Automated Traffic Enforcement Equity (ATEquity) Pilot

In 2023, Mayor Bowser launched a Task Force on Automated Traffic Enforcement Equity and Safety. The Task Force recommended that the District launch an income-based fine pilot program to learn about the potential impact on safety and equity.

The ATEquity Pilot is an effort by DC Government to offer reduced fines to income-eligible vehicle owners. Vehicle owners with eligible tickets who are enrolled in SNAP (food stamps) can apply to have their fine reduced by a lottery. The District will evaluate the pilot’s impact on having the fine sent to collections and on getting citations in the future. The findings may inform how DC's traffic fines are structured in the future.

In selecting tickets to receive fine reductions by a lottery, we can compare outcomes for those who received a fine reduction and those who didn't. This will help us learn what might happen if income-based traffic fines were available to anyone in DC.

If you don’t see the answer on this page, call 311, and follow the steps below:

• Press 3 for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) related services;

• Press 1 for ticket-related information; and

• Press 0 to speak with a call taker trained to answer questions about the ATE Equity Fine Reduction pilot.

You can visit the ATE hub on the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) website to find answers to frequently asked questions about ATE in DC.

Households who receive SNAP (food stamps) from DC have the chance to get one eligible camera ticket reduced by half in the ATEquity Pilot. Your photo enforcement ticket meets the criteria if it is:

• $100 or less;

• mailed fewer than 30 days ago;

• issued to a DC-registered vehicle;

• not yet contested; and

• not yet paid.

Parking and officer-issued tickets are NOT eligible.

Because households may only get one ticket reduced, eligible households that apply more than once will only be entered into the lottery once.

Households receiving SNAP in DC need to have a certain level of income. Proof of SNAP enrollment will help the District ensure that fine reductions go to income-eligible households during the pilot.

You can access your proof of benefits on your phone or on your computer.

Your ticket is eligible to enter the lottery if it is:

• $100 or less;

• mailed fewer than 30 days ago;

• issued to a DC-registered vehicle;

• not yet contested; and

• not yet paid.

Parking and officer-issued tickets are NOT eligible.

You are eligible if you live in a household that receives SNAP. If you’re not sure, check whether your name is listed on the recipient’s proof of benefits. They can access their proof of benefits on their phone or on their computer.

If you receive Medicaid or TANF but not SNAP, you are not eligible for the ATEquity Pilot.

No, you are only eligible if your household has NOT already entered the lottery for the ATEquity Pilot. This means that everyone who enters gets one chance, making it more fair for everyone.

You may be ineligible because:

• you've already paid, contested, or scheduled a hearing for this ticket;

• you or someone in your household has already entered this or another ticket into the lottery;

• you answered that you do not want to proceed with the application given that if you were selected you would no longer be able to contest your ticket;

• your ticket amount due is more than $100;

• your ticket was mailed more than 30 days before you applied; or

• your ticket was issued to a vehicle registered outside of DC.

If you are not eligible for the ATEquity Pilot, you have three other options to respond to the ticket:

• You may pay your ticket.

• If you think your ticket was issued in error, you may contest it and request a dismissal.

• You can admit with explanation to try to dismiss the fines and/or penalties.

No, your ticket is not eligible for the lottery if someone else in your household has submitted a ticket for another vehicle. Each household is limited to one entry, regardless of the number of vehicles they own.

Complete the lottery application online.

If you have a ticket, enter the lottery before the ticket due date.

Here’s a preview of the application, so that you can prepare.

Review your application carefully on the final page before submission. You cannot make changes to your application once submitted.

Yes. Press the Save and continue later button at the bottom of the form and fill in your email address. You will get an email with a link to where you left off. If you exited the form some other way (like by using the back button in your browser or closing the online tab), you will need to start over. Please note that you will not be entered into the lottery until you completely finish the form and press submit. Saving an incomplete form will not save you a spot in the lottery.

You may have to restart your application. Please use the Back and Next buttons in the survey rather than the browser.

You will receive a confirmation email when your application is submitted.

If you are selected to receive a fine reduction, you are obligated to pay the reduced fine amount. You may not attempt to have your ticket dismissed or reduced further through Adjudication Services at the DC Department of Motor Vehicles.

This information is optional and not factored into the lottery. If you choose to answer, it will help the District learn as much as possible about who the pilot is serving.

If you're experiencing issues with the application using Safari on iPhone, try using a different device or browser. Switching to another browser like Chrome or Firefox, or using a computer or tablet instead, can resolve the problem.

We will check your eligibility and enter your ticket into the lottery if it is eligible.

Fine reductions are given out randomly through a lottery. Because selection is random, there is no process to appeal your lottery selection.

You will receive an email on the first Thursday after applying notifying you of your results.

Roughly 1 in 2 eligible vehicle owners who enter the lottery will have their fine reduced.

If you are selected to receive a fine reduction in the lottery, you will no longer be able to contest your ticket. If you are not selected in the lottery, you will still be able to contest your ticket.

After you enter the lottery, your payment due date will depend on your eligibility status:

• Your due date will not change if:
  • you paid, contested, or scheduled a hearing for this ticket before entering the lottery;
  • you or someone in your household has already entered this or another ticket into the lottery; or
  • your ticket does not meet the eligibility criteria.

• You will have an additional 30 days after receiving notification of your lottery results to pay if:
  • you are eligible and you are selected in the lottery;
  • you are eligible but you are not selected in the lottery, your ticket amount will not change and you will have 30 days to contest or pay the original fine before it doubles;

No, you may only enter one ticket into the lottery.

This is a temporary pilot and will end on [Pilot End Date] or when funds run out.

The District will evaluate the pilot’s impact on having the fine sent to collections and on getting citations in the future. The findings may inform how DC's traffic fines are structured in the future.