Last updated: March 21, 2026
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Clear Plates platform ("Service") operated by Clear Plates ("we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
Clear Plates is a violation tracking, fleet management, and payment platform. We retrieve publicly available violation data from NYC Open Data APIs, match violations to your vehicles and drivers, and provide tools for liability assignment, reporting, case management, and violation payment.
Clear Plates is not a law firm or legal advisor. While we process violation payments to NYC agencies on your behalf, we do not provide legal counsel, represent you at hearings, or guarantee the accuracy of violation data.
Violation data displayed in Clear Plates is sourced from NYC Open Data and other publicly available government datasets. Clear Plates displays this data as-is — we do not independently validate, verify, or correct any violation records, fine amounts, hearing dates, payment statuses, or other information provided by NYC agencies. If a city agency reports incorrect data, that incorrect data will appear in Clear Plates. We are not responsible for errors, omissions, delays, or discrepancies in data provided by NYC agencies.
This includes but is not limited to: violation amounts that may be wrong, violations that may have already been paid but still show as outstanding, duplicate records, missing violations, incorrect hearing dates, and outdated payment statuses. NYC Open Data is updated on the city's schedule, not ours — there may be significant delays between when an event occurs (e.g., a payment or hearing) and when it appears in the data we display.
You should always verify violation details, amounts owed, and payment deadlines directly with the issuing agency before taking action. Clear Plates' penalty escalation estimates, deadline calculations, and status labels are computed from agency data and are informational only. They should not be relied upon as the sole basis for financial or legal decisions. When in doubt, contact the NYC Department of Finance or OATH directly.
Liability matching: Clear Plates matches violations to vehicles, drivers, and rental windows based entirely on data that you provide (plate numbers, assignment dates, rental periods). If the data you enter is incorrect, incomplete, or out of date, violations may be matched to the wrong vehicle, driver, or renter. Clear Plates does not independently verify vehicle ownership, driver assignments, or rental periods. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of the data you input and for reviewing liability matches before taking action (including chargebacks, renter billing, or payroll deductions).
Platform subscription: Access to Clear Plates requires a paid subscription. Pricing is displayed on our website and may change with 30 days' notice. Subscriptions are billed through Stripe and renew automatically unless cancelled. If a subscription payment fails, your access to the platform will be suspended immediately until payment is resolved. Your data is preserved during suspension — no violations, vehicles, or records will be deleted — but you will not be able to access the dashboard or any platform features until your payment method is updated and payment succeeds.
Service fees: Clear Plates charges a per-violation service fee on each violation payment processed through the platform. The current service fee is displayed at the time of payment. Clear Plates reserves the right to adjust the service fee at any time; any changes will be reflected in the payment flow before you confirm payment. Service fees are non-refundable.
Renter portal fees: When violations are billed to renters through the Clear Plates portal, a combined service fee is applied that includes Clear Plates' service fee and any additional fee configured by the fleet owner. This combined fee is presented to the renter as a single "service fee" at the time of payment. Clear Plates collects all renter payments directly. Fleet owners may receive a revenue share from Clear Plates based on their configuration, paid out at Clear Plates' discretion on a periodic basis. Revenue share payouts are not guaranteed in real-time and are subject to Clear Plates' standard payout schedule.
Violation payments and agency remittance: When you pay violations through Clear Plates, we collect the violation fine amount plus our service fee via Stripe. You authorize Clear Plates to submit the fine amount to the appropriate NYC agency (Department of Finance, OATH, or other applicable agency) on your behalf. Clear Plates will not submit payment to any agency until your payment to Clear Plates has been fully received and cleared. We use commercially reasonable efforts to remit payment to the agency as quickly as possible after your payment clears, but agency payments are not instant. There is a processing window between when you pay Clear Plates and when the agency receives payment.
No liability for interim penalties: You acknowledge and agree that Clear Plates is not responsible for any late fees, penalty escalations, interest, surcharges, boot or tow actions, civil judgments, or any other adverse consequences that may occur or accrue during the period between when you submit payment to Clear Plates and when the agency receives and processes that payment. This includes situations where a penalty deadline passes during the processing window. If timely payment to the agency is critical, you should pay the agency directly through CityPay or the appropriate agency portal.
Agency payment failures: If a payment to an agency fails or is rejected for any reason (incorrect violation data, technical issues, agency system outages), Clear Plates will notify you and make reasonable efforts to resolve the issue. If the payment cannot be completed, the violation fine amount may be refunded to you at Clear Plates' discretion. Service fees are non-refundable regardless of whether the agency payment succeeds.
Chargebacks and disputes: If you file a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or credit card company for any payment made through Clear Plates, we reserve the right to immediately pause all pending agency payments associated with your account, suspend your access to the platform, and withhold any revenue share payouts. If a chargeback is filed after Clear Plates has already submitted payment to an agency on your behalf, you remain responsible for the full amount and Clear Plates may pursue recovery of those funds.
Refunds: Refunds on violation payments are issued at Clear Plates' sole discretion. If Clear Plates has already remitted payment to the agency, the violation fine amount is non-refundable — agency payments cannot be reversed. Refunds may be issued in cases where a violation is dismissed after payment, a duplicate payment was made, or other circumstances warrant a refund as determined by Clear Plates. Service fees are non-refundable in all cases. Subscription fees are not prorated upon cancellation — your subscription remains active through the end of the current billing period.
Clear Plates offers an optional Idling Defense service ($295 per case) for OATH idling violations. When you purchase this service, Clear Plates will act as your authorized representative — not as your attorney. This includes preparing and filing a GN4 authorization form, collecting and submitting supporting documentation to OATH, appearing at hearings on your behalf, and making arguments to the hearing officer.
Clear Plates is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. Our team acts solely as authorized representatives under the GN4 form you sign. The outcome of any hearing is determined solely by the hearing officer, and Clear Plates makes no guarantees about results. If you require legal counsel, you should consult a licensed attorney.
If you do not purchase the Idling Defense service, Clear Plates provides violation tracking and case management tools only. You are responsible for attending your own hearings and presenting your own defense.
You agree to: (a) provide accurate vehicle and driver information; (b) keep your account credentials secure; (c) not share login credentials between organizations; (d) comply with all applicable laws; (e) ensure sufficient funds are available when initiating violation payments; and (f) not use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
You are responsible for all activity under your account. If you are an organization administrator, you are responsible for the actions of team members you invite.
If you are a fleet owner using the renter portal to pass violation costs to renters, you are responsible for ensuring that: (a) the violations assigned to each renter are accurate and occurred during their rental period; (b) any markup applied is disclosed to the renter; and (c) you have a contractual basis with the renter for chargeback of violation costs.
Clear Plates facilitates violation tracking and billing between fleet owners and renters but is not a party to your rental agreements. Disputes between fleet owners and renters — including disagreements over which violations fall within a rental window, the accuracy of amounts charged, or the validity of markups — are solely between those parties. Clear Plates bears no liability for violations incorrectly assigned to a renter, amounts disputed by a renter, or any financial loss arising from renter billing through the platform.
The Clear Plates platform, including its design, code, and branding, is owned by Clear Plates. You retain ownership of all data you input into the platform. You grant us a license to use your data solely to provide the Service.
The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Clear Plates disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement.
Without limiting the foregoing, Clear Plates does not warrant that: (a) the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; (b) violation data retrieved from NYC Open Data or any other source will be accurate, complete, or current; (c) penalty amounts, escalation timelines, hearing dates, or payment deadlines displayed in the platform will be correct; (d) payments submitted to NYC agencies will be processed successfully or within any specific timeframe; (e) the results of any hearing defense preparation will be favorable; or (f) liability matching — the assignment of violations to vehicles, drivers, or rental windows — will be accurate or complete.
Third-party dependencies: Clear Plates relies on third-party services to function, including NYC Open Data APIs, Stripe, SendGrid, and cloud infrastructure providers. If any of these services experience downtime, rate limiting, data issues, API changes, or discontinuation, parts or all of the Clear Plates platform may become unavailable or produce incomplete results. We have no control over the availability or performance of third-party services and are not liable for any disruption, data loss, or missed deadlines caused by third-party outages. We do not guarantee any specific uptime percentage or service level for the platform.
You use the Service at your own risk. You are solely responsible for verifying all violation data, amounts, and deadlines with the issuing agency before relying on them for any financial, legal, or operational decision. Clear Plates is a management tool — not a substitute for direct communication with NYC agencies.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Clear Plates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to: loss of revenue, late fees, penalty escalations, boot or tow costs, judgment amounts, incorrect chargebacks or payroll deductions based on liability matching, renter billing disputes, violations assigned to the wrong driver or rental window, or any other financial losses arising from use of the Service.
Clear Plates' total liability for any claim arising from use of the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid to Clear Plates in the 12 months preceding the claim.
You acknowledge that violation data may be delayed or inaccurate, that payment deadlines shown are estimates, and that while Clear Plates submits payments to NYC agencies on your behalf, agency processing times and potential rejections are outside our control.
Subscription cancellation: You may cancel your subscription at any time through the billing page in your dashboard or by contacting hello@clearplates.com. Upon cancellation, your subscription will remain active through the end of the current billing period. After the billing period ends, your dashboard access will be locked but your data will be retained for 90 days. During this retention period, you may resubscribe at any time and your data will be fully restored.
Account deletion: You may request permanent deletion of your account and all associated data by contacting hello@clearplates.com. Upon receiving a deletion request, Clear Plates will: (a) cancel your subscription immediately with no further charges; (b) permanently delete all your organization data, including vehicles, driver assignments, violation records, payment history, team members, renter data, and all other records associated with your account within 30 days of the request; and (c) remove your profile from the platform. Account deletion is irreversible. Once your data is deleted, it cannot be recovered.
Pending payments: If you have pending agency payments at the time of cancellation or deletion (violations you paid for but Clear Plates has not yet remitted to the agency), Clear Plates will complete those agency payments before closing your account. If completion is not possible, the violation fine amount will be refunded to you. Revenue share balances owed to fleet owners will be paid out within 60 days of account closure.
Involuntary termination: We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, file excessive chargebacks, or abuse the platform. In cases of involuntary termination, pending agency payments may be paused and revenue share payouts may be withheld pending investigation.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Clear Plates from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Service; (b) inaccurate vehicle or driver data you provided; (c) disputes with renters or drivers; or (d) your violation of these Terms.
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Service shall be resolved in the courts of New York County, New York.
Questions about these terms? Contact us at hello@clearplates.com.