City of Madison Parking Tickets: Fines, Payment, and Winter Rules

Madison parking tickets run from $20 for a declared snow emergency violation to $150 for parking in a disabled-designated space without a valid permit, with most common fines landing between $25 and $60. You have 10 days from the date on the ticket to request a free online review, and unpaid citations pick up late fees and can lead to a vehicle registration suspension after 28 days.

What Each Violation Costs

The city’s Parking Utility publishes a full fine schedule. These are the citations drivers see most often:

Expired meter, on-street or municipal lot: $25
Overtime at a metered space: $35
Overtime in an unmetered 1- or 2-hour zone: $40
Alternate-side parking (1 a.m.–7 a.m.): $35
Declared snow emergency: $20
No parking anytime / no stopping, standing, or parking: $30
Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant: $30
On a sidewalk or crosswalk: $30
Double parking: $30
Posted fire lane: $100
Disabled parking space without a valid permit: $150
Street storage (48-hour limit): $25

If the vehicle gets towed rather than just ticketed, the fine itself goes up before the tow fee is added. An expired meter jumps from $25 to $90 when a tow is involved, and a fire lane violation rises from $100 to $165, on top of a separate $115 towing fee.¹ That escalation catches people off guard, because they expect the base fine plus a tow charge, not a higher fine plus the tow charge.

One note on the disabled-space citation: Madison writes it at $150, and Wisconsin law allows a forfeiture of up to $300 for the offense.² The person the permit was issued to must actually be in the vehicle when it’s parked in a designated space.

How to Pay

The fastest option is the city’s online payment portal, which accepts Visa and MasterCard. Enter your citation number or license plate, follow the prompts, and you get a digital confirmation. The system updates in real time.³

To pay in person or with cash, go to Court Services on the ground floor of the City-County Building at 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They accept cash, money orders, checks, and credit cards. Court Services is also the required payment location if your vehicle was impounded or you have a backlog of outstanding fines. You can also pay at the City Treasurer’s Office, the Transportation Office Parking Division, and Madison Police Department district stations.³

Lost the paper ticket? The city’s online Parking Citation Look-Up lets you search by license plate number and state of registration to pull up any outstanding citations.⁴

How to Contest a Ticket

You have 10 calendar days from the date on the ticket to request an online review through the Parking Utility. This step is meant to catch clear errors: a meter that was actually paid, a valid permit that wasn’t recognized, or documented permission to use the space. Fill out the online form, include a detailed explanation, and submit it before the deadline.⁵

If the review comes back against you, you can still request a court date by calling Court Services at (608) 266-4170. Parking court is held Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. by appointment only. If the case doesn’t resolve at that first appearance, the court will schedule a separate trial date.⁶

You can still pursue a court hearing after the 10-day window closes, but you’ll have lost the free administrative review. That means your first shot at contesting the ticket happens in a courtroom instead of an inbox.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

Late Fees

Madison adds administrative fees in stages. After the initial payment window passes, $10 gets tacked onto the original fine. A second $10 fee follows if the ticket still isn’t resolved, bringing the total surcharge to $20. On a $25 expired-meter ticket, that means paying $45 instead.

Registration Suspension

Under Wisconsin law, if a parking citation goes unpaid for 28 days and the driver hasn’t appeared in court, the city can report the delinquency to the Wisconsin DMV. The city can request suspension of the specific vehicle’s registration, refusal to register any vehicle owned by that person, or both.⁷

Suspended registration makes it illegal to drive the vehicle. Refused registration is slightly different but equally painful: you can’t renew registration on any vehicle, register a new one, get replacement plates, or transfer a registration.⁸ The DMV charges a small processing fee (around $3–$5), which the city may pass through on top of the original fine and late fees. Once everything is paid, restoring the registration can take up to five business days.

Towing

Vehicles towed during winter enforcement carry a $115 towing fee on top of the increased violation fine.⁹ Towed vehicles go to Schmidt’s Auto. Call (608) 257-0505 to confirm your car is there before heading over.

To reclaim an impounded vehicle, you must be the registered owner and present a driver’s license or photo ID. If someone else picks it up for you, they need an original notarized letter from the registered owner listing the make, model, license plate number, VIN, and the authorized person’s full name. Vehicles must be claimed before 3:30 p.m., and all fines and fees are paid at Court Services before release.¹⁰ Call (608) 266-4170 ahead of your visit to confirm the total owed and which payment methods are accepted.

Winter Rules That Generate Most Tickets

Alternate-Side Parking

From November 15 through March 15, alternate-side parking applies citywide, except in designated Snow Emergency Zones, which follow their own schedule. Between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m., you must park on the side of the street matching the date: odd-numbered addresses on odd dates, even-numbered addresses on even dates. Go by the overnight date, not the evening you parked.¹¹

Declared Snow Emergencies

When roughly three or more inches of snow hit the roads, the city may declare a snow emergency. During a declared emergency, alternate-side rules extend to everyone, including residents in Snow Emergency Zones who are normally exempt during the regular winter season. All posted restrictions stay in effect, and Clean Streets/Clean Lakes rules apply on top of alternate-side parking.¹²

During a declared snow emergency, you can park free in gated sections of city-operated garages from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Enter before 9 p.m. or leave after 7 a.m. and you pay for the extra time. Stay off the top level so plows can clear it, and don’t leave the car for more than 48 hours.¹²

Meters and Street Storage

On-street meters are enforced from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Some meters carry special restrictions or shorter time windows, so check the meter itself before you walk away.¹³ Running over at the same meter is a separate $35 overtime ticket, not an extension of the expired-meter fine.

Madison also enforces a 48-hour street storage limit. Leave your car in the same spot on a public street for more than two days and you risk a $25 citation, or $90 if it’s towed.¹ Loading zones are reserved for temporary commercial or service vehicle use and carry a $30–$45 fine for unauthorized parking.

Drivers with valid disability permits or plates are exempt from payment at any city meter with a duration of 30 minutes or longer. The exception is 25-minute meters, where both payment and the time limit still apply. In city-owned garages, disability permits give access to marked disabled stalls and all general stalls, but the standard garage fee applies.¹⁴

1
City of Madison, WI. Violation Codes for Parking Tickets
2
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 346.503(1)
3
City of Madison, WI. Citation Payment Methods
4
City of Madison, WI. Parking Citation Information
5
City of Madison, WI. Citation Payment Methods – Section: Request an Online Review
6
City of Madison, WI. Citation Payment Methods – Section: Request a Court Date to Contest a Parking Citation
7
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 345.28
8
Wisconsin DMV. Unpaid Parking Tickets
9
City of Madison. Fines and Towing
10
City of Madison, WI. Towed Vehicles
11
City of Madison. Winter Parking Rules
12
City of Madison. Declared Snow Emergencies
13
City of Madison, WI. Parking Meters
14
City of Madison, WI. Frequently Asked Questions