Albany Parking Tickets—How To Avoid, Dispute, or Pay Them

Last Updated on December 3, 2022 by Usama

Moving to Albany or planning a visit? Learn all about the city parking regulations, on-street parking spots, violations, and tickets! Discover how to avoid getting a ticket and what are the most important steps in disputing the City of Albany parking tickets. Use our in-depth guide and useful tips to get around the city hassle-free!

Albany Street Parking

Street parking in Albany is convenient, straightforward, and affordable. Unlike most cities, Albany offers free downtown parking after 5 PM from Monday through Friday and all day on weekends! Plenty of metered parking spots are available throughout the city, and there are two types of meters. Single-space meters accept coins and allow 1 to 10 hours of parking, depending on the location, while the most common duration is 2 hours. Pay and Display meters accept coins, as well as Visa and MasterCard, and they are quite easy to use. To eliminate the need to carry quarters for single-space meters, use CashKey. It works like a debit card, and you can use it alone or in combination with coins.

On-street parking rates depend on the zone, and the rate varies from $0.50 to $1.25 for the first hour. Downtown Albany is in Zone 100, which is the priciest part of the city.

Albany Parking Violations

To discover penalties for the most common parking violations, we looked into the cost of Albany parking tickets. See the list below to find out the amount of money you’ll have to pay for any violation, and then look below for tips on avoiding city parking infractions. Note that you must pay the ticket within 20 days of its issuance to avoid the imposition of additional penalties and fines!

Albany Parking Violation	Original Parking Fee
Overtime parking	$25
Crosswalk/sidewalk parking	$35
Unauthorized angle parking	$35
Parking in a fire lane	$35
Traffic obstruction	$50
Blocking driveway	$50
Double parking	$75
Blocking a fire hydrant	$100
Unauthorized handicap parking	$150

Avoid Albany Parking Tickets

Staying away from parking infractions is rather simple—read the signs and meters thoroughly before you park, and you can walk away worry-free. If you don’t see a parking sign, look for one up or down the street because every street has at least one. When using a Pay and Display meter, follow the panel instructions to pay for your parking spot properly. You should also follow general parking regulations and make sure you don’t block any street, alley, driveway, crosswalk, sidewalk, or fire hydrant. Spare a couple of minutes to check everything before leaving the vehicle, and you’ll successfully avoid parking tickets in Albany, NY!

Already Received a Ticket? Can You Contest It?

Before you decide whether you wish to contest or pay for your Albany parking ticket, check if it’s valid! Read through it carefully and see if the following details are inaccurate or missing:

Date, time, and county
Vehicle details, such as color, model, manufacturer, etc.
Address of the parked car

Other potential reasons that will allow you to overturn your Albany parking infringement include:

Unreadable handwriting
Defective parking meter
Faded or unclear sign
Your vehicle was sold, rented, or stolen

How To Dispute Your Albany Parking Ticket

If you wish to fight the ticket, don’t pay for it! The city allows you to file a dispute within 20 days of the ticket issuance date, but you need to prove your innocence. For this reason, you should take a picture of your vehicle or sign or use any document or permit that may help you make your point. Then, follow one of the steps below to contest Albany parking tickets:

Take the ticket along with other documents you may need and bring it to the Albany City Hall to issue the contest
Send a copy of your ticket along with an explanation to the Albany Parking Violations Bureau—the address is Albany City Hall, 24 Eagle Street, Albany, NY 12207

Note that you cannot initiate the process over the phone.

Payment Methods

If you decide to pay, or your dispute gets declined, there are several ways to pay your Albany parking ticket:

Online—use your Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express credit card to pay via the city portal
By mail—send a check or money order payable to Albany Parking Violations Bureau along with the license plate and parking ticket numbers; the address is: Albany City Hall – Treasurer’s Office, 24 Eagle Street, 1st Floor, Albany, NY 12207
In-person—use cash, check, or money order and pay at the City Hall’s Treasurer’s Office in Room 110 on the first floor; the office is open from 8:30 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday

To pay in person using your credit card, you may use a self-service computer portal located at the City Hall.

Other Helpful Guides

Apart from fighting Albany parking tickets, Parking Access guides offer information on avoiding tickets in many other U.S. cities! Look into the following articles to learn all about:

You can also use our website to find, compare, and pre-book airport parking spots at all major airports, including Albany International Airport Parking.

All About Albany Parking Tickets