OATH Violations
Can I pay less on my NYC violation penalties through Debt Demolisher?
Ninety days, two discount tiers, a July 15 docketing cutoff, and a waiver most owners do not read. What the program covers, what it does not, and how to check your judgments.
By Michael Nacmias, Esq. · Published
What is the 2026 NYC OATH amnesty?
Quick Answer
Before you pay, search every open summons at your property.
What is the OATH amnesty program?
The official name is the ECB Amnesty and Compliance Program. ECB is the old name of the board whose cases OATH now hears, so these are OATH violation judgments. The City brands it Debt Demolisher, at nyc.gov/debtdemolisher. The NYC Department of Finance (DOF) runs it, under Local Law 147 passed by the City Council and the Mayor. Mayor Mamdani and DOF Commissioner Richard Lee announced it on October 13, 2026.
It covers unpaid OATH judgments: penalties on summonses issued by City agencies and decided at OATH, the City’s administrative tribunal. That includes summonses from DOB, FDNY, DSNY, DOT, DEP, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Health Department. For a building owner, those are the judgments that sit on the property and keep accruing interest while they stay open.
Which dates determine whether I qualify?
The program lasts 90 days. The cutoff that trips people up is the July date, not the January one.
- Tuesday, October 13, 2026
When does the program open?
Announced the same day by Mayor Mamdani and Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee.
- Sunday, January 10, 2027
When must I resolve my judgments?
Payment, and any required correction confirmation, must be in by this date. Unpaid judgments revert to the full amount.
- July 15, 2026
Which judgments are too recent to qualify?
When an OATH penalty goes unpaid, the City later enters it in court as a judgment against you. The date it is entered is the docket date. A judgment docketed after July 15, 2026 does not qualify, even if your hearing was earlier.
How much could I save?
What you pay depends on how the judgment was entered. The City says the savings can reach 75% in some cases.
| How the judgment was entered | What is waived | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Defaulted (no one attended the hearing) | The default penalty and all accrued interest | 100% of the base penalty |
| Found in violation after a hearing | All accrued interest | 75% of the penalty imposed |
Already made partial payments? If they already equal the base penalty (on a default) or 75% of the imposed penalty (after a hearing), the system shows $1 owed. Paying the $1 resolves the judgment.
What does the amnesty exclude?
Two lists. The first is OATH judgments the program excludes. The second is debt owners often assume is included but is not an OATH judgment at all.
Which OATH judgments are excluded?
- Judgments entered (docketed) in court after July 15, 2026
- Judgments included in an agreement with the Sheriff, a City Marshal, or Corporation Counsel or its contractor
- Judgments issued pursuant to a citizen’s complaint, such as idling or noise
- Judgments where execution was issued to the Sheriff or a City Marshal
- Judgments converted to a tax lien
- Judgments that are the subject of a criminal investigation
Judgment with a collection law firm? A referral to a collection firm is not by itself on the exclusion list. What excludes it is an agreement with Corporation Counsel or its contractor, such as a payment agreement or stipulation you signed with the collection firm, or an execution issued to the Sheriff or a City Marshal. Search the judgment on NYCScope.com, our violation lookup; if it is eligible, pay the City the amnesty amount rather than the collection firm’s full demand.
Are separate DOB administrative penalties covered?
DOB civil penalties assessed administratively, such as elevator and boiler filing penalties, are separate from OATH judgments and are not part of the program.
Are HPD violations and charges covered?
HPD enforces through Housing Court, not OATH. HPD violations and civil penalties are outside the program, and so are HPD emergency repair charges billed to the property tax bill as charges or liens.
Are parking and camera tickets covered?
Those are Department of Finance Parking Violations Bureau matters, not OATH judgments.
Are property taxes or water and sewer charges covered?
Ordinary property charges are not OATH judgments.
Does my DOB or FDNY correction need agency approval?
A compliance judgment, one that ordered you to correct the condition, is eligible only if the issuing agency approves the correction and DOF receives electronic confirmation of that approval before the program ends on January 10, 2027. Paying the discounted amount is not enough on its own.
| Agency | How the correction is approved |
|---|---|
| DOB | Through DOB NOW. Questions: (212) 393-2405 or aeu_gsc@buildings.nyc.gov.A defaulted DOB judgment that received a DOB credit may be eligible. |
| FDNY | A notarized Certificate of Correction with proof of compliance, filed through the FDNY online portal.Status: FDNY.BusinessSupport@fdny.nyc.gov. |
| LPC | Through the Landmarks Preservation Commission Enforcement Department. |
| DEP | Through DEP Customer Service. |
Start corrections now. Agency review takes time, and the approval has to reach DOF before the deadline. A correction filed in the first week of January may not be approved in time.
Do I have to pay all my judgments?
The program allows cherry-picking. The payment rules for each judgment you pick are strict.
- You do not have to pay every eligible judgment. Choose the ones you want to resolve.
- Each judgment you choose must be paid in full, in a single payment. No partial payments, no payment plans.
- Separate transactions are fine, as long as each one is completed before January 10, 2027.
- Judgments you leave unpaid revert to the full amount when the program ends.
- A judgment already paid in full before the program is not refunded or discounted retroactively.
- If you made partial payments earlier, the remaining balance may qualify.
- An e-check is accepted. For corporate ACH, the City lists company ID A136400434, name "NYC ECB FINES".
- A failed payment does not resolve the judgment.
Anyone may pay a judgment that is not in their name. The party bound by the amnesty agreement is the one tied to the billing address entered at payment. To bind a different party, use a DOF business center or eServices.
What rights do I give up by paying a default?
Paying a defaulted judgment under the program is an admission of liability. It also waives your right to challenge the judgment or the amount, including a motion to vacate the default or a claim that you never received notice of the hearing.
If you have a viable motion to vacate, or a pending request for a new hearing, that option ends the moment you pay. Talk to an attorney before you pay a default you believe was wrongly entered.
What if my default was entered after July 15, 2026?
A default judgment entered after the July 15 cutoff is outside the amnesty. It may qualify for the City’s standing OATH-Adjudicated ECB Violations Settlement Program instead. Under that program you pay the base penalty, plus interest on the base penalty from the judgment date, plus one-half of the default penalty. The other half of the default penalty is waived.
It applies to defaults only, and corrections are still required. It excludes judgments already with a Marshal, the Sheriff, or the Law Department, and DOB judgments DOB has already reduced. There is no end date, but interest accrues daily, so waiting costs money. Details are in the DOF settlement FAQ.
How can I check whether I qualify?
- 1Where do I look up my judgments?Visit our website NYCScope.com to search your violations by address, name, or ticket number.Search on NYCScope.com
- 2How do I know which judgments qualify?The results show which judgments the City lists as eligible and the amount due under the program.
- 3How do I resolve an eligible judgment?Choose the judgments you want to resolve and accept the program terms, including the waiver above, before paying.
- 4Can I pay another way?On nyc.gov/eservices: Payments, then Make a Payment (Quick Pay), then ECB Violations. You can also go to a DOF business center. For help, call 311.Open on nyc.gov
A property with years of summonses can return dozens of results. If you would rather not sort them yourself, send us the address and we will review every summons on it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NYC ECB amnesty, or Debt Demolisher?
- It is the ECB Amnesty and Compliance Program, a 90-day program run by the NYC Department of Finance under Local Law 147. It reduces what you pay on eligible unpaid ECB judgments issued by City agencies and adjudicated by OATH, such as DOB, FDNY, DSNY, DOT, DEP, LPC, and Health Department summonses.
When does the 2026 ECB amnesty start and end?
- It began Tuesday, October 13, 2026 and ends Sunday, January 10, 2027. Judgments you have not paid under the program by then revert to the full amount owed.
How much do I pay under the ECB amnesty?
- It depends on how the judgment entered. On a default, where no one attended the hearing, the default penalty and the accrued interest are waived and you pay 100% of the base penalty. If you were found in violation after a hearing, the accrued interest is waived and you pay 75% of the penalty imposed.
Which judgments are not eligible?
- Judgments entered (docketed) in court after July 15, 2026; judgments included in an agreement with the Sheriff, a City Marshal, or Corporation Counsel or its contractor; judgments issued on a citizen’s complaint, such as idling or noise; judgments where execution was issued to the Sheriff or a Marshal; judgments converted to a tax lien; and judgments that are the subject of a criminal investigation.
Are HPD violations covered by the ECB amnesty?
- No. HPD enforces through Housing Court, not ECB, so HPD violations and civil penalties are outside the program, as are HPD emergency repair charges billed to the property tax bill. Parking and camera tickets, property tax, and water and sewer charges are also not ECB judgments.
Do I have to correct the violation before I can use the amnesty?
- For a compliance judgment, yes. The issuing agency (DOB, FDNY, LPC, or DEP) must approve the correction and the Department of Finance must receive electronic confirmation before the program ends on January 10, 2027; payment alone is not enough. Owners across the city are filing corrections at the same time, so expect review backlogs and start now. Hazardous violations can carry an additional penalty that may have to be paid as part of getting the correction accepted.
My judgment is with a collection law firm. Can I still use the amnesty?
- Possibly. Being referred to a collection firm is not by itself on the Department of Finance exclusion list. A judgment is excluded if it was included in an agreement with Corporation Counsel or its contractor, for example a payment agreement or stipulation you signed with the collection firm, or if an execution was issued to the Sheriff or a City Marshal. Check the judgment on nyc.gov/mysummons; if it shows eligible, pay the amnesty amount there instead of the collection firm’s full demand. The standing Settlement Program is stricter: it excludes judgments referred to the Law Department.
Do I have to pay all of my judgments at once?
- No. You may choose which eligible judgments to pay. Each judgment you choose must be paid in full in a single payment; partial payments and payment plans are not accepted. Separate transactions before the deadline are fine.
Does paying a default under the amnesty waive my right to vacate it?
- Yes. Participating on a defaulted judgment is an admission of liability and a waiver of your right to challenge the judgment or the amount, including a motion to vacate the default or a claim that you never received notice. If you may have grounds to reopen the case, speak with an attorney before you pay.
What if my default judgment was docketed after July 15, 2026?
- It is outside the amnesty, but it may qualify for the City’s standing OATH-Adjudicated ECB Violations Settlement Program: you pay the base penalty, interest on the base penalty from the judgment date, and half of the default penalty, and the other half is waived. That program has no end date, and interest keeps accruing daily.
Where can I check the official rules?
Where can I learn more?
- Have us review every summons at your property before January 10, 2027
- Does my DOB or FDNY violation need a correction first?
- Defaulted violations and motions to vacate
- Filing a DOB Certificate of Correction in DOB NOW: Safety
- Certificates of Correction: what counts as proof
- Look up what is open on your property
Not sure which judgments to pay?
How can I get my violations reviewed?
We sort which judgments the City lists as eligible, which need a correction approved first, and which ones to talk through before you pay. Free 15-minute case review.
