For Defendants

View your three options for dealing with a ticket.

You may request an early resolution meeting with the prosecutor to discuss your charge. The investigating officer will not attend the meeting. The prosecutor will consider the circumstances of the offence, your driving record and your ability to pay the fine. For a HRPS, OPP or Red Light Camera P1 offence, you may reach out to Halton Court Services Prosecution to discuss your charge prior to any court appearance by email at prosecutionenquiries@burlington.ca

You have 30 days to respond. Once 30 days have passed, the charge will be placed on a Fail to Respond docket. A justice of the peace will review the offence notice and may convict you with you absent.

Only moving violations have demerit points attached to the conviction. These demerit points are determined and administered by the Ministry of Transportation. Learn more about understanding demerit points.

Learn how to get a driving record.

No. The ticket issued to you by the officer is your formal notification that a charge has been laid and that you must choose a ticket option within 30 days. If you have not selected an option by the deadline, a conviction notice (Notice of Fine and Due Date) will be sent to the address noted on your ticket upon conviction.

There are two methods for requesting a new trial date.

Consent adjournments

• For first adjournment Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) and red light camera requests only
• Must be completed at least two business days before the first trial date
• You must complete a Request for Adjournment of First Trial Date form. Please contact us at burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca for the form
• Submit the completed form in-person at our provincial offences office only
• Upon consent from prosecution, submit the form to our provincial offences office where a new date will be provided to you

Motion for adjournment

Motions for adjournment are for all types of cases. You can email us at burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca or come in-person to the court where your trial is scheduled at least 10 days before the scheduled date of your trial.

Complete and submit a Notice of Motion form, advising the court of your request to change your trial date and then swear an affidavit in support of your request. The motion will be scheduled for the next available court date (approximately three to seven days later), at which time you must come to the court so that your motion may be spoken to. If your motion is granted, a new trial date will be issued at the motion hearing.

If there is fewer than 10 days remaining before your trial date, then you or someone acting as your agent must attend the trial date to request and adjournment at that time.

For those cases where a ticket was issued, you must complete a Request for Re-opening Form and swear a Section 11 affidavit form advising the court that you did not receive your Notice of Trial. This is a formal request to have your case re-opened. You can obtain these forms online or pick them up at our provincial offences office. You must do so within 15 days of becoming aware that you were convicted.

Send the completed and sworn forms by email to burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca, by mail or in-person to the provincial offences office indicated on the back of your ticket. The justice of the peace will consider your request, and if grant, a new trial date shall be issued. You must confirm your current address with the court and follow-up with the court to get the new trial date, especially if there is a problem with your mail delivery.

Once you have received a trial date, you may order disclosure from the relevant prosecution unit or Crown's office who will prosecute your case.

For OPP and HRPS charges: complete the Request for Disclosure form.

Please allow a minimum of 10-12 weeks to process your disclosure request.

To make a formal request, you must file a motion with the court. Please follow the steps outlined below.

• Complete a Notice of Motion Form with a supporting General Form for Affidavit, indicating what you are requesting (e.g., adjournment, additional disclosure, accommodation requests, etc.).
• Send by email to burlingtoncourt@burlington.ca or come in-person to the provincial offences court location where you are scheduled for a hearing and receive a date for your motion from the front counter staff.
• Serve a copy on the prosecution unit and receive proof of service. If serving by mail or email, complete a sworn General Form for Affidavit to this effect.
• File the original motion and affidavit(s) within the provincial offences court location where your hearing is scheduled.
• Come in-person to the court or join virtually using Zoom on the scheduled motion date to speak at the motion before a justice of the peace. The justice of the peace will make a decision on whether to grant your request at this time.

If you cannot attend or proceed with your matter on your scheduled court date, someone else acting on your behalf must attend court and explain to the justice of the peace why you cannot attend. The justice of the peace may grant an adjournment or order that the trial proceed in your absence. Learn more with the Guide for Defendants in Provincial Offences Case.

One amount is the set fine and the second amount is the total payable. The total payable consists of the set fine, court costs and the victim fine surcharge. The total payable amount is due to the Provincial Offences Court.

The set fine is ordered by the chief judge of the Ontario Court of Justice as the amount you must pay instead of attending court to contest the charge. Court costs are the amount you must pay for the service of the ticket and/or summons, and upon conviction of an offence. The costs are authorized by the Provincial Offences Act and the amount is set by regulation.

All provincial offences fines, except for parking infractions, carry a victim fine surcharge. The surcharge operates on a sliding scale depending on the amount of the fine. All surcharge monies are credited to the Victim's Justice Fund. Money in the fund is used to support programs that provide assistance to victims or witnesses of a provincial or federal crime.

You must pay the victim fine surcharge in full, otherwise enforcement measures may be taken (such as driver's licence suspension) by the Provincial Offences Court regardless of the outstanding amount owing.

If you don't pay your fine in full, you may have a conviction entered against you. Upon conviction, you will be required to pay the set fine, including court costs and the applicable surcharge by the due date. Failure to pay by the due date may result in:

• Additional collection costs, including interest
• An additional $40 administrative fee
• Driver's licence suspension
• Refusal by the Ministry of Transportation to issue a vehicle permit

The defaulted fine information is provided to a credit bureau.

The provincial offences court may choose to suspend a driver's licence for non-payment of the fine and victim fine surcharge. If this happens, you must pay the total amount outstanding at any ServiceOntario location. A $40 enforcement fee and a $281 reinstatement fee will be added to the total owing.

As long as the reinstatement fee has been paid and there are no other fines outstanding or other reasons for suspension, ServiceOntario will issue a licence reinstatement.

Once the provincial offences court receives your payment, the Defaulted Fines Control Centre is advised electronically through an overnight batch reporting system. The centre administers all defaulted fines for the Province of Ontario. Once they have been notified, staff will clear the suspension from their records and notify the Ministry of Transportation within two to three business days.

The Ministry of the Attorney General does not provide notice of pending suspension. This notice is not required because defendants have already been provided with a notice of a pending suspension for non-payment of a fine through two methods - a ticket and a Notice of Fine and Due Date.

No. The provincial offences court does not administer or prosecute parking offences. Learn how to pay a parking ticket with the City of Burlington. You must pay the ticket with the municipality that originally issued it.

All bylaw charges are enforced and prosecuted by the various municipalities within Halton Region. All bylaw charges are filed at the local provincial offences court and fine payments are processed at the courthouse.

Learn more about bylaw enforcement with the City of Burlington or visit the Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton or Town of Oakville for infractions originating from these municipalities.