POV: you just walked out of a delicious Saturday brunch with friends or stumbled out of the club after a fun night of showing off your Napoleon Dynamite dances moves... only to spot, from a distance, a little piece of paper fluttering in the breeze beneath your windshield wipers.
So you got a parking ticket in Indy — now what?
Keep calm and count down
We won’t blame you if you need to take the rest of the day to mourn the mistake that led you here. But FYI, the city requires you to pay or contest your ticket within seven days of receipt. If the ticket is not paid or contested within that window, you’ll start accruing late fees.
Pay (or contest) your automo-bills
To pay your ticket off, you can do so by mail, over the phone at 855-251-8188, or online.
If you think you were ticketed unfairly, you can contest the parking ticket online. Grounds for getting a ticket dismissed include but are not limited to:
- The meter was malfunctioning and did not accept payment
- The meter was paid for at the time the citation was issued
- A valid placard or license was displayed and the vehicle was parked appropriately
- The vehicle description on the citation does not match the plate number on the citation
After submitting your appeal, you’ll receive a follow-up email requesting supporting documents such as photos, vehicle registration, credit card statements, or other documents that support your claim. You must submit these within 48 hours.
A city employee will notify you when a decision has been made. If your review is denied, you may choose to proceed with an administrative hearing. Just make sure you don’t take this step lightly — if you fail to appear for your hearing or a judgment is made against you, you can receive a fine of up to $2,500. Ouch.
Parking enforcement is extra strict during big events downtown; be sure to double check that you’ve parked in an approved area and paid the proper fee.
Photo via @larsmillerphotography
Won’t get fooled again
No matter what happens, just remember, you’re not alone — in 2022, the city issued 10,700 parking tickets.
And if you still don’t trust yourself to remember what time your meter runs out, download the Parkmobile app. It will show your remaining time on your phone’s home screen, and even will send you notifications when you’re getting close to your expiration time. You can also extend your stay with a single tap remotely, saving you troublesome trips back to the meter and having to remember your license plate number.
