What If I Never Received My TLC Summons?

First, find out whether a summons exists and what happened to it. Check TLC UP and the OATH record with our summons lookup. If the hearing date already passed, you were probably found in violation by default, and you should ask OATH for a new hearing right away. A first request within 75 days of the default decision's mailing is granted (48 RCNY 6-21).

Our full guide is missed your OATH hearing?. Not receiving it is not, by itself, a defense. TLC is allowed to serve you by mail to the last address you filed.

How TLC serves a summons

Under TLC rule §68-05(b), a summons can be served on a licensee by:

• Personal service (handed to you), or
• USPS first class mail to the last mailing address you filed with TLC.
• For vehicle owners, also by handing it to the driver, who must promptly forward it to the owner or agent. A driver who doesn't is in violation of the rules.

TLC also sends summons emails and letters with instructions (TLC: Receive a Summons).

Your address is your responsibility

Drivers must report any change of mailing address and email address to TLC within ten days. The rule also says any communication from TLC is sufficient if sent to the last mailing address you provided (§80-12(i)(3)). Not reporting a change is itself a violation: $25 if you plead guilty before a hearing, $50 if found guilty after one.

So if you moved and didn't tell TLC, a summons mailed to your old address probably counts as served.

What to do, by situation

Making a late request: what OATH considers

After 75 days, a hearing officer decides whether you have a reasonable excuse. The factors in 48 RCNY 6-21 include:

• whether the summons was properly served,
• whether you were properly named,
• emergencies, medical conditions and other unforeseeable events,
• whether you tried to attend,
• facts beyond your control, and
• whether you kept your contact information current with the licensing agency (TLC).

Proof helps: a lease or utility bill showing when you moved, a copy of your TLC address-change confirmation, hospital records, or travel records. Your request must also explain how and when you learned of the violation and be certified under penalty of perjury. Tell the truth; don't guess dates.

For TLC summonses, OATH's Chapter 5 allows a written motion to vacate a default within two years of the default decision (48 RCNY 5-03). The step-by-step is in motion to vacate a default.

If the summons really was never properly served

TLC's Chairperson may withdraw a summons that was "ineffectively served," even after it was decided. If that happens, fines paid are refunded and any points or suspension are vacated (§68-20(b)). That is TLC's call. See can TLC withdraw a summons.

Prevent it next time

Update your address and email with TLC whenever they change, and check TLC UP regularly. Read how to check your TLC summons status.