How to Contest a Parking Ticket in Philadelphia

Philadelphia parking tickets are written by the Philadelphia Parking Authority, but only the City's Bureau of Administrative Adjudication can decide whether you are liable. If you request a hearing within 15 days of receiving the ticket, no late payment fees will be added. If you wait longer and are later found liable, you will owe any late fees that built up in the meantime.

You can dispute online by uploading your testimony and evidence, or mail them to the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication at 48 N. 8th Street. There is no filing fee for a hearing. Do not pay a ticket you plan to dispute, because payment is treated as an admission of liability. Photos, receipts, police reports and repair or tow records all help, and the hearing examiner considers only the evidence you submit.

Mailed and online disputes usually take four to six weeks to decide, and the ticket is put on hold meanwhile. If the decision goes against you, you can appeal to the Bureau's Parking Appeals Panel, and after that you can file in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for a fee. Ignoring a ticket leads to a notice of violation, a 30 dollar penalty after 10 more days, and a second 35 dollar penalty later.