Court Hearing Filing Fee Refunds for Civil Motor Vehicle Infractions

Due to a recent federal court decision (US District Court 14-13042 – Crawford v. Blue et. al.) civil motor vehicle infraction (CMVI) citation recipients will get a refund of the required $25 court hearing request filing fee (MGL Chapter 90C Section 3), if all of the following are true:

• Citation recipient was issued the citation after September 22, 2017
• Citation recipient paid the required $25 court filing fee 
• Citation recipient was found NOT RESPONSIBLE by the court for ALL violations on the civil citation

To be clear, the refund is for civil motor vehicle infractions such as a speeding ticket or other moving violation. This ruling does not apply to accident situations. 

Other details to know about $25 filing fee refund

• If the citation recipient is found NOT RESPONSIBLE for all civil violations on an individual citation by the court, the recipient can expect to receive their $25 refund within 60 days of the court’s finding.
• If the citation recipient does not have their current address on file with the RMV, the refund may not reach them. If you have moved be sure to contact the RMV to update your residentail and mailing addresses. This will guarantee that you receive hearing notices and a potential refund. Even if an officer writes a different correct address on the citation, it does NOT guarantee that address will be added to the RMV’s system.
• If the citation recipient was entitled to a refund and hasn’t received it after more than 60 days, and their current address is on file, they should contact the RMV.

Source: MAIA