Provincial Offence Notices

There are three different types of provincial offence notices which are issued – a ticket, called a Certificate of Offence, a parking infraction, or a summons to attend court. Once you have determined exactly what type of notice you have been issued, you will be able to determine how to proceed.

  1. Ticket, or Certificate of Offence
    Issued by a police officer, for which you have 15 days to respond by choosing one of the following 3 options:
Plea of Guilty – Payment Out of Court Early Resolution – Meet with Prosecutor (Applies to Tickets Issued as of March 31, 2012) Trial Option: Notice of Intention to Appear
If you choose this option, you are pleading guilty to the charge and you must pay the TOTAL PAYABLE amount indicated on the ticket. Fines can be paid either in person, online or by mail to our office:

County of Huron Provincial Offences Office
1 Courthouse Square
Goderich, ON N7A 1M2

A return envelope and payment slip is provided with your ticket. Payments may be made by cash, cheque, money order, bank draft, or Mastercard and Visa. Cheques or money orders must be made payable to “Treasurer – County of Huron / POA”. Please write the number of the offence notice on the front of the cheque / money order. Please do not mail cash or post-dated cheques. If paying in person, you also have the option of paying by debit card.

By choosing this option you do not forego the right to a trial.

You may request a meeting with a prosecutor to discuss possible resolution of the charge. If you live greater than 75 KMs away from Goderich, you may request a telephone meeting with the prosecutor. However, if an agreement is reached you will still be required to attend court in person at a date specified by the prosecutor to enter your plea before a Justice of the Peace.

You will be sent a meeting notice to the address on the file. You MUST notify the court of any change of address.

If you FAIL TO ATTEND the meeting you WILL BE deemed not to dispute and may be convicted in your absence, and additional fees may be added.

If you intend to appear in court and have a trial to plead “not guilty,” you must bring a copy of your offence notice to the County of Huron POA Office and fill out a Notice of Intention to Appear in person. We will then send you a Notice of Trial in the mail to the address on the ticket – if you change your address you MUST notify the Court Office of the address change, failure to do so could result in you not receiving your trial notice. If you do not receive your Notice of Trial within 30 days of filing the request contact the Court Office with your 8 digit number to enquire of the status.

 

  1. Parking Infraction
    Municipal Parking Infractions where you have a choice of paying the set fine or requesting a trial.
  2. Summons to attend court
    These charges are more serious offences. The fine amount will be set in court by the Justice of the Peace. You will be given summons to appear in court on the specified date provided on the summons. If you do not attend court, you could be fined in absentia or a warrant issued for your arrest, depending on the charge.

For the County of Huron, all POA trials and matters are dealt with in the Goderich court, located in the Court House, 1 Courthouse Square, Goderich, Ontario.

POA Court Schedule

POA Court typically occurs on Tuesdays. Please contact the POA office at 519.524.8394 to verify start time and date, as changes occur on occasion.