If you are convicted of a traffic offense in Ohio, the court can order you to pay a fine and court costs. This page explains the difference between the two, when (and when not) a court can put you in jail for not paying, and how to ask for a payment plan, community service, or a waiver of costs.
A fine is a punishment for the offense. It is a criminal penalty.
Court costs are the court's charges for handling the case. They are a civil debt, not a punishment.
The Supreme Court of Ohio's guide for judges says it plainly: "Fines are a criminal sanction, while costs are a civil obligation." (Bench card, p. 1.)
This difference matters because the rules for collecting each one are different.
For misdemeanors, the general limits are (R.C. 2929.28(A)(2)(a)):
Level of offense Maximum fine
Minor misdemeanor $150
Fourth-degree misdemeanor $250
Third-degree misdemeanor $500
Second-degree misdemeanor $750
First-degree misdemeanor $1,000
Some traffic laws set their own penalties, including mandatory fines. Check the statute or ordinance listed on your ticket, or ask the clerk.
In every criminal case, including ordinance violations, the judge must include court costs in the sentence. This applies whether or not you can afford them. (R.C. 2947.23(A)(1)(a); State v. Taylor, 2020-Ohio-3514, ¶6.)
But the court can waive, suspend, or change the costs, at sentencing "or at any time thereafter." (R.C. 2947.23(C).)
The court does not have to consider your ability to pay when deciding a request to waive costs, but it may. (Taylor, syllabus; bench card, p. 3.)
What to do: If you cannot afford the costs, say so at sentencing, or file a written motion asking the court to waive, suspend, or modify the costs. Explain your income, expenses, and any public benefits you receive.
The Ohio Constitution says: "No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action." Because court costs are a civil debt, a court cannot send you to jail for failing to pay them. (Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 15, as quoted in Disciplinary Counsel v. Hoover, 2024-Ohio-4608, ¶8; Taylor, ¶21.)
The Supreme Court of Ohio has called it "absolutely imperative that courts do not jail offenders for failing to pay their court costs." (Hoover, ¶8.) In that case, the Court suspended a municipal judge who jailed or held people until they paid fines and costs.
A court also cannot use contempt of court to collect costs, or to punish you for not finishing community service ordered in place of fines or costs. (Bench card, p. 4; State v. Lamb, 2005-Ohio-4741, ¶12.)
Court costs become a judgment against you. A court can still collect them in other ways. The Supreme Court's bench card lists these permitted methods for costs: voluntary payment, a payment plan, a collection agency, community service, taking money from a prisoner account, and civil collection of the judgment. (Bench card, p. 3.) In cases the Supreme Court has reviewed, unpaid fines and costs were sent to the Ohio Attorney General for collection, and a tax refund was taken. (Hoover, ¶146, ¶155, ¶179.)
Community service for costs is allowed. If you do not pay costs, the court may order community service. It must first hold a hearing (unless you agree otherwise, per the bench card) and decide community service is appropriate. You get credit for each hour at a rate of at least the federal minimum wage. (R.C. 2947.23(A)(1)(a), (B); Taylor, ¶22; bench card, p. 4.)
Some websites say community service for court costs is illegal "peonage." Ohio law does not treat it that way. The statute authorizes it, and the Supreme Court of Ohio has recognized it as lawful when the hearing safeguard is followed. (Taylor, ¶22; Hoover, ¶7.) Refusing to pay costs, or announcing in court that you will not pay them, does not cancel them.
A court can jail someone for an unpaid fine only by following R.C. 2947.14. The law forbids jailing anyone to satisfy a fine in any other way. (R.C. 2947.14(D); Hoover, ¶6.)
Before jailing you for a fine, the court must:
Hold a hearing.
Let you have a lawyer, testify, and present evidence about your ability to pay.
Find that you are able to pay the fine right now but refuse to do so.
Put its findings about your income, assets, and debts in a written judgment entry.
(R.C. 2947.14(A), (B); Hoover, ¶5; State v. Seaunier, 2011-Ohio-658, ¶15 to ¶16.)
If you are jailed under this law, you get $50 credit toward the fine for each day or part of a day, and the commitment cannot be longer than six months. (R.C. 2947.14(D), (E).)
The court must keep fines and costs separate. It cannot keep you in jail for costs by applying your payments to costs first. (Seaunier, ¶19; State v. Swift, 2005-Ohio-1599, ¶29.)
Being unable to pay is different from refusing to pay. The law allows jail only for someone who can pay and refuses.
The court may order community service in place of a fine. (Bench card, p. 1, citing R.C. 2929.28(B) and 2929.27.) Ask about this at sentencing if you cannot pay.
Many traffic offenses can be handled through the court's traffic violations bureau, which accepts a guilty plea and payment of the fine and costs. Some offenses cannot be handled this way, including OVI (drunk or drugged driving), leaving the scene of an accident, and certain driving-under-suspension charges where jail is possible. (Traffic Rule 13.) Paying is a guilty plea. Check your ticket or call the clerk to learn whether your offense qualifies and what the amount is.
If you are charged with certain traffic offenses and fail to appear, the court may declare your driver's license forfeited. The BMV then suspends your license and blocks vehicle registration until you appear and pay a reinstatement fee. (R.C. 4510.22.) If you cannot come on your court date, file a written motion for a continuance that states your reasons. (Traffic Rule 18.)
At sentencing, tell the judge if you cannot pay. Ask for a payment plan, community service, or a waiver of costs.
If you later cannot pay, contact the clerk before the due date and ask the court in writing to modify the costs.
If the court talks about jail for an unpaid fine, you have the right to a hearing, a lawyer, and to show you cannot pay.
Keep every receipt.
Go to every court date, even if you cannot pay.
Last verified: 2026-10-13