Beaverton Red Light Cameras: Fines, Deadlines, and Responses

If you got a ticket from one of the Beaverton red light cameras, you have 30 days from the mailing date on the citation to respond, and the presumptive fine is $265. You can pay it, ask for a mitigation hearing to explain the circumstances, request a trial to contest it, or file a Certificate of Innocence if someone else was driving your car. The cameras are operated by the Beaverton Police Department at fixed intersections around the city, and the same equipment can issue speeding tickets, so it helps to know exactly what you’re dealing with before you decide how to respond.¹

What Triggers a Citation

Under Oregon law, a driver facing a steady red must stop at the stop line. If there is no stop line, you stop before the crosswalk; if there is no crosswalk, you stop before entering the intersection. Running a red light is charged as failure to obey a traffic control device, a Class B traffic violation.²

Sensors in the pavement work with the camera. Once the light turns red, any vehicle that crosses the sensor triggers photographs of the rear license plate and the driver’s face. The citation is then mailed to the registered owner.

Rolling Right Turns

Oregon allows a right turn on red, but only after a complete stop, and only where no sign prohibits it. Rolling through the turn without fully stopping before the crosswalk or stop line is treated the same as running the light. This catches a lot of drivers off guard.

Speeding Tickets from the Same Cameras

The same equipment can issue speed citations. Oregon authorizes cities to photograph drivers exceeding the posted limit by 11 miles per hour or more at camera-equipped intersections.³ You can get a speed ticket at one of these intersections even if the light was green when you went through.

The Fine

The presumptive fine for a Class B traffic violation in Oregon is $265.⁴ That’s the standard amount unless the judge has a reason to change it. A judge can raise the fine up to a maximum of $1,000 for an individual.⁵ Violations in school zones or construction zones can push the total higher, and administrative surcharges may be added depending on how you resolve the ticket.

Look at the Photos Before You Decide

Beaverton runs an online portal where you can view the photos and video of the alleged violation. Log in with the license plate number and PIN printed on your citation.¹ It’s worth doing even if you plan to pay. The footage sometimes shows unclear images, a legal right turn with a full stop, or a driver who isn’t you.

Your Three Response Options

The back of the citation is your response form. You pick one:

Pay the fine. You accept the violation and pay the amount listed. Online payment is available through the city’s payment portal using your citation number.⁶
Request a mitigation hearing. You admit the violation but ask the judge to consider the circumstances and possibly reduce the fine.
Request a trial. You contest the violation. A judge reviews the evidence and decides whether you are responsible.

To pay online, enter your citation number, confirm the violation details, and save the confirmation receipt. For a hearing or trial, sign and date the back of the citation, mark your choice, and mail it to Beaverton Municipal Court at the address printed on the notice. The court will mail back a hearing date. If you have lost the paperwork, replacement forms are on the Beaverton Municipal Court forms page.⁷

If Someone Else Was Driving

The ticket goes to the registered owner, not necessarily the person who was driving. If it wasn’t you behind the wheel, file a Certificate of Innocence instead of paying.

Log in to the Zerofatality portal with the license plate number and PIN from your citation, click “NOT THE DRIVER? FILL OUT CERTIFICATE HERE (COI),” and follow the instructions.¹ Citations issued to a business use a Certificate of Non-Liability, which requires the business to identify the actual driver.

A few practical points:

The certificate must be filed with the court before the court date on your citation.
Online submissions reach Zerofatality immediately but aren’t filed with the court until the next business day, and Municipal Court then needs 7 to 10 business days to process the filing.
Incomplete forms get rejected. Fill in every field. By the time you resubmit, you may have missed your deadline.

If the court reviews the high-resolution images and concludes you actually were the driver, the citation gets reissued to you. You cannot file a Certificate of Innocence on a reissued citation.

The 30-Day Deadline

You have 30 days from the mailing date to respond. The date on your citation is the deadline for entering a plea, not a scheduled court appearance.⁶ If you’re mailing the form, the court needs to receive it by that date, not just have it postmarked. Keep a copy of anything you send and consider using delivery confirmation. A response that arrives late can result in a default judgment, meaning the court treats the violation as admitted and imposes the fine automatically.

License and Insurance Consequences

A conviction counts as a traffic offense on your Oregon driving record. Under the Driver Improvement Program, three convictions or preventable accidents (or a combination) within 24 months triggers a 30-day restriction limiting you to daytime driving. Five incidents in the same period results in a 30-day license suspension.⁸

Oregon repealed the “Failure to Comply” suspension in 2020, so an unpaid red light camera fine no longer triggers an automatic license suspension the way it once did.⁸ Ignoring the ticket still leads to a default judgment and collection consequences, so leaving it unanswered is not a workable strategy.

Insurance impact depends on your carrier. Some Oregon insurers treat red light camera violations as minor moving violations that can raise your premium; others give them less weight than an officer-issued citation. There’s no single statewide rule, so ask your insurer if you’re worried about a rate change after a conviction.

1
Beaverton, OR – Official Website. Photo Radar / Red Light
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 811.265 – Driver Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device; Penalty
3
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 810.434 – Photo Red Light; Operation; Evaluation
4
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 153.019 – Presumptive Fines; Generally
5
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 153.018 – Maximum Fines
6
Beaverton, OR – Official Website. Municipal Court
7
City of Beaverton, OR. Municipal Court Forms
8
Oregon Department of Transportation. Suspensions, Revocations and Cancellations