Dealing with a ticket...
| IMPORTANT NOTICE: THESE ARE SUGGESTIONS ONLY AND NOT LEGAL OPINION - IF YOU REQUIRE LEGAL ADVICE, PLEASE CONSULT A LAWYER. SENSE IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT SOCIETY AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER.
This information applies only to tickets issued by the British Columbia photo radar or red light program. |
This assumes you have first read the page 
We strongly suggest that first time readers follow our scenarios in green, which will explain the options, or you can scroll through the detailed answers to specific questions in red.
Please choose the FIRST correct scenario:
A Nomination Form was completed for the ticket.
(if you don't know what a Nomination Form is,
you probably haven't completed one... so skip this question) |
YES |
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| The vehicle is owned by a person,
and... |
| |
a process server personally served the ticket on the owner. |
YES |
| a process server left a ticket, but not with the owner. |
YES |
a ticket came in the mail
* MOST COMMON SITUATION * |
YES |
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| The vehicle is owned by a corporation, and... |
| |
a process server served left a ticket. |
YES |
| a ticket came in the mail. |
YES |
| A Nomination Form was completed for the ticket. |
Once a nominated driver form is completed and submitted, the following can occur:
- the form is rejected, or the nominated driver is not successfully served...
- the owner remains responsible for the ticket
- you can only attempt to nominate once per ticket
- once rejected/unserved, the ticket is treated as a regular mailed ticket and, if ignored, will ultimately be sent for service... go to the appropriate scenario:
- the Nominated Driver is successfully served...
- the original ticket against the owner is cancelled
- if convicted, the driver will get 3 penalty points and the conviction will be recorded on their driving record.
- go to this scenario:
| The vehicle is owned by a person, and a process server personally served the ticket on the owner. |
Once the ticket is served, you can no longer avoid dealing with the ticket.
| The vehicle is owned by a person, and a process server
left a ticket, but not with the owner. |
The process servers are required under both the terms of their contract and the wording on the "Certificate of Service" to serve only the person named on the ticket. If they have left the ticket with another person (this is called "substitutional service") or on your property, they may have completed their Certificate of Service falsely. Unfortunately, this is not an easy situation to remedy as it will likely come down to your credibility against the server's credibility. In general, these are the options:
| The vehicle is owned by a person, and a ticket came in
the mail. |
By DOING NOTHING and waiting for service, your fine does not increase, nor do you lose the ability to later fight the ticket, but you may be in a much better legal position due to the delay or failure to serve you notice of the offence. If you never get served, you may never need to pay the ticket. However, by doing nothing you will lose the ability to nominate the driver, but this is usually neither necessary nor desirable.
Options:
- wait for personal service
- file a dispute within 45 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed (on the Violation Ticket, by the officer's signature)
- Note: if you have already filed a dispute on the mailed ticket, but not yet been to court... read this.
- complete the nominate a driver process within 40 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed (on the Violation Ticket, by the officer's signature)
- pay the ticket
| The vehicle is owned by a corporation, and a process served the ticket. |
First, was service proper?
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Under Section 29 (1) (a) of the Offence Act, a ticket can be served upon a corporation "by delivering it to a director, or to a manager, secretary or other executive officer of the corporation or of a branch of it, or on the attorney of an extraprovincial company."
- Under Section 29 (2) of the Offence Act, a ticket can be served upon a municipal corporation "by delivering it to the mayor, secretary treasurer or clerk of the corporation."
The process servers are required under both the terms of their contract and the wording on the "Certificate of Service" to serve only the positions named on the ticket. If they have left the ticket with another person (this is called "substitutional service") or on the corporation's property, they may have completed their Certificate of Service falsely. Unfortunately, this is not an easy situation to remedy as it will likely come down to your credibility against the server's credibility. In general, these are the options:
- See the information under the section "Remedies for improper service..."
- Ignore the issue of improper service and deal with the ticket as a properly served corporation...
Once the ticket is served, you can no longer avoid dealing with the ticket.
Options:
| The vehicle is owned by a corporation, and a ticket came
in the mail. |
By DOING NOTHING and waiting for service, your fine does not increase, nor do you lose the ability to later fight the ticket, but you may be in a much better legal position due to the delay or failure to serve you notice of the offence. If you never get served, you may never need to pay the ticket. However, by doing nothing you will lose the ability to nominate the driver, but this is frequently neither necessary nor desirable.
Options:
- wait for personal service
- Unless the corporation's offices are not normally occupied by any of the people in the positions required for service (for a corporation: a director, manager, secretary or other executive officer, or the attorney of an extraprovincial company; or for a municipal corporation: the mayor, secretary treasurer or clerk of the corporation), waiting for service will usually only delay the inevitable service of the ticket. However, waiting for service may give you a legal advantage from a perspective of delay, or failure to serve (businesses that don't normally operate at their registered address).
- see: why wait for service?
- complete the nominate a driver process within 40 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed (on the Violation Ticket, by the officer's signature)
- file a dispute within 45 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed (on the Violation Ticket, by the officer's signature)
- Note: if you have already filed a dispute on the mailed ticket, but not yet been to court... read this.
- pay the ticket
| Answers to specific questions... |
Tickets can be paid a number of ways:
- Through teller or automated banking machine by using the attached remittance slip at most Canadian Banks, trust companies, or credit unions. Call 1-800-772-8120 for a list of participating Canadian financial institutions.
- By mailing the attached remittance slip with a cheque or money order (in Canadian funds) payable to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations to: (Note: there are several different addresses to send your payment to, all are valid.)
Ticket Payment Processing
Bag Service 6300, Station Terminal
Vancouver, BC V6B 6G6
- By taking the attached remittance slip and payment (* may accept Visa, Mastercard, and debit cards) to one of the following anywhere in BC:
- Motor Vehicle Branch Driver Services Centre* or Motor Licence Office
- Motor Vehicle Branch Appointed Agents
- Government Agents Office
- Provincial Court Registry
You can file a dispute by following the instructions printed on the ticket. Disputes can be filed a number of ways:
- In person at:
- The address indicated on the face of the ticket.
- A Motor Vehicle Branch Driver Services Centre or Motor Licence Office
- Motor Vehicle Branch Appointed Agents
- Government Agents Office
- Provincial Court Registry
- By writing to:
Ticket Dispute Processing
Bag Service 3510
Victoria, BC V8W 3P7
At a later date, you will receive a Notice of Hearing by mail which will specify the location, date, and time of your hearing. If it is not possible for you to attend the specified date and time, you can go to the court registry at least 14 days before the hearing and apply for a change of date and/or time. You may be able to change the date by telephone.
Remember, an "agent" can fight a ticket on behalf of the person/corporation named on the ticket, with the permission of the person/corporation.
Effective for all speeding tickets issued on or after December 15, 1997, a justice no longer has the power to lower the fine. This regressive move now means that people with financial difficulties, mitigating circumstance, or good driving records, cannot request a reduction in the fine. (see Traffic Safety Statutes Amendment Act, 1997, Bill 41, Section 29 effective December 15/97, [B.C. Reg. 368/97])
A warning for nominated drivers with bad driving records: about the last five years of your record could be produced in court if you lose. The justice could prohibit you from driving for a period or send you to driving school -- however, the justice cannot raise the fine from that on the face of the ticket -- see R. v. Miner for example. If you are not a nominated driver, you have not been charged as a driver and the Crown will not be alleging a record in your case even if you admit to being the driver at the time of offence.
Before you drop your dispute in the mail, read the first section on the page 
to ensure that you have a reasonable chance of winning your dispute. If you do, then read as much as you can on the rest of the page to prepare your defence.
| I disputed a mailed ticket, but I have not yet been to
court... |
Under the previous legislation, if you filed a dispute on a mailed (but not yet served) ticket and missed the court hearing, you were not deemed guilty -- HOWEVER, this has now changed. If a dispute is filed on a mailed ticket and then no person appears at the hearing, the owner is automatically deemed guilty and the ticket fine becomes payable.
There is a remedy if the owner, through no fault of his/her own, was unaware of the dispute and resulting conviction. The owner can appear before a justice to have the conviction struck down and a new date set [see Offence Act, Section 16 (3.1)]
| If you miss your hearing... |
If you miss the hearing and it was not your fault, you have up to 30 days to appear at a Provincial Court Registry to file an Affidavit under the Offence Act Section 15 (10) in order to get another hearing scheduled.
| Extension for filing a dispute... |
If you missed the dispute period, but not more than 14 days have elapsed since the expiry of the dispute period, you may appear before a justice at a Provincial Court Registry to file an Affidavit under the Offence Act Section 16 (2). The justice may strike out the conviction and allow you to enter a notice of dispute. If you can find a sympathetic justice you may be able to extend the 14 day period by some length.
| Is there a cost to fight a ticket? |
Interest is not currently applied to outstanding traffic fines, nor do justices assign costs on traffic tickets.
| Can the Justice raise the fine or send me to jail? |
All photo radar or red light tickets begin as charges against the owner, not the driver. The owner's past driving record is not produced and the Crown does not ask for increased fines or other penalties.
However, drivers charged from a completed "nominated driver" form could have their past driving record produced by the Crown. They can seek increased penalty, but you cannot be jailed for traffic tickets.
Mailed photo radar or red light tickets are essentially an invitation to pay. By doing nothing, you will not be deemed guilty or lose your ability to fight or pay the ticket until after it has been personally served. If you do nothing and don't get served, you cannot be convicted ("deemed guilty") and therefore cannot be forced to pay the ticket. Up to 25% of all photo radar tickets are never successfully served.
If, after 45 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed, you have done nothing, the government will attempt to serve the ticket on the registered owner.
By waiting to be served, you do not lose any rights (except to nominate a driver), nor do you incur any additional costs such as higher fines, penalty points, interest charges, etc.
See below for important information on "What will happen if I don't get served?" and "How are tickets served?"
| What will happen if I don't get served? |
First, if you do nothing, you currently can't be deemed guilty until you are served.
If you are not successfully served, you will possibly be informed when you renew you insurance or drivers licence, but, you should not be denied from doing either because you have not had the opportunity to challenge the charge against you.
The latest copy (4/97) of the Traffic Safety Initiative: Quick Reference Guide, used by Motor Vehicle Branch customer service agents indicates that "Refuse to Issue" status becomes effective only when 30 days have elapsed from date of service, or once
a partial payment has been made. It also states on page 26 of the Photo Radar Program section:
"For PRP [photo radar program] tickets with SERVIP (service in progress) or NOSERV (not served) status, include the ticket in the payment plan unless the client indicates an intention to dispute the ticket when it is served." ... "... ensure that the client's address is current to assist service..."
In other words, if you attempt to renew your licence/insurance and are asked to pay the ticket at that time, you should indicate that you wish to dispute the ticket. That will require them to either discard the ticket (likely) or try and serve the ticket again (unlikely) -- if they couldn't find you at your address the first time, they probably won't get it right the second time! At this point, it is unlikely that you will ever need to go to court. The alleged offence will be so old that the crown would probably not pursue the charge.
Some people have indicated that ICBC/MVB clerks are refusing to issue licences/insurance for people with unserved and unacknowledged photo radar tickets. You should remind them that under Section 26(1)(c)(ii) or 26(3)(d) of the Motor Vehicle Act, you have not been convicted and they do not have the authority to refuse to issue:
26 (1) The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia may, without a hearing, refuse to issue a driver's licence to a person who [...]
(c) is indebted to the government because of his or her failure to pay a fine imposed as a result of a conviction under [...]
(ii) the Motor Vehicle Act,
26 (3) The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia or the superintendent may refuse to exercise the authority given under this Act to the corporation or superintendent, as the case may be, to issue
(a) any permit to a person, and
(b) a licence and corresponding number plates for a motor vehicle or trailer or both owned by a person
who is indebted to the government because of his or her failure to pay a fine imposed as a result of a conviction under
(d) an enactment referred to in subsection (1) (c) (ii) to (viii).
Also, the longer it takes for them to serve you and get you in court, the better your legal position. Courts impose standards upon the Crown for dealing with defendants in a timely matter. A precise time limit has not been determined for BC photo radar or red light tickets, yet!
Last time we checked, Canadians had the right to challenge a charge against them. If you try to renew your drivers licence or insurance and are denied from doing so because of a ticket you were never served or had the opportunity to challenge, we want to know! Reports indicate that un-served owners are not being denied the right to renew their licence or insurance -- if they indicate a desire to dispute the ticket.
When a mailed violation ticket has been identified as 'ignored' (45 days after the "Date Violation Ticket Completed", or if you dispute a mailed ticket and fail to appear at the hearing), the following steps will occur:
- A new copy of the violation ticket will be delivered to the relevant regional process server.
- Service will be attempted under the following conditions:
- The process servers normally have only 28 days from receipt of the tickets to successfully serve them. However, they can ask for an extension if they believe service will ultimately be successful.
- Service is to be attempted a minimum of 3 times. There is no maximum number of attempts.
- Servers will try to serve at any reasonable time. They may appear anytime on evenings or weekends.
- Process servers are advised "that this is not an exercise in skip tracing." (Skip-tracing refers to tracking down an individual who is hard to locate or has moved.) Tickets with invalid addresses are returned to the government and may be sent again for a second service period if the government can provide a better address.
- Substitutional service is not permitted under any circumstances. (Substitutional service refers to leaving a ticket with another party, e.g. your spouse, landlord, child, parent, etc.)
- Process serving tactics:
- We are receiving more and more reports of people calling the residence and asking if the driver is home and then a server shows up at the door almost immediately afterwards.
- Another technique is to call the residence acting as a courier company and citing that they have a "package" to deliver. They avoid discussing the nature of the package, citing only its reference number which is the photo radar ticket serial number. They insist on setting up a time to meet you at your home to deliver the "package".
- Some process servers may leave a note on your door (see below) which asks you to contact them to arrange service. You DO NOT need to assist them and this is merely an intimidation tactic to assist them in collecting their fee for service. You cannot lawfully be prevented from renewing your licence or insurance due to an unserved (and otherwise unacknowledged) ticket.
- See What will happen if I don't get served?
If the government is slow in serving tickets, this will open up another legal defense for challenging tickets. Service does not commence immediately after the end of the initial 45 days, but usually some 2 to 12 weeks after that. Typically, you can expect service attempts to begin from 2 1/4 to 5 months after the date the offence occurred, and once started, last for about one month.
Under current BC laws and the Charter or Rights and Freedoms, tickets must be served on the registered owner or nominated driver because the judicial system must be certain that the party charged with the offence is aware of and has had an opportunity to challenge that charge.
The process servers are paid only for successfully served tickets. There is no cost to you or the taxpayer if the ticket is not served.
| Remedies for improper service... |
For improperly served tickets, these are the options:
- Ignore the issue of improper service and deal with the ticket as a properly served person or corporation.
- Wait to be deemed convicted (30 days) and then file a Summary Conviction Appeal in BC Supreme Court -- this requires the filing of various legal documents, and may require the assistance of a lawyer.
- File written complaints with the government (Attorney General) and ICBC (who handle the process serving contracts).
- Complain to the appropriate process serving agency...
| BC Photo Radar Process Serving Agencies by region: |
Lower Mainland/
Howe Sound |
Vancouver Island |
Interior and
Northern BC |
Dye & Durham Company Inc. BC
103 - 625 Agnes Street
New Westminster, BC V3M 5Y4
Phone: 604-257-1828 or 604-606-2330
Fax: 604-257-1898
E-mai: info@dyedurhambc.com |
Canadian Corps of Commissionaires
201 - 4248 Glanford Avenue
Victoria, BC V8Z 4B8
Phone: 250-727-7755
Fax: 250-727-7355 |
CCNS Corporate Services Ltd.
10 - 620 Royal Avenue
New Westminster, BC V3M 1J2
Phone: 604-527-2200
Fax: 604-527-2257 |
| Do photo radar or red light tickets appear on my driving record? |
Photo radar tickets have a misleading statement above or below the photographic image:
"Payment of this fine will result in the owner being deemed to have pleaded guilty to the offense described on this violation ticket and the offense will be added to the owner's record as a conviction."
THIS STATEMENT IS MISLEADING: Violation tickets issued to the owner (which are not nominated tickets) go on the meaningless "Owner's Record" which is not the same as the owner's "Driving Record". It is only the Driving Record which is used to suspend licences.
SENSE believes that the tickets make this statement only to intimidate registered owners into making poor judgements when dealing with the tickets or nominating other drivers, thus increasing penalty point revenue for ICBC! The Owner's Record is apparently used only as a financial record-keeping database.
In an attempt to clarify this unnecessarily misleading information, SENSE made verbal enquiries and received the following response from ICBC in a written letter dated February 17, 1997: "[SENSE has] suggested that the wording on the Registered Owner's Offence Image is misleading and that the public interprets the owner's record as the driving record. We are satisfied with the current wording. As noted on the brochure that is mailed with all violation tickets, a 1-800 information line has been set up to answer all such concerns or questions." SENSE remains convinced that there is no valid reason to include this statement, and that most people would be unaware to even ask such a question.
Violation Tickets against nominated drivers will go on the Driver's Record, get penalty points, and could result in penalty point fines and ultimately suspension of the driver's licence.
| Do I get penalty points for photo radar or red light tickets? |
At this time, penalty points attach only if a driver is nominated (and therefore identified).
If you are not a nominated driver, you will not get points even if you admit in court to being the driver.
For your information: the legislation is in place (section 83.1 (7)) to add points to all tickets at any time in the future. The government has indicated that "this section of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act will not be in force until an ongoing review of the program is complete." Adding points to all tickets will significantly increase penalty point revenue for ICBC.
| How to Nominate a driver... |
When successfully completed, the "nominated driver" process cancels the original ticket issued to the owner of the vehicle and issues a new ticket directly to the driver. Note: this process is time consuming, can be difficult to comply with, and adds potentially costly penalty points to the nominated driver.
First of all, if you are the person renting or leasing the vehicle, you do not need to be nominated to dispute the ticket.
Second, WHY DO YOU WANT TO NOMINATE THE DRIVER?
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A convicted nominated driver will receive penalty points and the ticket will go on their driving record. If a nominated driver fights a ticket, the Crown could produce the driver's driving record and oppose any requested reduction in fine or ask for a stiffer penalty.
- As the registered owner, the ticket does not go on your driving record, but your "owner's record" (which SENSE is told is only a financial record-keeping file for the Motor Vehicle Branch -- see above). Therefore, it will not affect your "driving record".
- The probability that you will successfully complete the time consuming nominated driver process is not great.
- Why not just collect the money and send it on in? After all, that's what Victoria wants!
- Or, with the permission of the registered owner, you could appear in court on their behalf as their agent and fight the ticket.
If you are an employee of a corporation which has received a ticket while you were operating the vehicle and they want you to fill in the nomination forms and you do not plan to dispute the ticket -- your best option might be to write them or the government a cheque for the fine, but don't fill in the form -- otherwise you'll get points! And, remember, with their permission you could fight the ticket as their agent and not need to be nominated.
To nominate a driver you must obtain from the police, ITCU, Driver Services Centre, Motor Licence Office, or Government Agent the "Application for Driver Nomination" form. The form must be completed exactly as instructed.
A few caveats courtesy of the government:
- You have only one opportunity to nominate a driver. If you miss the deadline or make any mistakes or omissions on the form, you will not have another opportunity. Forms have been rejected for even the most trivial oversight.
- You may need to spend some time waiting in line just to get the forms.
- The driver must be a BC resident and agree to the nomination. Nominated drivers who reside outside of the province will be rejected.
- By nominating another driver, the nominated driver will receive 3 penalty points for the offence if they are convicted (i.e. they don't fight it, or they don't win), and the offence will be added to their driving record.
- If you do not nominate a driver within 40 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed, you will entirely lose your ability to do so. Under the current operating policy, it would appear that if the ticket is lost in the mail (for example), and you are therefore served, you will not have an opportunity to nominate a driver.
- If the nominated driver is not successfully served, the case will proceed against the registered owner.
- In conclusion: if you get the ticket in the mail promptly and then get the form from the government and locate the driver and have the BC-only driver sign and complete the form properly (or it will be rejected) and get it back to the government by mail within 40 days from the Date Violation Ticket Completed and the government successfully serves the nominated driver ... a new ticket will be issued in the nominated driver's name -- otherwise the case will proceed against the registered owner!
| What if my car was stolen at the time of the ticket? |
Under Section 83.1 (3) (a) of the Motor Vehicle Act, an owner is not liable for photo radar tickets if the owner establishes that "the person who was, at the time of the contravention, in possession of the motor vehicle was not entrusted by the owner with possession" -- in other words if the car was stolen. Contact the photo radar info line to discuss the issue and (hopefully) get the ticket cancelled.
Note: a past history of entrusting a person with your vehicle might prevent you from raising this defence even if this person borrowed your car without your permission -- you might want to consult with a lawyer.
| Are employees responsible for tickets? |
It would appear that the Employment Standards Act (ESA) prevents an employer from deducting from employee wages any amounts not specifically provided for under the ESA. It would also appear an agreement about traffic tickets between the employer and employee would not override the ESA, and therefore have no effect.
In a BCTV interview on July 31, 1996, Minister of Employment Moe Sihota said "no it's not fair -- if the employee was driving the vehicle then the employee should be paying the ticket. And if we need to make a change to the Employment Standards Act to solve this problem for small business -- we will." At this time, SENSE is not aware of any new legislation or changes to the ESA Regulations.
Employers may be able to protect themselves from future tickets by enacting a specific written policy against speeding and requiring their employees acknowledge and sign the policy on a periodic (e.g. annual or semi-annual) basis.
| Am I liable for tickets received while I rent/lease a vehicle? |
Probably... most rental and lease agreements contain a clause that you are liable. If you rent a vehicle, the ticket will likely be charged to your credit card. Lessors will deal with lessees under the terms of the contact.
However, to dispute the ticket, you do not need to be nominated. Under section 83.1 (1) of the Motor Vehicle Act the "owner" includes:
(a) a person in possession of a motor vehicle under a contract by which the person may become the owner on full compliance with the contract, and in whose name alone the motor vehicle is registered under this Act,
(b) a person who rents or leases a motor vehicle from another person, ...
If a ticket has been paid in your name, you can file an Affidavit under section 16 (3) of the Offence Act stating that "through no fault of my own, I did not have an opportunity to dispute the allegation or fine..." This form is likely available at provincial court registries.
| The vehicle is owned by multiple people... |
The ticket will be issued in the name of one of the owners. The BC Supreme Court in R. v. Smith (Roy) ruled that the Crown has discretion over whom to charge -- usually the first named owner.
