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When Unpaid Tolls Lead to a Registration Suspension
Also called: Notice of Pending Registration Suspension, Registration Suspension for Failure to Pay Tolls, Habitual Violator Notification Letter
Last reviewed 2026-07-12
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What this notice usually means
Some states suspend your vehicle registration if you owe too much in unpaid tolls. This is more than a late fee. New York, New Jersey, and Texas each use different math to decide when this happens. New York suspends your registration once you have 3 or more toll violations, or owe $200 or more, within 5 years. New Jersey suspends once you owe $500 or more, or have 6 or more unpaid violations, within 3 years. First you get a formal pending suspension notice and a chance to ask for a hearing. The North Texas Tollway Authority uses a much higher bar. It takes 100 or more unpaid tolls, plus 2 separate notices within a year, before it blocks your registration renewal. None of these states let the DMV settle a dispute over whether you actually owed the toll. That question always goes to the tolling authority itself. This page covers only New York, New Jersey, and Texas.
See every source line for this notice
“the Department of Motor Vehicles is suspending your registration for failing to pay tolls, fees, or other charges related to 3 or more violations of the Tolling Authority’s toll collection regulations committed within a 5 year period, or for the failure to pay such tolls, fees or other charges in the amount of $200 or more within a 5 year period”
“DO NOT contact the New York State DMV to dispute whether you violated a toll regulation or failed to pay the toll, fees, or other charges.”
“Operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration is a misdemeanor, which may result in a fine, imprisonment, or both.”
“unpaid tolls and fees collectively totaling $500 or more over the past three years; or six or more unpaid toll violations, with at least one violation having occurred after the effective date of P.L. 2023, c.339”
“A suspension may be imposed for outstanding tolls and fees if a New Jersey tolling entity or Reciprocal entity submits a suspension request to the Department within three years of the toll violation(s) that form the basis of the suspension request.”
“Within 15 days of receipt of a suspension request received pursuant to N.J.A.C. 16:3-5.1, and prior to directing the suspension of a motor vehicle registration, the Department shall provide the registered owner with a Notice of Pending Registration Suspension.”
“Failure to pay the tolls and fees and/or penalties, and/or enter into a payment agreement, or request a hearing shall result in the Hearing Officer issuing a final agency decision directing the suspension of every motor vehicle registration of the owner”
“a habitual violator is a registered owner of a vehicle who a toll project entity determines: (1) was issued at least two written notices of nonpayment that contained: (A) in the aggregate, 100 or more events of nonpayment within a period of one year”
“If not later than the 30th day after the date on which the person is presumed to have received the notice the toll project entity receives a written request for a hearing, a hearing shall be held as provided by Section 372.107”
“A hearing requested under Section 372.106 shall be conducted in a justice court in a county in which the toll collection facilities where at least 25 percent of the events of nonpayment occurred are located.”
What to do now
- 1
Find your state's threshold
Each state uses a different dollar amount or violation count before it suspends your registration. Check the numbers for your state below.
- 2
Contact the tolling authority, not the DMV, to dispute a toll
New York says directly not to contact DMV about whether you owed a toll. Contact the Thruway Authority, MTA, Port Authority, E-ZPass, or NTTA instead.
- 3
Watch for a formal notice, not just a bill
New Jersey sends a Notice of Pending Registration Suspension. It comes with its own hearing deadline. Missing it can lead to an automatic suspension.
- 4
Pay or set up a payment plan before your deadline
You can pay in full. You can also arrange a payment plan. Either one can clear a suspension or a block, once the tolling authority confirms it.
- 5
Get free legal help
A hearing officer or a justice of the peace handles some toll disputes. Legal aid or a court self help center can help you prepare.
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New York: New York can suspend your registration in two ways. The first way is 3 or more toll violations within 5 years. The second way is $200 or more in unpaid tolls, fees, or charges within 5 years. DMV does not decide whether you actually owed the toll. That question goes to the Thruway Authority, the MTA, or the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, or to E-ZPass directly. Driving on a suspended registration is a misdemeanor. New Jersey: A tolling entity has 3 years from a toll violation to ask the state to suspend your registration. Your registration can be suspended once you owe $500 or more in tolls and fees over the past 3 years, or have 6 or more unpaid violations. Once the state gets that request, it must send you a Notice of Pending Registration Suspension within 15 days. You then have 45 calendar days from that notice to request a hearing. If you do not pay, set up a payment plan, or request a hearing, the state issues a final decision suspending every registration you own. Texas: The North Texas Tollway Authority runs a habitual violator program under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 372. It applies once you have 100 or more unpaid tolls, counted across at least 2 written notices sent within a year. Once you get a habitual violator notice, you have 30 days from when you are presumed to have received it to request a hearing, or the determination becomes final. That hearing is held in a justice court, not decided by the tolling authority itself. This page covers only New York, New Jersey, and Texas. If your state is not one of these three, check with your own state's DMV.
“A request for a hearing shall be made within 45 calendar days of the date of the Notice of Pending Registration Suspension.”
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Sources
- New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (dmv.ny.gov)Retrieved 2026-07-11
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Toll Collection and Enforcement System rule (nj.gov)Retrieved 2026-07-11
- Texas Legislature Online, Transportation Code Chapter 372 (tcss.legis.texas.gov)Retrieved 2026-07-12
Last reviewed 2026-07-12
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