Court and Traffic Tickets (Provincial Offences)

• Early resolution court for Part I matters are conducted every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
• Court tiers are scheduled at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 2:00 p.m., on the above days.
• The court will be on recess between each time tier.  The public line will not be accessible during court recesses/lunch.

To join the live court proceedings by telephone:

• Dial the toll-free number (US and Canada) 1-866-261-6767 or the International dial-in number 1-416-850-2050.
• Once prompted, enter access code 2080694.
• This public access line is not to be used by defendants.  Defendants must call the number on their notice.
• As per the Courts of Justice Act, it is an offence to take or attempt to take a photograph, motion picture, audio recording or other record capable of producing visual or aural representations by electronic means.  Upon conviction, you may be liable to pay a fine up to $25,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

No, it will not be suspended if your trial was between March 16, 2020 and January 22, 2021. All legislative timelines were extended by the Chief Justice of Ontario; however, if your fine was payable prior to March 15, 2020, you are required to pay your fine on time.

The Court Office continues to be available by phone and email (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). All services normally provided at the front counter can be accessed online via Durham.ca/courtservices. Please drop off your completed court documents at the “Drop Box Provincial Offences Fine Payments NO CASH” drop-box located at the south entrance of the building. 

• The easiest way to pay your ticket is online at paytickets.ca or call the court at: 905-668-3130, or toll-free: 1-866-779-8839 during business hours.
• If you would like to check the status of your case or request a meeting with a prosecutor to discuss your case, you can do so through the Ontario.ca/ticketsandfines website. 
• If you would like to request a trial or to inquire about other court services, visit durham.ca/courtservices, call the court office at: 905-668-3130 or toll-free: 1-866-779-8839, or email poa.courts@durham.ca during business hours for more information. 

What types of services are available over the phone?

Durham Court Services staff can process your Region of Durham Provincial Offences Act ticket payments, provide information on your specific court case(s), as well as other general Provincial Offences Act information.

You can contact our call centre at Telephone: 905-668-3130 or Toll-Free: 1-866-779-8839 and one of our staff members will be happy to provide additional information. 

Alternatively, you can email poa.courts@durham.ca. Wait time may be longer than expected.

Where can I get more information about COVID-19?

This is an admission of guilt. You must pay the 'total payable' in full. Once you pay, the conviction is on your driver's record. Demerit points apply to some Highway Traffic Act offences. There are a number of options for you to pay your fine.

You can speak with a prosecutor and come to an agreement about your offence(s) without going to trial. If so, you and the prosecutor go before the Justice of the Peace to record the agreement.

If you do not come to an agreement, you can request a future trial date. If you request a trial, you will receive your trial date by mail. If you do not wish to continue to trial, you can pay the ticket on the day of your meeting.

To select Option 2

There are multiple ways to request an early resolution meeting with a prosecutor.  

You can request a meeting by visiting www.ontario.ca/ticketsandfines and completing the process online, or you can check off the first box under Option 2 on the back of the ticket. Then mail or bring your ticket to the address found on the back. We will mail you a notice with a date, time and place to meet with the prosecutor.

If you do not get a letter, it is your responsibility to follow up with our office. The Justice of the Peace can find you guilty if no one comes to your meeting. You have to tell us if your address changes.

If you need to change the date of your early resolution meeting, you must contact us in writing at least four business days before your meeting date. You can complete the Request to Reschedule form.

As of March 19, 2020, and for the duration of our building closure, you or your representative may file a completed Notice of Intention to Appear by fax (905-668-3166), email to poa.courts@durham.ca, mail, or by dropping off the form in our drop-box located on the south side of Regional Headquarters, 605 Rossland Road East, Whitby, ON, L1N 0B3.

We will mail you a Notice of Trial. It will tell you when to appear to challenge your charge. At trial, you will enter a not guilty plea before a Justice of the Peace in a formal courtroom.

The Guide for Defendants in Provincial Offences Cases is available to assist you.

If you do not get a Notice of Trial letter, it is your responsibility to follow up with our office. The Justice of the Peace can find you guilty if no one comes to your trial hearing. You have to tell us if your address changes.

If you received a trial date but cannot attend, contact the prosecutor to agree on a new date. For more information on how to contact the prosecutor, call or email our office.

If the prosecutor agrees to change the date, you will need to fill out a form named Request for Adjournment of First Trial Date. This form must be signed by the prosecutor then handed in at least 3 days before your original trial date at our Trial Scheduling Office.

If the prosecutor does not agree to change the date, you may file a Notice of Motion to change your date.

If you receive a summons, you or your representative will have to come to court. There is a date and time on your notice.

If no one appears, your trial may go ahead without you. If so, a Justice of the Peace can find you guilty. You do not need to be in court to be found guilty. The Justice of the Peace can also sentence you. If no one attends on your behalf, you can be charged with another offence.

If no one attends, you must contact us and find out the outcome of that court appearance.

If it is not a trial date and no one shows up, a trial date can be set. You will not receive further notice.

If the Justice of the Peace finds you guilty and you do not agree, you can file an appeal.

You must file a Notice of Motion to change your court date if you received a summons or it is not your first trial date.  It must be filed at least five business days before your trial date.  You must then give a copy to the prosecutor. Contact our office to learn which prosecution's office to serve your Motion form. Lastly, you must file the paperwork at our office.

In emergencies, you can send someone to appear for you. The person has to be at least 16 years old and needs your written consent. You can give consent in writing to speak to the prosecutor. They will then discuss a possible resolution to the charge(s).

Possible resolutions include:

• Consent to plead guilty to the charge.
• Plead to a lesser charge.
• Pay the fine amount that is proposed.

The court is not bound to accept a plea resolution or fine proposal.

The court may or may not grant a change of trial date. A new date will be set if the adjournment is granted. If the adjournment request is denied, the court will deal with your matter in your absence.

Please note: We are not accepting in-person payments at this time.  Please see other options for payments.

A drop-off box is available. It accepts non-cash payments after business hours. This box is located on the left-hand side of the south entrance doors.

You can pay at any Provincial Offences Court in Ontario. For a list of other court locations, visit the Ministry of the Attorney General website. 

You can pay by telephone with VISA or MasterCard from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call us at 905-668-3130 or toll-free at 1-866-779-8839.

Mail your payment to 605 Rossland Road East, PO Box 740, Whitby, Ontario L1N 0B3.

Send your Offence Notice (ticket) or Notice of Fine and Due Date.

Cheques should be made payable to 'The Regional Municipality of Durham'. Dishonoured cheques collect more fees. We may go to a private collection agency.

You have to pay a Victim Fine Surcharge on every fine except parking. This is a fee added by the Province of Ontario. It is collected to help victims of crime. This amount varies based on the amount of the set fine.

Calculate your Victim Fine Surcharge

Failure to pay your fine can cause:

• Your driver's licence to be suspended (a reinstatement fee is charged).
• Licence plate denial.
• Additional fees added.
• Collection activity, such as deducting funds from your wages, deducting funds from your bank account, filing liens against your property, seizing and selling of your property, and your defaulted fine information being submitted to a credit bureau.

You may apply for more time to pay your fine. To do this, file an Extension of Time to Pay form. Once we receive your form, a Justice of the Peace will review it.

You will need to include:

• How much you have paid so far.
• Why you need more time.
• How much more time you need.

You must call us three business days later, and we can tell you the outcome of your application.

You might receive notice from our Collections Department. This means your fine is past due. You will then need to contact our Collections Department by email or telephone at 905-666-6243 or toll free at 1-866-223-3315. Your driver's licence may be suspended. Additional fees will be added.

The collections office may:

• Send the fine to an external collection agency.
• Add your debt to your credit report.
• Deduct money from your wages.
• Deduct money from your bank account.
• Put a lien on your house.

• Request from the prosecution department for tickets issued by Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) or Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
• Submit a request for disclosure online, in person, or by fax.
• To request disclosure online, complete the Disclosure Request form.

For charges, including parking, laid by other agencies, such as the City of Oshawa, Ministry of Transportation or GO Transit, contact the original agency who issued the ticket. If necessary, we can tell you which agency gave you your ticket.

We want to speed up the administrative process. We made some forms available online. Please print out the form you need, fill it out, and bring it to the court office.

• Motion for Extension of Time to Pay Fine
• Notice of Intention to Appear
• Record of Reopening Application forms (Part I - Certificates of Offence)
• Affidavit/Application for Reopening forms (Part II - Parking Infractions)
• Request to Reschedule/Postpone an Early Resolution Meeting
• Copy Order form
• Transcript Order form
• Change of Address form
• Interpreter Request form
• Notice of Motion
• Replacement of Missing Offence Notice - Form 4

The Address Change form changes your address on active files in Durham Region only.

Court interpreters assist you with translation. All requests must be made in advance. Sign language is also available.

To request an interpreter:

• For early resolution meetings, complete the interpreter request section on the back of your ticket.
• For trials, tell us the language of interpreter you need on the Notice of Intention to Appear form.
• If you did not ask for an interpreter on the form you submitted, complete our Interpreter Request form.

The Guide for Defendants in Provincial Offences Cases provides defendants with general information about the court process for Provincial Offences. It does not provide legal advice. It does not cover every circumstance that might arise in your case.

You can contact a probation office through the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services website.

Many laws and statutes are available on the e-Laws website.