Judgment Debt

Judgment debt is the total amount owed on a vehicle after civil judgment has been entered for one or more unpaid parking or camera violations. This figure includes the original base fines, all accrued late penalties, any additional surcharges, and ongoing interest at 9% per year. Judgment debt is the number that determines enforcement eligibility — boot risk at $350, tow risk at $2,500+.

Judgment debt is different from the original fine or even the current amount due on a single violation. It represents the cumulative total across all violations on that vehicle that have reached judgment status. A vehicle with 5 parking tickets that each entered judgment at $200 would have a judgment debt of $1,000 — well above the boot threshold and approaching tow risk.

For fleet operators, judgment debt is the single most important number to track per vehicle for enforcement risk management. A vehicle with $0 in judgment debt has zero boot/tow risk regardless of how many outstanding tickets it has. A vehicle with $400 in judgment debt could be booted tomorrow. Clear Plates calculates judgment debt per vehicle by summing all judgment-status violation balances and displays it prominently on vehicle cards so you can see enforcement risk at a glance.