Driver License Suspension Reform
The New York State Legislature amended the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) in the Laws of 2021 to eliminate certain driver license suspensions and to allow motorists to apply for payment plans for certain traffic ticket fines, surcharges, and fees.
Following these changes to the VTL, you may be eligible for a payment plan at no additional charge for most suspension termination fees, other fees, fines, and/or surcharges you owe for traffic tickets.
Suspensions for Failure to Pay will still be applied to tickets for oversize/overweight violations received in New York City that are returnable to the Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB).
Payment plan eligibility is limited to traffic ticket-related fines, fees, and surcharges. This legislation does not cover all types of required payments under the VTL.
Apply for a Payment Plan
Step 1: Examine your traffic ticket to determine where to ‘answer’ your ticket
Most tickets issued in New York City (NYC) will say Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB). See an example ticket returnable to the Traffic Violation Bureau. All other tickets will need to be resolved in the court where your ticket was returnable.
If you do not have the traffic ticket and do not know where you received the ticket, you can check your driving privilege status.
Step 2: Resolve your traffic ticket with the court
For example, your ticket is resolved when:
- you plead guilty; or
- you are found guilty: or
- you are found not guilty at a hearing; or
- the ticket is dismissed.
If your ticket was issued outside of New York City, look up the court and contact them directly to resolve your ticket.
If your ticket was issued in New York City, you can plead your ticket online, by mail, or by phone.
Step 3: Fill out an application for a Payment Plan
For tickets handled by all other courts (Mostly tickets issued outside of NYC)
Work directly with the court where your traffic ticket is returnable to resolve the ticket and apply for a payment plan. You will need to follow the directions on the Financial Disclosure Report for Payment Plans (AA-FDR) (PDF).
For tickets received in New York City returnable to the Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB)
After your ticket is resolved with the court, you can apply for a payment plan.
Apply for a Ticket Payment Plan
To make a payment on an NYC Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) ticket:
- Go to Plead or Pay, select any ticket on your plan, and follow the payment instructions.
- You must make your minimum monthly payment each month. If you owe less than your minimum monthly payment on a single ticket, you must select more than one ticket.
- If you only have one ticket on your plan and your balance owed is less than your minimum monthly payment, pay the remaining amount owed.
- You must pay any suspension termination fees, other fees, fines, and/or surcharges as determined by the court.
Notices of Suspension Termination or Notice of Payment Plan Availability
DMV sent notices to customers with outstanding tickets to inform them that payment plans are now available and that their driving privilege is no longer suspended due to failure to pay a traffic ticket (it may still be suspended for other reasons).
If you received a notice for a family member who has passed away, please mail a copy of the death certificate and a photocopy of their license or ID (if available) to the DMV at the address below. This will prevent further mailings and prevent identity theft.
These notices were mailed using the information on the original ticket and some transcription errors in names, addresses, and other information on the original ticket may appear. If you believe you received a letter as the result of fraud, please contact phishing attacks.
Other License or Driving Privilege Suspensions
The change in law applies to most traffic tickets, but your license or driving privilege may still be suspended for other situations.
Failure to Appear Suspensions
The law only ends license suspensions for failure to pay a traffic ticket. If your license was suspended for failing to appear in traffic court, this law will not lift the suspension. You should not ignore tickets.
DMV will remove the suspension for failure to appear when the court advises that a motorist has answered the ticket.
Common situations that may result in a suspension of your license or driving privilege
- failure to appear in court
- failure to maintain auto insurance
- impaired driving
- failure to pay child support
- probationary violations
- mandatory suspensions resulting from certain convictions
- permissive suspensions from courts and hearing officers
- failure to pay state income tax
- speeding in a work zone
- failure to pay the statutory “driver responsibility assessment"
- failure to file crash reports
- submitting a dishonored check
Vehicle Registration Suspensions
Vehicle registration suspensions are separate from license and driving privilege suspensions. This law does not lift or impact Vehicle registration suspensions.
Driver Responsibility Assessment (DRA)
You must still pay DRAs. This law does not change Driver Responsibility Assessments.
Payment Plans and Tickets in Multiple Jurisdictions
If you have multiple traffic tickets, each ticket must be answered in the court of the location it was issued.
If you have a pre-existing payment plan with a specific court, and you receive traffic tickets in another jurisdiction, your original payment plan will not apply to any new traffic fines, fees, or penalties you receive. You may apply for a new payment plan with the new court.
Contact License Production
Mailing Address:
Standard Mail:
License Production Bureau
New York State DMV
P.O. Box 2688 ESP
Albany, NY 12220-0668
Express Mail:
License Production Bureau
New York State DMV
6 Empire State Plaza, Room 424A
Albany, NY 12228