How to Contest a Parking Ticket in Chicago

Chicago parking tickets are processed by the Department of Finance, and contested tickets are decided by an administrative law officer at a hearing. After a ticket is issued, Finance mails a notice of violation to the registered owner. The notice gives you 21 days to pay or contest the tickets listed on it, so check the date on your notice and act well before it.

You can contest online using the City's eContest system, which lets you request a hearing by correspondence, a virtual hearing or an in-person hearing. For a correspondence or virtual hearing, you must submit all the evidence you want considered. Photos of missing or blocked signs, a broken meter, a valid permit, or proof that the ticket details are wrong are useful.

If you are found liable, a late payment penalty is added unless you pay by the date on the determination notice, and you have 35 days from the date of the hearing order to appeal to the Circuit Court of Cook County. If you never responded and a default was entered, you may be able to file a petition to set it aside within 21 days.