Income-Based Fine Reduction Pilot Amnesty Program

In 2024, the District’s Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) Program increased the number of cameras capturing moving violations from 150 cameras to 477 cameras. As a result of concerns about the effect of the increase in cameras on low-income residents, the Mayor established the Task Force on Automated Traffic Enforcement Equity and Safety. The purpose of the Task Force was to provide recommendations on the District’s ATE Program and to mitigate against potentially inequitable effects of fines on individuals of varying incomes. As part of its duties, the Task Force was charged with exploring the feasibility and advisability of a temporary or targeted amnesty program for ATE tickets.

DC Government will use a randomized selection process (that is, a lottery) to reduce certain fines for DC vehicle owners who receive food assistance. Vehicle owners with eligible tickets who are enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) can apply to have their fine reduced by half. The evaluation will measure the impact of a fine reduction on getting future tickets and the number of tickets sent to collections with the District’s Central Collections Unit.

By randomly selecting tickets to receive fine reductions, we can compare outcomes for those who received a fine reduction and those who did not. The findings may inform how DC's traffic fines are structured in the future.

This is a temporary pilot and will end on July 31, 2025 or when funds run out.

If you don’t see the answer on this page, call 311, or, if outside the District, call 202-737-4404. Then, 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 Fine Reduction Pilot.

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

Households who receive SNAP (food stamps) from the DC Department of Human Services have a chance to get one eligible camera ticket reduced by half.

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 for the pilot if it is:

• $100 or less;

• mailed fewer than 30 days ago;

• mailed on or after May 19, 2025;

• issued to a DC-registered vehicle;

• not yet contested; and

• unpaid.

Parking and officer-issued tickets are NOT eligible.

Camera tickets with a fine amount of $100 or less are eligible for the program. Examples of eligible violations are:

• speeding 11-15 mph over limit,

• no-turn-on-red,

• passing a stop sign,

• driving in a bus lane or

• parking in a restricted bus zone.

More serious violations, like running a red light and speeding more than 15 mph over the speed limit are not eligible for the pilot.

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 SNAP recipient’s proof of benefits notice. 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 a fine reduction.

No, only one ticket per eligible household may be entered into the lottery.

Your application 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 wish to proceed with the application given that if you were selected you would not be able to contest your ticket;

• this ticket amount due is more than $100;

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

• this ticket was mailed before the pilot period began on May 19, 2025;

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

If you are not eligible for a fine reduction, you have two other options to respond to the ticket:

• You may pay your ticket.

• You may contest it.

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.

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

Review your application carefully. On the final page before submission, you will have the opportunity to go back and make changes. You cannot make changes to your application once submitted.

Yes. Press the Save and continue later button at the bottom of the application and fill in your email address. You will get an email with a link to where you left off. If you exit the application without saving or submitting, you will need to start over. Please note that your application is not complete until you press submit.

You have to restart your application. In the future, please use the Back and Next buttons in the survey rather than the back button in the browser. If you hit the back button in the browser, you may lose everything previously entered into the application.

You will receive a confirmation email from Fine Reduction Pilot ([email protected]) when your application is submitted.

If you are selected to receive a fine reduction, you must pay the reduced fine amount. You cannot have your ticket dismissed or reduced further through adjudication process.

This information is optional and not factored into the selection process If you choose to answer, it will help the District learn as much as possible the pilot participants.

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, may resolve the problem.

The application is reviewed to determine if you and the ticket are eligible for the program. If you meet the eligibility requirements for the pilot, your ticket will not double while you wait to hear if you are selected for a fine reduction.

Fine reductions are randomly selected. Because selection is random, there is no process to appeal the selection.

You will receive an email within five business days after applying notifying you of the results.

Roughly 1 in 2 eligible vehicle owners who enter the pilot 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.

Within five business days of submitting your application for the lottery, we will send you your results by email. If your application is eligible, your fine will not double while you wait.

If you are selected for the reduction, you have 30 days to pay the ticket after the date of the email with your results. If you do not pay your ticket within 120 calendar days of the date of the email with your results, the ticket will be sent to collections.

If you are not selected for the reduction, you have 30 days to pay the original fine or contest. If you do not pay or contest your ticket within 30 calendar days after the date of the email with your results, the amount due will double. If you do not pay your ticket within 120 calendar days of the date of the email with your results, the ticket will be sent to collections.

If you enter the lottery but are ineligible, your amount due and due date do not change.