Apply to have your fine heard in court

This section covers:

Why apply to have your fine heard in court

You may want to apply to have your fine heard in court because:

• you don't believe you broke the law, and you want to challenge the fine. If you challenge the fine, you may enter a plea of not guilty and your case will be given a hearing date, where a magistrate will decide whether you are guilty or not guilty of the offence.
• you did break the law but you had a reason for breaking the law and you think the fine is too harsh. If you want to explain what happened to a magistrate, you may enter a plea of guilty and you will be sentenced by a magistrate who will decide on the penalty.

Before you apply to have your fine heard in court:

• you should consider if you need a lawyer to represent you. You do not need a lawyer if you apply to have your fine heard in court, but it is not always easy to represent yourself and even simple cases can sometimes raise complex legal issues
• you should get legal advice. Sometimes what you think is a defence is only an explanation, which means you are still guilty of the offence
  
• you should consider the possible outcomes. There is no application fee to apply to have your fine heard in court but the court can give you a higher fine if you are found guilty of the offence. You may also have to pay a court costs levy, a victims support levy and the legal costs of the prosecutor. For more information, see Costs in fine cases
  
• consider the possibility that you may be convicted of an offence and that conviction may be recorded on your criminal record. For more information, see Driving and criminal records.

For more information, see Checklist: Things to consider before applying to have your fine heard in court.

You can ask for a review before electing to go to court.

For more information, see Asking for a review.

When to apply to have your fine heard in court 

If you have not paid the fine

When you are first fined you will usually get a fine notice. If you have not paid the fine notice at all or in full by the due date, you will be sent a fine reminder notice. The fine reminder notice will have a new due date. You apply to have your fine heard in court any time up until the due date on a fine reminder notice. This is usually another 28 days.

If the due date on the fine reminder notice date has passed, you will need to wait until you receive an overdue fine. You can apply to have an overdue fine challenged in court however you will need to prove that you were prevented from paying or managing your fine before the due date. This is called hindrance. You will need to supply supporting evidence, such as medical or travel documents. When an overdue fine is issued, any demerit points will remain on your licence until your court application is processed.

If you have paid the fine in full

You can apply to have your fine heard in court even if you have paid your fine.

If you paid your fine in full before a fine reminder notice is served on you, you can apply to have your fine heard in court  any time before 90 days after the date of the fine notice.

If you asked for a review

You can apply to have your fine heard in court even if you have asked for a review.

Revenue NSW will continue with the review, but will only list the matter for court if the outcome of the review is unsuccessful.

If you have paid all of a fine before there was a fine reminder notice you can apply to have your fine heard in court any time up until 28 days after you get notice of the review decision. 

If you have not paid the whole fine, after a review you will be sent a new fine reminder notice and you have until the due date on this to apply to have your fine heard in court. This is usually 28 days.

For more information, see Asking for a review.

Once the due date on the fine reminder notice has passed Revenue NSW will send you an overdue fine. You can apply to have an overdue fine heard in court however you will need to prove that you were prevented from paying or managing your fine before the due date. This is called hindrance. You will need to supply supporting evidence, such as medical or travel documents. When overdue fine is issued, any demerit points will remain on your licence until your court application is processed.

For more information, see Responding to an overdue fine.

How to apply to have your fine heard in court

You can elect to go to court in the following ways:

• online via myPenalty
• by filing out a request to have fine heard in court, or
• by writing to Revenue NSW

Online via myPenalty

To be login to myPenalty, you will need the penalty notice number and the date of the offence. Once you have logged in, you will be able to apply to have your fine heard in court.

For more information, go to myPenalty on the Revenue NSW website.

By filling out a request to have a fine heard in court form

You will need one form, either:

• Request to Have a Fine Heard in Court - Individual
  
• Request to Have a Fine Heard in Court - Company
  

You can get forms from the Revenue NSW website.

You will then need to send your completed form to:

If you do not have access to the internet or if you want to write to Revenue NSW. In your letter you should include:

• the fine notice number,
• your full name,
• your address,
• your date of birth,
• your phone number and
• a sentence that explains that you want to go to court, such as: "I elect to have my fine notice determined by a court. I understand I will receive a court attendance notice".

You can send a letter to:

There is no application fee to request to have a fine heard in court.

For more information, see Go to Court on the Revenue NSW website.

What happens next?

After the Revenue NSW receives your court request you will be sent a Court Attendance Notice (CAN). It may take several weeks for your CAN to be sent to you.

Sample: Court Attendance Notice

The CAN will have:

• the details of the court. Your fine will usually be heard at the court closest to where the offence happened.
• the date and time you must attend court. This first date that you go ​to court is called a 'mention'. The purpose of the mention is for the court to find out whether you want to plead guilty or not guilty. You will have to tell the registrar or magistrate how you want to plead. For more information, see Mention.

Once you apply to have your fine heard in court, the fine you were initially given no longer exists and the court will decide what penalty you will receive, if any. You can't change your mind and pay the fine after you have received a CAN.

For more information, see Going to court. ​​