as soon as possible. We have skill and experience in helping drivers just like you respond to a variety of traffic tickets and provide free, confidential consultations to empower you to fight your charges. We help drivers throughout Ontario including Kitchener, Georgetown, London, Windsor and from our home office in Cambridge. Contact us online or call us directly at 1.844.647.6869 or text us a copy of your ticket to 226-240-2480.