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Previously, many traffic and criminal violations were considered crimes but in 1981, Washington joined a number of states in decriminalizing minor traffic offenses, which resulted in a major change in the way that courts of limited jurisdiction deal with those offenses.

Infractions are non-criminal violations of the law and include such violations as speeding, parking, etc. When you receive a green copy of a citation, you have been charged with a traffic infraction. Please read the back of the citation for instructions. You must respond within 15 days of the date of the citation by either requesting a hearing or by paying the fine in full. After 15 days, a $52 penalty for failure to respond will be added. Unpaid balances will be sent to a collection agency and will result in the suspension of your driver’s license. An infraction is not a crime; a warrant could not be issued.

Parking Tickets/Red Light Photo Enforcement

You must respond to a parking ticket within 15 days of the date of issue by either requesting a hearing or by paying the fine in full. An unpaid parking ticket will be sent to a collection agency and you will be unable to renew your vehicle license tabs until all fines are paid.

When calling or coming in to inquire about your parking ticket, please have the license plate number of the vehicle available.

Follow these directions to view your Red Light Citation: The infraction has been captured on video and is available to be viewed on the Internet at : www.photonotice.com (Enter City Code: SEATAC).  If you do not have access to the computer, computers are available at public libraries. Please refer to your phone book for the library closest to you.

Contested Hearings
By requesting a contested hearing you are challenging the ticket, not admitting guilt. The hearing will be heard before a judge without a jury. The state must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you did commit the infraction. After consideration of the evidence, the court will determine whether you did commit the infraction.

If the court determines that you did commit the infraction, you may be required to pay a monetary penalty. You may also be required to pay court costs in addition to the monetary penalty.

You can appeal the court’s decision that you did commit the infraction.

Mitigation Hearing
A mitigation hearing is an informal proceeding to explain the circumstances surrounding the commission of this infraction. You may not argue that you did not commit the infraction. You can be required to pay a monetary penalty.

You may not appeal the court’s ruling.

Mitigation and Contested Hearings by Mail

If you choose to mitigate or contest your traffic infraction via mail you may not appeal the court's ruling.