Your Options
- What should I do if I receive a penalty notice?
- I have received a criminal infringement notice (CIN). What are my options?
- My criminal infringement notice (CIN) has become an enforcement order? What are my options now?
- What will happen if I don't pay my fine by the due date?
- What if I choose to have the matter determined in court?
When you receive the penalty notice you have 21 days to pay or request a review of the fine.
If you do not take any action by the due date, we will send a reminder notice giving you a further 28 days to pay the fine.
If the fine was for a camera detected, parking or toll offence and you were not driving the vehicle at the time of offence, you can complete a statutory declaration form. You need to tell us the the name and details of the driver, before the due date on the notice. We will transfer the fine and send a penalty notice to the person responsible for the offence, giving them 21 days to pay or request a review of the fine.
If you want to request a review of the fine you can:
- phone us
- send us a letter explaining your case and attaching relevant documents, or
- Have your penalty notice heard in court - factsheet.
If your written request for a review is unsuccessful, you can still choose to go to court.
We have no authority to consider requests for review of criminal infringement notices or serious offences such as burnout or speeding more than 30 km/hr over the limit. These can only be appealed in court.
For more information, read your options if you receive a penalty notice.
Police officers may choose to issue a penalty notice for minor criminal offences. Your options are to:
Pay: if you choose to pay the fine, the record of fingerprints will be destroyed and it will not appear on your criminal record.
Or
Request a review: if the person is deceased, mentally incapacitated or there is a claim of fraudulent use of a person's identity, you can send SDRO a request for review. Details of evidence required to prove these circumstances are contained in the SDRO Review Guidelines. These will be referred to NSW police for consideration. If you wish to dispute the fine for any other reason, you should choose to go to court.
Or
Choose to go to court: you can choose to have the penalty determined in court, however all criminal infringement notices that are decided in court will be recorded on a person's criminal record. If the offence is proven in court it will appear as a conviction. If you are found not guilty, it will appear as a non-conviction. If you wish to proceed to court you should complete the court election form received with your penalty reminder notice, or download the court election form.
If you do not pay the fine by the due date on the penalty reminder notice, enforcement action will commence. An enforcement order will be issued and additional costs will apply. If the enforcement order remains unpaid, further enforcement action will follow which may include suspension of your driver license, restrictions on conducting business with Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA), garnisheeing of wages, property seizure order or a community service order and additional fees.
Your options for an enforced fine are to:
Pay: if you pay the fine, any fingerprints will be destroyed and it will not appear on your criminal record.
Or
Choose to go to court: you can apply to have an enforced fine decided in court in certain circumstances. These are described in Section 49 of Fines Act 1996. You do this by sending us an Annulment Application with the $50 non refundable application fee. If accepted, we will advise you of the court and date to attend. If proven in court, the offence will appear on your criminal record. If you are found not guilty, it will appear as a non-conviction.
If you do not pay the fine by the due date on the penalty reminder notice, an enforcement order will be issued and additional costs will apply. If the enforcement order remains unpaid further enforcement action will follow, which may include suspension of your driver licence, restrictions on conducting business with Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), garnisheeing of wages, property seizure order or a community service order and additional fees.
You can apply to have an enforced fine determined in court by completing an Annulment Application. If proven in court the offence will appear on your criminal record. If you are found not guilty, it will appear as a non-conviction.
