Dispute a Ticket (Penalty Notice or Penalty Order)
Learn how, and when, to dispute parking tickets and by-law penalty notices.
Parking, Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) and by-law tickets, penalty notices or penalty orders may be disputed through our screening process.
Before choosing to dispute a ticket, please be aware that:
- Penalties/tickets are issued when there is a violation of a municipal by-law or regulation.
- A violation or contravention remains valid regardless of the reason, intent, or length of time.
- Being unaware of by-laws or regulations does not excuse a person from receiving a penalty/ticket.
- Valid penalties/tickets are not cancelled.
- When disputing a penalty/ticket, an independent legal process begins that is legislated to be free from any interference.
- If a penalty/ticket is neither paid nor disputed within the given timeline, it will be forwarded to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) or collections. Once sent to the MTO or collections, penalties/tickets can no longer be appealed, disputed or paid with the Town of Oakville.
- For parking and by-law tickets,
- Signage is not required to provide notice of violations.
- Photos of the violation are not required to issue a parking ticket.
Submit a ticket dispute
- Screening reviews for parking tickets will be conducted exclusively by email. Phone screenings are not available unless an accommodations is required.
- You or your agent must submit the appeal request within 15 days of a ticket being issued. Additional fees may result beyond the 15-day time period.
- To dispute a ticket, first search Online Services for your ticket by entering the ticket number and licence plate associated with the parking ticket.
- Complete the Screening Request (Appeal) form, including the reason for your dispute.
- Attach any documents or photos you would like to have considered in the review of your ticket appeal.
- Submit screening review (appeal) request.
- A screening officer will review your submission and provide an email response.
- Any requests for consideration due to financial hardship should be supported by documentation attached with your request.
- Parking tickets are issued to, and the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle/plate, regardless of who was operating the vehicle at the time.
- Screening reviews for Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) tickets will be conducted exclusively by email. Phone screenings are not available unless an accommodations is required.
- You or your agent must submit the Screening Review (Appeal) request within 30 days of ticket deemed served. Anything later may result in additional fees and the ticket being sent to MTO for collections.
- To dispute an ASE ticket, first search Online Services for your ticket by entering the ticket number and licence plate associated with the violation.
- For the ticket number refer to Penalty Order Number on the Penalty Notice.
- The ticket number is entered as the year and eight-digit unique ID from the Penalty Order Number (YYYY########)
- For example, the ticket number for Penalty Order Number 2025-315-52-A0200007-001 would be 2025A0200007
- Complete the Screening Request (Appeal) form, including the reason for your dispute.
- Attach any documents or photos you would like to have considered in the review of your ticket appeal.
- Submit the screening review (appeal) request.
- A screening officer will review your submission and provide an email response.
Automated speed enforcement penalties are issued to, and the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle/plate, regardless of the driver of the vehicle at the time.
- You or your agent must submit the appeal request within 15 days of ticket issuance. Additional fees may result beyond the 15-day time period.
- To dispute the by-law ticket, first search Online Services for your ticket by entering the ticket number.
- Complete the Screening Request (Appeal) form, including the reason for your dispute
- Attach any documents or photos you would like to have considered in the review of your ticket appeal.
- A telephone meeting will be scheduled with you and a screening officer from the Town to review your appeal submission.
Screening review process
Screening review by email (ASE and parking tickets only)
For ASE and parking penalties/tickets, submit your screening request form including the reason for appeal. After submitting your screening request form, a screening officer from the Town will review your submission and respond by email.
Please monitor your email’s junk/spam folder for the screening decision email. Add the domain "oakville.ca" to your email safe list to make sure messages are delivered to your inbox.
Phone screening meetings (By-law tickets- including business licensing and animal control)
For by-law penalties/tickets, including business licensing and animal control violations, an appointment will be scheduled with a screening officer from the Town to review your appeal. The meeting will take place over the phone.
If you or your agent fails to attend/participate in your scheduled screening meeting:
- The dispute will be considered abandoned
- The ticket penalty will be upheld, and administrative fees will apply
To submit an appeal, use our Online Services.
During the screening review
- The review is overseen by a screening officer from the Town who has the authority to uphold, reduce, or extend the time to pay the penalty/ticket.
- Penalties/tickets that are found to be valid after the review cannot be cancelled.
Independent hearing reviews
Request an independent hearing
After completing your screening, if you are not satisfied with the decision of the screening officer you may request a review by an independent hearing officer. Timelines are:
- Parking/by-law tickets: You have up to 15 days after the screening decision was delivered to request a review by an independent hearing officer.
- ASE tickets: You have up to 30 days after the screening decision was delivered to request a review by an independent hearing officer.
To request a review by a hearing officer, you or your agent must submit a Hearing Request form to the Town of Oakville. This form is available by contacting Enforcement Services at parking@oakville.ca.
The decision of the hearing officer is final.
What to expect during hearing meetings
Hearings for parking/by-law tickets are held remotely via Zoom.
Hearings for ASE tickets are done exclusively by email.
A ticket recipient can provide supporting documents and images to parking@oakville.ca by noon, one business day prior to the hearing date.
If you fail to attend a parking/by-law Zoom hearing:
- The dispute will be considered abandoned
- The ticket penalty amount and any previous administrative fees will apply
- An additional fee will be applied for failure to attend the scheduled hearing. The current fee is $100 for parking and by-law tickets and $60 for ASE tickets where accommodation is required.
Questions?
Contact ServiceOakville at 905-845-6601.
Available Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.