Got a Parking Ticket With the Wrong License Plate? Here's What to Do in California

You pull the ticket off your windshield and start reading it. The date is right, the location is right, the violation looks like yours — but the license plate number is wrong. Maybe one digit is off. Maybe the letters are transposed. Maybe it's completely wrong.

This is a more common situation than you might expect, and how it gets resolved depends on the nature and magnitude of the error.

When a Wrong License Plate Actually Matters

California courts and administrative hearing officers have consistently held that minor transcription errors on parking citations do not automatically void the ticket — as long as the vehicle is clearly identifiable by other information on the citation (make, color, VIN stub, location, and time).

The standard the agencies apply is whether the error is a significant error that calls into question whether the correct vehicle was cited. A one-digit transposition on a plate that matches your vehicle's make, color, and location is harder to win on than a completely different plate number that belongs to an entirely different vehicle.

Here's the practical breakdown:

Minor error (one digit/letter off, same general vicinity of correct plate): The agency will argue the citation still identifies your vehicle. You can raise the error as a supporting argument — it speaks to the officer's attention to detail — but on its own, it's unlikely to get the ticket dismissed.

Significant error (wrong plate that belongs to a different vehicle): This is a much stronger case. If your vehicle's plate is "7ABC123" and the ticket says "7XYZ456," there's a real question of whether your vehicle was cited at all. The agency has to explain how they issued a citation to a plate that doesn't match your vehicle.

Completely wrong vehicle description: If the make and color are also wrong, the citation may not be enforceable against you at all. The more fields that don't match your vehicle, the stronger your argument.

How to Build the Evidence

Before you file your Initial Review, document the discrepancy clearly:

1. Photograph your actual license plate — close-up, clearly showing every character.
2. Photograph the citation — showing the incorrect plate number recorded.
3. If possible, photograph your vehicle at or near where the ticket was issued — showing the make, model, and color.

The argument in your written appeal should be factual and direct: "Citation #[Number] records vehicle license plate [Incorrect Number]. My vehicle's actual license plate is [Correct Number]. These plates do not match. The [make/color] of vehicle described on the citation [does/does not] correspond to my vehicle. Given this discrepancy, I request that the citation be dismissed."

If the plate on the ticket belongs to a registered vehicle in California, you can note that in your appeal — it shows the plate error is not trivial.

What About Citations Issued to Your Plate for a Violation You Didn't Commit?

The opposite situation also happens: you receive a citation in the mail, you look it up, and the date, time, and location don't match anywhere you parked that day. Your plate was apparently recorded by an officer who cited the wrong vehicle.

In this case:

1. Photograph your license plate as reference.
2. Check whether you have any receipts, EZ Pass/FasTrak records, parking app records, or any documentation of where your vehicle was at the time the ticket was issued.
3. File an Initial Review explaining that your vehicle was not present at the cited location at the cited time. Include any supporting documentation showing the vehicle's alternate location.

If the citation results from a rented vehicle, the rental company will transfer liability to the renter under CVC § 40209. If someone rented your vehicle through a platform, the same process applies.

The Appeal Timeline

Wrong license plate arguments go through the same standard appeal process as any other contest in California:

Step 1 — Initial Administrative Review: File within 21 days of the citation date or 14 days of the first delinquency notice. Free to file. The agency reviews your written statement and evidence. No hearing, no officer present.

Step 2 — Administrative Hearing: If your Initial Review is denied, you can request a hearing within 21 days of the review decision. You'll need to deposit the fine amount in advance. A neutral hearing officer — not an agency employee — reviews the case.

Step 3 — Superior Court: If the hearing goes against you and you believe the decision was incorrect, you can file a civil appeal in Superior Court within 30 days. $25 filing fee.

For a wrong-plate citation, the Initial Review is the right stage to raise the error. Provide clear evidence of the discrepancy. If the error is significant and well-documented, many agencies will dismiss at Step 1 rather than take it to a hearing.

Don't Assume the Ticket Isn't Yours Because of a Plate Error

One important caution: before filing an appeal based on a plate error, verify that the citation doesn't actually correspond to your vehicle on all other dimensions (location, time, violation type). Officers occasionally make transcription errors while otherwise accurately recording the violation. If everything else matches except one digit, the agency will likely argue the error was clerical and the citation correctly identifies your vehicle.

The strongest wrong-plate defense is one where the plate error is paired with other mismatches — wrong make, wrong color — or where the incorrect plate number belongs to a completely different vehicle class.

If you're dealing with a citation that seems incorrectly issued — whether the plate is wrong, the violation description doesn't match, or the signage wasn't there — the California Parking Ticket Dispute Guide walks you through exactly how to document and argue your case through each stage of California's appeal process.

Get the California Parking Ticket Dispute Guide