Every year, thousands of Pennsylvanians are jailed, have their probation revoked or extended, or lose their driver’s licenses simply because they are too poor to pay the fines and costs arising out of criminal cases, including for minor summary offenses such as speeding or disorderly conduct. In some counties, the courts have become debt-collection agencies and the jails have been transformed into modern debtors’ prisons.
Under decades of Pennsylvania and United States Supreme Court decisions, courts cannot punish defendants for failure to pay without first holding a hearing and determining that the defendant has the ability to pay but is willfully refusing to do so. Unfortunately, a lack of clear standards has allowed some Pennsylvania courts to collect fines and costs without following the law. The resources on this page are intended to provide defendants, attorneys, and judges with the information necessary to ensure that these financial obligations are imposed and collected in a way that complies with the law without punishing individuals because of their poverty.
Do you owe fines and costs?
If you owe fines, costs, or restitution to a magisterial district court or a court of common pleas and do not pay on time, you may be at risk of being arrested. If you cannot afford your payments, you can ask the court to lower them. And if you have missed your payments and are threatened with jail, you have the right to a free lawyer before the court can jail you. Look at the self-help resources listed below for more information.
If you have followed the guides below and still cannot afford your payments or have been threatened with jail, please file a complaint with our legal department.
Self-Help Guides for Unrepresented Defendants
- Magisterial District Court Self-Help Guide (for people who owe money) (updated 9/6/2018)
- Court of Common Pleas Self-Help Guide (for people who owe money) (updated 9/6/2018)
Legal Guides and Template Motions for Lawyers, Defendants, and Judges
Determining “Ability to Pay”
- Legal Guide: Determining Ability to Pay (updated 9/19/22)
- Ability to Pay Evaluation Form (income and expense sheet) (updated 9/27/18)
- Summary Courtroom Guide to Contempt and Probation Hearings for Nonpayment (updated 9/6/18)
Sentencing
- Legal Guide: Fines, Costs, and Restitution at Sentencing (9/19/22)
- Legal Memorandum on Reducing or Waiving Costs at Sentencing (updated 9/19/22)
- Template Motion to Impose Affordable Costs at Sentencing (updated 9/19/22)
- Template Motion to Impose Affordable Fines at Sentencing (updated 9/19/22)
- Legal Memorandum On Imposing Costs on Charges That Are Dismissed or Withdrawn Through a Nolle Prosequi (updated 2/26/21)
- Pennsylvania Court Costs Statutes (updated 12/20/19)
ARD and Diversion Programs
- Legal Guide: Waiving ARD and Diversionary Program Costs and Restitution (updated 9/19/22)
- Template Motion to Compel Admission into ARD Without Payment of Costs or Restitution
(updated 12/2/19) - Template Motion to Complete ARD and Waive Outstanding Costs or Restitution
(updated 12/2/19)
Probation and Parole Revocation
- (9/19/23)
- (used to raise and preserve issues when probation or parole are revoked for nonpayment of fines, costs, or restitution) (updated 9/19/23)
Contempt Proceedings
- Legal Guide: Contempt Hearings (updated 9/19/22)
- Template Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (mechanism to be released from jail)
Waiving Costs After Sentencing
- (which allows fines and costs to be waived and changes debt collection practices) (updated 11/4/2022)
-
Legal Memorandum on Reducing or Waiving Costs Post Sentencing Upon Default (updated 9/19/22)
- (use to reduce or waive fines and costs post-sentencing when a defendant has fallen behind on payments or is unable to pay) (updated 3/14/23)
- (use to ask an MDJ to schedule a payment determination hearing to waive fines and costs when a defendant has fallen behind on payments or is unable to pay) (updated 3/14/23)
- Template Form-Fillable Motion to Reduce or Waive Supervision Fees | Philadelphia Motion to Defer, Reduce, or Waive Supervision Fees | Template Legal Memo in Support of Motion to Waive Supervision Fees
Magisterial District Courts
- Legal Guide: Magisterial District and Municipal Court (including Traffic Division) Fines and Costs Procedures (updated 9/6/18)
- Template Legal Memo in Support of Motion to Temporarily Suspend Payments in Summary Cases
- Guide to Fines and Costs in Truancy Cases (updated 12/17) (in collaboration with the Juvenile Law Center)
Juvenile Fines, Costs, and Restitution
- Legal Memorandum on Juvenile Court Fines, Costs, and Restitution (updated 3/15/21)
Payment Plans and Collections Procedures
- Legal Guide to Collecting Fines, Costs, and Restitution (updated 9/19/22)
- Template Motion to Set/Reduce Payment Plan (updated 9/6/18)
- Template Motion to Temporarily Suspend Payments
- Procedures are a little different in Philadelphia. Visit Community Legal Services’ Self-Help Materials for help in Philadelphia.
Driver's License Suspensions
-
Driver's License Suspension Guide under Act 138 of 2024 (updated 2024-11-04)
-
Template Motion to Reinstate License After Completing DUI Treatment (defendant has completed treatment and is current on a payment plan, but cannot afford to pay all fines and costs) | 2006 Legislative History of 75 Pa.C.S. § 1541
Other Motions and Memoranda
- In Forma Pauperis for Act 5 Expungement (to get expungement filing fee waived) (updated 3/31/20)
- (from Brian McNeil and Anthony Tambourino in York County)
- by the Probation Department for indigent defendants (updated 3/11/20)
- Motion to Correct Illegal Restitution (when a court has imposed restitution without the legal authority to do so) (updated 9/19/22)
- Legal Memorandum on Community Service in Traffic Cases When a Defendant Defaults on Payment (updated 2/3/2020)
Model Collections Resources for Courts and Court Staff
Based on forms from ACLU settlements in other states, such as Biloxi, Mississippi, the ACLU of Pennsylvania has created model documents grounded in Pennsylvania law for courts to use at hearings to determine why a defendant has failed to pay court fines, costs, or restitution.
- Ability to Pay Evaluation Form (income and expense sheet) (updated 9/27/18)
- Ability to Pay Hearing Disposition Sheet (updated 9/6/18)
- Ability to Pay Hearing Bench Card (updated 9/6/2018)
- Notice of Hearing, Rights, and Obligations (updated 9/6/2018)
Proposed Reforms
Both the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Criminal Procedural Rules Committee and the legislature are considering reforming the way that courts impose and collect court fines and costs. Visit our webpage here for more information.
ACLU of Pennsylvania Litigation
The ACLU has been litigating these unconstitutional practices to protect individuals’ rights and provide much-needed guidance to trial courts. Visit our webpage here for more information.
Research on Pennsylvania Court Debt
The ACLU has begun to research Pennsylvania court debt. Visit our webpage here for more information.
