Administrative Penalties Frequently Asked Questions
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The Municipal Act, 2001 was amended on January 1, 2007, permitting municipalities to establish a system of administrative penalties for the enforcement of Parking By-laws.
- What is an Administrative Penalty?
- Do Penalty Notices cost more than the old parking fines?
- How are Penalty Notices Issued?
- What happens when a Penalty Notice is issued?
- What if I am not satisfied with the result of the Screening?
- Can I authorize someone else to act on my behalf?
- Are there any additional administrative fees?
- What happens if I do nothing and ignore the Penalty Notice?
- How can I pay a Penalty Notice?
- Will an officer be able to accept payment of the penalty?
- Where can I get a copy of the by-law?
1. What is an Administrative Penalty?
Administrative penalties (AMP) are an approach to dealing with minor by-law infractions including parking by-laws. This approach has been adopted by numerous municipalities, the province and the federal government.
The AMP system of enforcement transfers by-law disputes from the courtroom as a judicial process to the municipality as an administrative process. This approach aids in reducing congestion in the courts, as well as providing a more local and accessible dispute resolution system. The new AMP system started November 1, 2013.
Penalty Notice
A penalty notice will now be issued for an offence in contravention of the “Parking By-law” rather than a parking Infraction. A penalty notice is the same as a “ticket” except that it requires payment of a penalty instead of a fine. The penalty notice is issued by a municipal law enforcement officer when a contravention to the Parking By-law has been committed.
2. Do Penalty Notices cost more than the old parking fines?
No. Penalty notices issued under the AMP system do not cost more than parking infraction fines. However, in certain cases, additional administrative fees may be applied to the original penalty amount.
3. How Are Penalty Notices issued?
Parking enforcement officers can issue a penalty notice for a parking violation by affixing it to the motor vehicle, serving it personally upon the driver at the time of the contravention, or delivering by Canada Post to the registered owner as soon as reasonably practicable.
4. What happens when a Penalty Notice is issued?
A person will have 30 days to either pay the penalty or request a review of the penalty by a screening officer.
Notice: The owner of the vehicle must be provided with reasonable notice that an administrative penalty is payable (LPN – Late Payment Notice).
Review of Penalty Notice
There is no fee for review of a penalty notice.
The registered owner of the vehicle or acting agent to which the penalty notice was issued may request an initial review ("screening") of the penalty notice by a screening officer by submitting the Request for Screening form. The screening officer may affirm, reduce or cancel the penalty.
5. What if I am not satisfied with the result of the Screening?
If a person is not satisfied with the decision of the screening officer, they may request a review of the penalty by a hearing officer by filling out the Request for Hearing form. The hearing officer may affirm, reduce or cancel the decision of the screening officer. The decision of the hearing officer is final. There is no option to go to court. It is important to note that you may only appeal the screening officer's decision.
6. Can I authorize someone else to act on my behalf?
Anyone can make payment on your behalf as long as they have your penalty notice and/or licence plate number.
The registered owner of the vehicle in the penalty notice is the only one who can:
- Request a screening and/or hearing
- Attend the scheduled hearing appointment
An authorized representative may also attend a hearing, provided they are authorized by the registered owner of the vehicle.
7. Are there any additional administrative fees?
The City will add additional administrative fees for the following:
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Each late payment of an administrative penalty is $40.00.
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Each failure to attend a hearing by a hearing officer is $100.00.
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Administrative fees for searching Ministry of Transportation – Ontario records is $10.00.
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Plate denial fee is $25.00. (Note: the Ministry of Transportation – Ontario also charges additional fees.)
8. What happens if I do nothing and ignore the Penalty Notice?
Failure to pay a penalty notice not only results in additional administrative fees, but for parking penalties, the notice will be sent to the Service Ontario / Ministry of Transportation, who will deny the renewal of existing or the issuance of new vehicle licence plates until debt is paid.
9. How can I pay a Penalty Notice?
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Pay in person by cash, cheque, debit, Visa, Mastercard at:
Parking Enforcement Office
1266 McDougall Street
Windsor, Ontario -
Pay online (Visa, Mastercard). Please note that it may take up 72 hours to process your payment. Payment date is the date received in our office, not the date of online payment.
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Pay by mail (cheque) to the Parking Enforcement Office. Please write the penalty notice number on the cheque. Payment date is the date received in our office, not the date of mailing.
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Pay at Customer Care Centres. Please be sure to bring any notice/documentation to support the parking infraction, as these locations are for payment only, and no information regarding parking infractions is accessible.
10. Will an officer be able to accept payment of the penalty?
No, the officer issuing the penalty notice may not accept payment of the penalty.
11. Where can I get a copy of the by-law?
The by-law is available on By-laws Online, under Administrative Penalties (By-law 112-2013) or Parking (By-law 9023).
For questions or more information, please contact:
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday - 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (excluding holidays)