Court and Traffic Tickets (Provincial Offences)

The Durham Region Provincial Offences Court Services office handles charges laid under the Provincial Offences Act (POA).  Offences under the POA include those committed under the Highway Traffic Act, the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, the Trespass to Property Act, the Liquor Licence and Control Act, and other provincial legislation, municipal by-laws and minor federal offences. 

Durham Region POA staff are responsible for setting trials and early resolution meetings, receiving fine payments resulting from charges laid by the various police forces and enforcement agencies operating within the Region, and managing the filing of POA matters including reopenings and applications for extension of time to pay fines.

Court Appearance Information

All Provincial Offences Act (POA) court appearances may be held in-person or by audio/videoconferencing.  If you have a matter scheduled and would like more information about POA court proceedings, please visit our Court Appearances webpage.

Contact Us

Our court office is located at Regional Headquarters, Lower Level, 605 Rossland Road East in Whitby. The Court Services office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday (excluding holidays).  A Provincial Offences drop-off box is available for after-hour (no cash) fine payments and court document submission.  The drop-off box is located beside the south entrance of the building.  

You can also contact our office by telephone between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday (excluding holidays), at 905-668-3130 or (toll-free) 1-866-779-8839.  Our fax number is 905-668-3166.  General inquiries can be emailed to poa.courts@durham.ca.

Guide for Defendants in Provincial Offences Cases

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.

Parking tickets vary by municipality. Review the information on the back of your ticket for instructions on how and where to pay your fine, or how to request a trial.  If you need more information about your parking infraction, contact the municipality that issued you the ticket.

Fines that are past due may be forwarded to our court office to collect payment, depending on the municipality that issued the ticket.  Additional costs will apply.  We do not have access to your parking ticket data until the municipality notifies our court that your fine is past due, which can take between 35 to 75 days after you receive the ticket.  

Summons

An enforcement officer will issue a summons for more serious offences.  It has no set fine amount.  You are required to appear remotely on the date and time indicated on your summons.  Do not attend the courthouse in-person. If you are unable to appear for your court date, you must send someone in your place.  If neither you or your representative attend for your court date, the Justice of the Peace can issue a warrant for your arrest or can find you guilty and sentence you in your absence. 

If no one attends your court date, you must contact the court office to inquire about the outcome of your court appearance as you will not receive any further notices from the court.

How to Pay a Fine

To pay your fine, select one of the options below.  Please do not email your credit card information to make payment.

At the bottom of every ticket there are two different amounts shown, the set fine and the total payable. The difference between these two amounts is called the Victim Fine Surcharge (VFS) and is imposed by the provincial government. 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. The VFS is on a sliding scale 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 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.

It is your responsibility to call us three business days after you have submitted your application to inquire if your extension has been granted or denied.

If you were convicted without a hearing on a ticket and wish to apply to have the matter reopened by the court, you are required to complete a reopening application.  If the matter you are applying to be reopened is a parking infraction, you must fill out a parking infraction reopening.  At this time, you are not required to have your affidavit commissioned.

Facts for reopening:

• If you were initially given an Offence Notice (ticket) and you were convicted at no fault of your own, or you did not receive a Notice of Trial or Early Resolution, you can apply for a reopening.  You have 15 days after becoming aware of the conviction to apply.
• Your file will be reviewed by a Justice of the Peace. The reopening may or may not be granted. You must call us three business days later, and we'll tell you the outcome.
• If a reopening is granted, you will receive a new Notice of Trial or Early Resolution Meeting Notice by mail. You must notify us if your address changes.
• If the reopening is not granted, the conviction will remain. You may file an appeal.

A transcript is a typed-written record of the court proceeding. To order a transcript, you must fill out a Transcript Order Form.  Once your order is submitted, the Transcript Coordinator will contact you to provide you with the required deposit amount.  All transcript deposits are non-refundable and your order will not be confirmed until the deposit has been paid in full.  

Effective April 1, 2022, transcript fees have changed.  For more information about these changes, refer to the Fees for Court Transcripts, which is regulated by Ministry of Attorney General.

Depending on the type of charge you are appealing, you may need to order transcripts of the court proceeding.

We provide accessibility assistance and services, including:

• Accessible formats of documents.
• Assistive listening devices.
• Visual language interpretation support (American Sign Language).
• Rooms that can accommodate an individual with a disability.
• Scheduling meetings or proceedings at times that allows a person to deal with their disability or medical related needs.
• Phone or email support in order to meet a disability related need.

To request these services, contact us by email or telephone at 905-668-3130 or toll-free at 1-866-779-8839 before your visit or court date. 

Please note that some forms can be translated into other languages using the Google Translate function at the top of your browser.

• Notice of Intention to Appear - Trial Request
• Request for Early Resolution 
• Motion of Extension of Time to Pay Fine 
• Reopening Application for Part I Tickets 
• Parking Infraction Reopening Application
• Early Resolution Postponement Form
• Address Change Form
• Interpreter Request Form
• Transcript Order Form
• Copy Order Form
• Notice of Motion
• Replacement of Missing Offence Notice (for Option 2 only)

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