You must pay the ticket or appear in court within 21 days.
Did you receive a ticket for a dog control violation? Find out how to respond to it.
- This page, Pay a dog control violation ticket, is offered by
- District Court
- Boston Municipal Court
- Massachusetts Court System
Pay a dog control violation ticket
Contacts
Boston Municipal Court Department and District Court Department
The Details
What you need
If you receive a dog control violation ticket from the District Court or Boston Municipal Court (BMC), you have 21 days to pay it. The city or town may set its own fines, but if they don't list a fine, the following fines apply to violations within a year:
- First offense — The case is dismissed with no fine
- Second offense — $50
- Third offense — $60
- Fourth or subsequent offenses — $100
There are 2 ways to pay the fine.
How to pay
Pay the fine by mail by sending the correct amount to the address on the written notice.
To pay the fine in person, you can appear in the District Court or Boston Municipal Court you received the ticket from and pay your ticket.
More info
If you don’t appear in court and pay the fine in 21 days, the court clerk will issue a criminal complaint and follow the procedure for criminal cases. If you don’t appear in court when the summons tells you to, the clerk will mail you a notice that the complaint is pending and that if you don’t appear in court within 21 days from when the notice was sent, a warrant for your arrest will be issued.