Traffic tickets generally cannot be discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Under 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(7), a debt owed to a governmental unit that is a fine, penalty, or forfeiture — and not compensation for an actual monetary loss — survives a Chapter 7 discharge.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 Exceptions to Discharge A speeding ticket, parking ticket, red-light camera fine, expired-meter citation, or speed camera fine all fit that description: the government is punishing a violation, not recovering money it lost. So Chapter 7 wipes out credit cards and medical bills, but the tickets stay.2United States Courts. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Basics
Criminal Traffic Fines Never Go Away
Some driving offenses cross from civil infraction into criminal territory, and fines imposed as part of a criminal sentence are non-dischargeable in Chapter 7 and remain non-dischargeable in Chapter 13.3United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy – Bankruptcy Basics These typically include:
- DUI or DWI convictions, which carry criminal penalties in every state.
- Reckless driving, often charged as a misdemeanor.
- Driving on a suspended or revoked license, typically a criminal offense.
- Hit-and-run offenses, which can also carry restitution obligations.
These fines are treated as criminal penalties or criminal restitution under the Bankruptcy Code, which puts them in an even more protected category than ordinary civil government fines.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 Discharge No chapter of bankruptcy will erase them.
Chapter 13 Can Discharge Civil Traffic Fines
If your goal is to actually clear traffic debt through bankruptcy, Chapter 13 is the tool. Chapter 13 is a repayment plan that runs three to five years.5United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics Section 1328(a) lists which §523 discharge exceptions carry over into Chapter 13, and §523(a)(7) — the government fine provision — is not on that list.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 Discharge
What that means in practice: civil traffic tickets, parking fines, camera violations, and toll penalties can be rolled into a Chapter 13 plan and discharged when you complete it. Bankruptcy practitioners sometimes call this the “super discharge” because it reaches debts Chapter 7 will not.
Two conditions matter. You have to finish the plan; drop out early and you lose the broader discharge. And criminal fines still stay, even in Chapter 13, so a DUI fine survives regardless of which chapter you file under.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 Discharge But a stack of parking tickets or speed camera fines totaling thousands of dollars? Chapter 13 can resolve those.
What Chapter 7 Still Does for You
Even without discharging the tickets, filing Chapter 7 changes your situation in three ways worth understanding.
The Automatic Stay Stops Collection
Filing triggers an automatic stay that halts most collection activity.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 Automatic Stay If a city has sent unpaid parking tickets to a collection agency, or a court has scheduled a hearing to enforce payment, those proceedings freeze the moment your petition is filed. There is a carve-out, though: governmental units can still exercise their police and regulatory powers during the stay. The DMV can suspend your license for an unpaid ticket even while your case is open, because license suspension is treated as a regulatory action rather than debt collection.
Freed Cash Flow to Pay the Tickets
By eliminating credit card balances, medical bills, and other dischargeable obligations, Chapter 7 can free up the income you need to pay off the fines that survived.2United States Courts. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Basics If traffic fines are your only significant debt, Chapter 7 will not accomplish much. If they are one piece of a larger crisis, filing may be the practical route to clearing enough breathing room to handle them.
Getting a Suspended License Back
A discharge does not automatically restore a suspended driver’s license — that is an administrative action by the state motor vehicle agency, and the discharge order only eliminates the personal obligation to pay the debt. But §525(a) of the Bankruptcy Code prohibits a government agency from denying, revoking, suspending, or refusing to renew a license solely because the person has not paid a debt that was dischargeable or was discharged in bankruptcy.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 525 Protection Against Discriminatory Treatment
Reinstatement still involves administrative steps. You will typically pay a reinstatement fee (commonly $75 to over $300, depending on the state), provide proof of insurance (often through an SR-22 filing), and complete any required courses such as defensive driving. The reinstatement fee is a new administrative charge, not the original fine, so the discharge does not cover it. And if your suspension was tied to a non-dischargeable criminal fine like a DUI, the DMV can require full payment of that fine before reinstatement. Section 525 only protects against discrimination based on dischargeable or discharged debts, not fines the bankruptcy left in place.