OATH Hearing Prep Checklist for TLC Drivers

In short: Choose how your OATH hearing will happen — by phone, online in writing, in person or by mail — and whether someone will represent you. The checklist builds itself around that choice: what to do before the hearing, the deadline for your hearing type, what to have ready on the day, and what to do once the decision arrives. Tick items off as you go; your progress stays on this device.

How the checklist works

Every checklist has four parts:

1. Before any hearing — confirm the date, read the rule you're charged with, decide whether to fight, settle or pay, gather evidence, line up witnesses and ask for an interpreter if you need one.
2. Your hearing type — the request deadline and the practical steps for that method.
3. Your representative (only if you said someone will appear for you) — the authorization form, getting documents to them early, staying reachable.
4. After the hearing — the decision date, the appeal window and paying any fine on time.

The method-specific steps follow what OATH publishes on its hearings page. TLC adds that OATH hearings are generally held by phone or by an online written defense, if eligible (TLC).

Worked example: a phone hearing with no representative

Amir's summons alleges a refusal and gives a hearing date three weeks away. He picks By phone and No, I'll handle it. His checklist then reads, in order: confirm the date with a summons lookup; read §80-20(a)(1) so he knows what TLC must prove; decide whether to ask TLC for a settlement (email Settlements@tlc.nyc.gov — TLC doesn't give offers by phone); collect the trip record from his app and a written statement; ask the passenger he dropped off just before if they'll confirm the timeline; request the phone hearing at least 3 business days ahead — which the deadline calculator works out for his date; then, on the day, be somewhere quiet with a charged phone and copies of everything. After the hearing, the checklist reminds him the appeal window is 30 days (35 if mailed) and that any fine is due to TLC within 30 days of a guilty finding.

If Amir later decides to use a non-attorney representative, switching to Yes adds the Representative Authorization step. The 2025 form says the authorization lasts two years from signing unless you tell OATH otherwise in writing.

A note on sworn summonses

Under OATH's evidence rule, 48 RCNY §6-12(b), a summons that is sworn or affirmed under penalty of perjury is admitted as prima facie evidence of the facts it states — meaning it is enough to prove them unless you show otherwise. OATH accepts relevant, reliable documents such as affidavits, business records, government records and photographs (§6-12(e)). So your job is to show where your records tell a different story — see what TLC must prove at a hearing and evidence for a TLC hearing.

Go deeper

Each hearing type has its own guide: what to expect at a phone hearing, writing an online defense and in-person hearing locations. For a full walkthrough, read how to prepare for a TLC hearing, and use the hearing document checklist for the paperwork. Need a language other than English? See interpreters at OATH hearings.