Seattle court wants ticket scofflaws to pay up. It has to find them first

SEATTLE – After a nearly three-year pause, the Seattle Municipal Court began collecting on its unpaid parking and traffic tickets last month.

But it’s been so long since late notices went out in the mail – dating back to March 2020 – that many people who may owe money have since moved. As a result, thousands of slips of paper demanding payment and warning of collections are bouncing back to the court.

Of the nearly 90,000 notices sent in the first batch of collections, 15,000 were returned to the court, said spokesperson Gary Ireland, a return-to-sender rate of nearly 17%.

The tickets being collected include traffic and parking infractions and automated enforcement at red lights and in school zones.

The biggest risk to those in debt to the court is that their tickets end up in collections, possibly without their knowledge. Because some of the tickets are automated – speeding in a school zone, for instance – it’s possible some may not even know they have a ticket if they moved shortly after the violation.

The municipal court stopped charging late fees or forwarding tickets to a collection agency as the pandemic began, in response to the immense financial uncertainty facing so many people at the time.

“We anticipated this may be an issue,” Ireland said of the bouncebacks.

There are nearly 350,000 outstanding tickets; Ireland said the court hopes the return rate in subsequent mailings goes down as they’re starting with the oldest tickets first.

Anyone who suspects they have a ticket can go to the court’s online portal and search by name and license plate number. For those who may owe money, and even those who end up in collections, there are options.

The court offers payment plans or the option to perform community service for anyone who might not be able to afford the ticket. While the court initially set a deadline of Jan. 30 to appeal or challenge a ticket, Ireland said people still may schedule a hearing.

If a ticket ends up in collections without an individual receiving the notice, “the court will provide options by which they can resolve the ticket,” Ireland said. “This may include pulling the ticket out of collections and granting a hearing (if the individual wants to contest or mitigate the ticket) or setting up a payment or community service plan.”

People with low incomes who cannot afford their court debt can request a debt-reduction hearing, held 11 a.m. Thursdays by phone. To sign up, call 206-684-8747 or go to st.news/court.

For more information: (206) 684-5600.