In the Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB), the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determines whether motorists have violated various provisions of New York’s Vehicle And Traffic Law. But what if you lose after your hearing?
Your only recourse if you believe that ALJ made a mistake is to appeal and appeals must (without exception) be filed within 30 days of your conviction. In appealing a case, no new information may be introduced or will be considered. You are limited to arguing whatever was argued during the hearing (except for arguments involving unconstitutionality and arguments involving the completeness of the transcript).
On appeal, the Appeals Board is essentially determining whether DMV gets to keep your fine money or overturn their ALJ’s conviction. As you can imagine, very few appeals are successful so, in most cases, it is not worth appealing.
If you would like to appeal an adverse determination of a hearing officer, you can file an appeal online. Note that there is a $10 appeal fee charged by the DMV as well as a $50 transcript fee that will be billed to you separately by a court reporting agency after the DMV’s receipt of the appeal. Deadlines as to when monies are noticed due are strict.
If you have questions about filing an appeal with the DMV Appeals Board, please visit their website at https://dmv.ny.gov/tickets/appeal-tvb-ticket-conviction
You can download the TVB Appeal Form by clicking here