Non-criminal offences including (but not limited to):
Most provincial offences result in out-of-court fine payments. Citizens who are issued Provincial Offence tickets should read them carefully for a complete list of their payment and trial options.
You do not require a lawyer to appear in Provincial Offences Court. Legal Aid is generally not given for Provincial Offence matters
Contact your local Legal Aid office to confirm if you would be eligible.
Email POAManagement@niagararegion.ca or call the Manager, Court Services at 905-687-6590 ext. 1631​ for information on how to access remote and virtual court proceedings.
For more information, read the notice regarding access to Ontario Court of Justice proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are many enforcement agencies in the Niagara Region, who can issue you a ticket, including:
There are three different types of Provincial Offence notices:
Review your ticket and the options provided on the ticket itself. The court is bound by those three options. However, Provincial Offences remains closed to the public and all due dates have been suspended until the state of emergency is lifted.
Option 1: Plea of Guilty - Payment Out of Court
If choosing Option 1, you can complete payment using one of the following options:
Option 2: Early Resolution Meeting
If choosing Option 2, confirm that your address is correct and check off the box under Option 2. Once complete, you can do one of the following:
Option 3: Trial Option (Not Guilty)
If choosing Option 3 to request a trial, complete the Notice of Intention to Appear form and send it using one of the following options:
Continue to monitor our website for updates on service availability.
The charge will be placed on a Fail to Respond docket and a Justice of the Peace will review the offence notice and may convict you in your absence. Once you have been convicted it is too late to choose any of the options indicated on the back of your ticket.
At the bottom of every ticket there are two different amounts shown, the set fine and the total payable. The difference between these two amounts is called the Victim Fine Surcharge and is imposed by the provincial government. The amount of the Victim Fine Surcharge is based on a sliding scale depending on the amount of the fine and is added to every fine that is given under the Provincial Offences Act (except parking fines). Proceeds from the surcharge are used to maintain assistance programs for victims of crime.
You can pay your Tickets online with Ontario's PayTickets Site.
No. Municipal parking tickets must be paid at the individual Municipality that issued the ticket.
No. Serving time in jail is not an option.
If you need more time to pay your fine, visit a Provincial Offences Court office and complete the Motion for Extension of Time to Pay the Fine. Once completed and returned to our office the form will be submitted to a Justice of the Peace. It is your responsibility to contact our office within 2 weeks to obtain the decision of the court.
We will notify the Ministry of Transportation to remove the suspension status from your drivers' licence. The Ministry of Transportation will determine if your licence will be reinstated. You will be responsible to pay the reinstatement fee to the Ministry of Transportation.
Note: Visit the Ministry of Transportation's website for more information on suspended licences. Other outstanding matters may result in your licence remaining suspended.
The collections office pursues payment of all unpaid Provincial Offence fines. Call 905-687-6590 or email Provincial Offences Act Collections Office with your inquiry.
Well in advance of the actual trial time, contact the court office where the trial is scheduled.
A request for adjournment requires that a Notice of Motion be served by you on the prosecutor and the enforcement agency giving three days notice. You can have an agent appear and speak on your behalf and provide the court with your reasons why you cannot be present. The Justice of the Peace may still choose to proceed in your absence.
Disclosure is a procedure whereby the defendant is provided with copies of all evidentiary documentation which will be used by the Prosecutor at trial.
Step 1: Complete the form online or print the form.
Step 2: Email the completed form to POADisclosure@niagararegion.ca or submit in person at:
Attention: Provincial Offence Court
445 East Main St., Welland
Prosecution Coordinator
To avoid inconvenience to you, you should apply for disclosure as soon as possible.
You will be sentenced. Your sentence could include a fine, probation, court order, by-law related order, licence suspension, imprisonment or any combination thereof.
You should receive a document entitled "Notice of Fine and Due Date". However, if you do not receive this document, you are still responsible to pay the fine within the time period granted by the Justice of the Peace.
You must attend at either your local Provincial Offences Court, or at the Court where your trial was scheduled to obtain details regarding a request for re-opening.
You must file an appeal within 30 days of the conviction date. The fine must be paid in full or an application to file an appeal without paying the fine must be completed before filing the appeal.
If you are past the allotted time, you may also apply for an extension of time to appeal under Section 85 of the Provincial Offences Act. A Provincial Judge must grant both the application to file appeal without paying the fine and the application for extension of time to appeal.
Appeal documents may be obtained from the Provincial Offences office, from the Ministry of the Attorney General court office, or online from Niagara Region's Provincial Offences Administration Forms page.
Yes, our courtrooms are equipped to be able to present digital and video evidence from the defendant table and from the witness box, but you must provide your own working equipment (laptop or tablet) and the appropriate cables (HDMI or VGA and audio) to connect to our video equipment.
Refer to the Provincial Offences Act external connections information sheet for more information.
Yes, any digital or video evidence used during your trial will be marked as an Exhibit and securely stored in accordance with Exhibit Handling Procedures. Please ensure the evidence is on a detachable memory stick or USB drive that you can leave with the court.
No, you are required to be able to display your own digital or video evidence without assistance.
You must file an appeal within 30 days of the conviction date. The fine must be paid in full or an application to file an appeal without paying the fine must be completed before filing the appeal.
If you are past the allotted time, you may also apply for an extension of time to appeal under Section 85 of the Provincial Offences Act. A Provincial Judge must grant both the application to file appeal without paying the fine and the application for extension of time to appeal.
Appeal documents may be obtained from the Provincial Offences office, from the Ministry of the Attorney General court office, or online from Niagara Region's Provincial Offences Administration Forms page.
Visit the Ministry of Transportation's demerit points website for more information. Demerit points are administered by the Ministry of Transportation.
Visit the Ministry of Transportation's driving records website for more information. All driving record information is maintained and administered by the Ministry of Transportation.
Contact your local Provincial Offences Act Court office to determine if there are any outstanding fines. All outstanding fines must be paid in full. After payment is made, you are required to go to your local Ministry of Transportation office and pay a reinstatement fee.
If you are certain that you have no outstanding fines, contact the Ministry of Transportation, Driver Control at 1-800-303-4993.
The Provincial Offences Court database is not linked to the Ministry of Transportation database. Therefore, address changes made with the Ministry of Transportation are not on record with the Provincial Offences Court office.
In Provincial Offences Court, plate denials only apply to parking offences. Since all parking offence matters rest with the local municipality, you should contact the municipality in which you received the parking offence or pay your fine(s) at any Service Ontario office.
If the complaint is concerning the conduct of a Justice of the Peace, contact the Justice of the Peace Review Council.
If the complaint is concerning the conduct of Court Administration staff or Prosecutors, you must provide your complaint in writing to:
Manager, Court Services
445 East Main St.
Welland, L3B 3X7
Email the manager