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Understand a Violation

A notice of violation (NOV) is a legal notice that charges you with violating one or more of the provisions of the City's Administrative Code or the Rules of the City of New York, or the provision(s) of various other laws.

An NOV contains the following information:

  • The section of law that you are charged with violating
  • Date, time, and location of the violation
  • Issuing officer's name
  • How you may respond
  • Date and time of your hearing at ECB
  • The maximum penalty allowed by law for the section of law in question

Your NOV may also list a specific ECB office (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island) for your hearing. For example, the ECB office address where you should appear may be circled on the back of the NOV. If your NOV does not indicate a specific ECB office, you may appear at any ECB location on your scheduled hearing date. In some instances, ECB may reschedule your hearing to a date that is different from the one listed on your NOV. You will be notified by mail if your hearing is rescheduled.

NOVs may look different, but will contain the same general information.

Download information on reading a notice of violation (in PDF)

You can view limited information about your NOV through the Department of Finance's ePayment Center website.  For example. you can see the date the NOV was issued, a description of the violation, and the fine amount.  The ePayment Center website focuses on payments, so the information available is only for some NOV types and / or if a payment is due.


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