Mississauga Parking Tickets by Mail: The $10 Fee and the 30-Day Clock
A school zone ticket that arrives in your mailbox now costs $155, not $145. Starting October 1, 2026, Mississauga can mail a parking ticket to the vehicle’s registered owner, adds $10 when it does, and gives you 30 days instead of 15 to pay or ask for a review.
What Changed on October 1, 2026
Three things, all from amendments to the City’s Administrative Penalty By-law 0282-2013. Council approved the first two on June 24, 2026 and endorsed the mail-out fee on September 23, 2026.
| Item | Before October 1 | From October 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| How a ticket reaches you | Placed on the vehicle | Placed on the vehicle where possible, mailed to the registered owner where that is not safe or practical |
| Fee for a mailed ticket | None | $10 |
| Time to pay or request a review | 15 days | 30 days |
| Parking rules | No change | |
| Fine amounts | No change | |
Source: City of Mississauga, “Changes coming to parking penalties in Mississauga”, published July 3, 2026 and updated September 28, 2026.
The City’s word for a parking ticket is a penalty notice. That is the term printed on the notice and used in the by-law, so it is the one to search for on the City’s website.
What a Mailed Ticket Costs
The fine itself is the same whether the notice is on your windshield or in your mailbox. A mailed notice adds $10 on top. The City says the fee recovers the cost of preparing, processing and mailing it.
| Offence | Fine | If mailed |
|---|---|---|
| Parking in a school zone | $145 | $155 |
| Stopping in a school zone | $145 | $155 |
| Parking or stopping in a bicycle lane | $130 | $140 |
| Parking within 3 metres of a fire hydrant | $120 | $130 |
| Parking in a prohibited area | $85 | $95 |
| Parking on the street between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. | $65 | $75 |
| Parking longer than five hours | $60 | $70 |
Source: Administrative Penalty By-law 0282-2013, Schedule “A”, as consolidated by the City in July 2026. The “if mailed” column adds the $10 mail-out fee. Fines are higher inside the Lakefront Increased Penalty Zone from May 1 to September 30.
Why school zones come first: the two school zone offences are both $145, and they are where the City is starting. A driver who stops at the curb for a minute and pulls away before an officer can reach the car used to leave without a ticket. A camera reads the plate, so the ticket now follows by mail and costs $155.
How the Plate Cameras Work
The City calls the technology Licence Plate Recognition. Enforcement vehicles fitted with cameras photograph the plates of illegally parked or stopped vehicles. The penalty notice is then mailed to the registered owner at the address the Ministry of Transportation has on file.
- 2026: school zones.
- 2027: the City plans to expand to other areas. It has not said which ones.
Officers still place a paper notice on the vehicle whenever they can. Mail is for cases where doing that is not safe or practical, so a ticket for overstaying a five-hour limit on a quiet street is still likely to be on the windshield, with no $10 fee.
The ticket goes to the owner, not the driver. If someone else was driving your car, the notice and the $10 fee still arrive in your name. The same applies if your address with the Ministry of Transportation is out of date: the notice goes to the old address and the clock still runs.
What the 30 Days Covers
You now have 30 days, up from 15, to do one of two things: pay, or ask a Screening Officer to review the ticket. The City’s stated reason for the longer window is to give people time to receive a mailed notice before they have to respond.
For a mailed notice, the by-law treats it as served on the fifth day after it was sent, whether or not you have opened it. That is in section 33 of the by-law.
One caution. When this guide was written on September 30, 2026, the City’s own dispute page still said 15 days, and the public copy of the by-law was the July 2026 consolidation, which predates the change. The 30-day figure comes from the City’s announcement. Go by the due date printed on your notice.
What It Costs to Miss the Deadline
The mail-out fee is not the only add-on. The by-law’s Schedule “C” lists five administrative fees, and two of them apply to anyone who pays late.
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| MTO Search Fee | $10 | The ticket is not paid on time and the City looks up the owner |
| Late Payment Fee | $25 | The ticket is not paid on time |
| Screening Non-appearance Fee | $50 | You book a review and do not attend |
| Hearing Non-appearance Fee | $100 | You book a hearing and do not attend |
| NSF Fee | $40 | Your payment bounces |
Source: Administrative Penalty By-law 0282-2013, Schedule “C”, July 2026 consolidation. The schedule notes these fees are subject to HST where applicable.
Put together, a mailed school zone ticket that goes unpaid looks like this:
| School zone fine | $145 |
| Mail-out fee | $10 |
| MTO Search Fee | $10 |
| Late Payment Fee | $25 |
| Total | $190 |
That is $45 more than the fine, and $35 of it is avoidable by paying on time.
Leave it longer and the by-law has the City notify the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, who will not renew your plate or issue a new one until the ticket is paid.
In the July 2026 consolidation, the search and late fees applied 15 days after a penalty became due, and the plate hold at 30 days. The City has not published how the October 1 amendments changed those day counts, so this guide does not state new ones.
What to Do if a Ticket Arrives by Mail
- Check the dates on the notice. Note the date of the offence, the date it was mailed and the due date. The due date on the notice is the one that counts.
- Decide within the 30 days whether to pay or dispute. Both stop the late fees. Doing neither is what adds $35.
- To dispute, ask for a screening review. You can do it online through the City’s dispute a parking ticket page, or in person at 950 Burnhamthorpe Road West. If you book an appointment, attend it, because missing it costs $50.
- If you disagree with the screening decision, you can ask for a hearing. The hearing officer’s decision is final. Missing a booked hearing costs $100.
- Keep your address current with ServiceOntario. A mailed ticket is sent to the address on your vehicle registration. A notice you never saw still collects late fees.
For questions about a specific notice, the City’s Administrative Penalty System office is at 905-615-4547, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
How Many Tickets Mississauga Issues
The City issued 208,433 parking penalties in 2024, which it described as a 60% increase since 2021. It also received 182,096 parking service requests that year. The City has not published how many notices it expects to mail under the new system, or how much the $10 fee is expected to raise.
Fines last changed on April 1, 2025, when the City raised 76 parking offences. That is when the school zone fines went from $65 to $145.