You’ve already received your ticket and decided to fight it.

The next step is to request a hearing.

Actually, you have three options with your ticket or Notice of Violation. Pay the ticket, contest by mail or request in-person hearing.

Of course, we discourage you opting to pay your ticket–at least not until you have tried fighting it first.

You can contest by mail, but that means you need to be prepared, when you send in your ticket or Notice of Violation with that request, to send in a letter arguing your case along with any documentation, evidence, etc.

We are not going to discuss that today as it requires it’s own chapter.

What we are going to concentrate on today is simply, how to request an in-person hearing.

Ticket

After receiving a parking ticket, according to the instructions on the violation, you have 7 days to pay it, contest by mail or request an in-person hearing.

To request a hearing via your ticket, you do this.

Flip your ticket over and look at the back.

Near the bottom, you will see three check boxes.

Check the box “Request For In-Person Hearing.”

Then, on the two lines below, write the address of where the vehicle is registered.

If you have your car registered at the folk’s house in the suburbs but you are living downtown somewhere, make sure you write in the correct registration address of your vehicle.

Also, write in your daytime phone number as instructed on the ticket.

Now, on the front of the painfully bright orange envelope, in the return address in the upper left-hand corner, again, write your name and address where your car is registered.

Then, directly to the right of the return address, check the box that says “Request For In-Person Hearing.”

Now, slap a postage stamp on the envelope.

But wait! Before you slip the ticket/hearing request into the envelope, I would suggest making a copy of the front and back of the ticket showing it filled out and also make a copy of the return envelope filled out and with the stamp on it.

Keep these copies on file just in case the wonderfully efficient U.S. postal service and/or the well organized Dept. of Revenue “misplaces” your hearing request so you have proof that you DID actually request a hearing.

It’s also good to have a copy of your ticket for reference when preparing your defense for your hearing.

Notice of Violation

If you don’t respond within 7 days when you receive the original ticket, don’t despair.

The reality is, Illinois state law requires the city to send you a Notice of Violation in the mail.

According to this notice, you have 14 days to pay your violation(s), contest by mail or request an in-person hearing.

On the bottom portion of your Notice of Violation will be one, or more, violations listed.

Check the circle(s) under “In-Person Hearing” of the violations you want to contest (which should be ALL of them).

All your personal information (name, address, license plate number, etc.) is already printed on this form so there is nothing more to fill out before you slip it into the envelope and mail it out.As with the tickets, I encourage you to make a photocopy of the request, front and back, along with a copy of your stamped envelope, just for your records and just in case you need to prove you actually requested a hearing.

In fact, just for insurance, take the envelope down to the U.S. Post Office and fill out a Certified Letter form. It costs a total of $3.12 to mail a certified letter. It’s just an additional $2.70 over the cost of normal postage.

This extra few bucks gives you absolute dated proof that you sent in your hearing request by mail. You can actually track the letter via the USPS website. Keep this certified receipt on file somewhere safe just in case the city loses your request.

Unfortunately, I have heard too many stories of the city losing, or “never receiving” the hearing request. To me, it’s worth the extra cash.

In-Person

You can go into any of Chicago’s five Parking Ticket Payment Centers to request your hearing too. When you go in, go to hearing reception desk where you would check in, if you had a hearing that day. You can give one of those people your ticket or Notice of Violation and they can schedule your hearing. Make sure they give you a receipt, which is usually date stamped on the bottom of your ticket or the violation notice.

If you don’t have your documentation, they can look up your ticket and schedule it as well.

Again, keep your hearing request receipt on file somewhere for your records and to prove that you actually requested a hearing if the question comes up.

By Phone

There are two options to do this by phone.

Human Operator

This can be done only from 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday.

Call 312-744-PARK (7275) . After you dial, follow the robotic teleprompts. If you’re not sure or to speed things up after the first prompt (For English press 1, Spanish press 2), you can just hit ’0′, and that will get you to a customer service person.

It may take some time on hold to get through to a live person. But be patient. It is best NOT to call between 11 AM and 1 PM as it’s their busiest time.

Once a live person comes on the line, they will identify themselves by a name and operator number. Write down both for your records, along with the time and date.

Give them your ticket violation number or your license plate. They will take your request and explain it will be 3-4 weeks before a date is scheduled.

Automated Operator

You can actually request a hearing 24 hours a day via the robot operator.

Call 312-744-PARK (7275) and just follow the prompts.

1-English, 2 Spanish

Select 4 to “Request A Hearing”

Select 1 to “Schedule An In-Person Hearing”

Enter Your 10 digit Violation Number followed by the # key

According to the Dept. of Revenue, it will take approximately 3-4 weeks for the hearing to be scheduled.

If you DON’T get a letter from the city with your hearing date(s) within this 3-4 week period, call back or check the city parking ticket website to obtain your date.

INTERNET?: The city currently doesn’t offer a way for you to request a hearing via their website.

REMINDER: Don’t forget, whether you request your hearing in-person, by phone or by mail, you still need to request your hearing within the time frame outlined on the ticket and/or the Notice of Violation. This is essentially 21 days from when you received your ticket (7 days from the ticket date plus 14 days from when the Notice of Violation was mailed).

Usually, there is a bit more time to request your hearing because of the time it takes to process the ticket, mailing notices, etc., but don’t procrastinate! Request your hearing sooner than later.

Receiving Your Hearing Date

Look for a letter from the city, printed in royal blue ink that says “Notice Of In-Person Hearing.”

The notice will give you a hearing date that is several weeks or even a month or so in the future.

Review the violations and check them against your records to make sure you received hearing dates for ALL the violations you requested hearings.

If you requested hearings for more than one violation, you may have multiple violations being heard at the same time.

The notice will give you the expanse of a full week to come into one of the City hearing centers to fight your ticket.

Parking Ticket Geek Super Secret Tip#1: If you somehow miss your hearing the week it is scheduled, you can still go in the week after and receive your hearing.

For some reason, the Dept. of Revenue does not immediately change the status of the violations to Determination of Liability because you missed your hearing the week it was initially scheduled. Whatever the reason, I think it’s cool you still get an extra week if you screw up, get sick, are out of town, etc. So if you miss your initial date, get your butt down there the following week and have your hearing.

Make a note on your calendar, daytimer or in your electronic organizer so you don’t miss your hearing date. Put the Notice of In-Person Hearing on the front of the refrigerator or somewhere you are reminded of your hearing.

Parking Ticket Geek Super Secret Tip#2: In fact, you can come in early and fight your ticket, once your hearing is officially scheduled. One time I had hearings scheduled for a week I was going to be out of town. I came down to a hearing center to see what I could do to reschedule and they told me I could have it heard at anytime before the officially scheduled week.

Sometimes, if you come in for a hearing(s) and you already have another hearing scheduled a few weeks in the future, a cool hearing officer will let you contest that or those early if they are not too busy. Just make sure you are prepared.

IMPORTANT: If you don’t receive your hearing notice in the mail from the city regarding your hearing in 3-4 weeks, check back with the city via phone, or their website to make sure they received it and are scheduling your hearing.

NOTE: Remember, the hearing notice will be mailed to the address registered with the Illinois Secretary of State or the DMV of the state where your car is registered. So pay attention and make proper arrangements if you are vehicle is not registered at your current residence.

It makes real good sense to check the city parking ticket search site to check status on ALL your vehicles and tickets.

Now, with all the time that exists between requesting your hearing and the actual hearing date, you should have PLENTY of time to get ready for your hearing.

In the near future class, we will get you ready for your hearing by helping you prepare your defense.