Enforcement Warrant

If you don't pay your infringement fine and do not do anything about your Penalty Reminder Notice and Notice of Final Demand, the Magistrates' Court of Victoria may issue an Enforcement Warrant against you and a fee of $62.60* will be added to your fine.

This means your fine amount is now $233.60 more than when it was first issued to you because of the extra fees added when the Penalty Reminder Notice, Notice of Final Demand and Enforcement Warrant were issued.

An Enforcement Warrant can be issued against an individual or a company. Once an Enforcement Warrant is issued, a sheriff's officer has the power to seize your property, wheel clamp, detain or sell your vehicle or remove your number plates.

Learn more about what happens when the Sheriff contacts you on the Department of Justice and Community Safety website.

Your options

Once an Enforcement Warrant has been issued, you can:

How are Enforcement Warrants issued?

Enforcement Warrants are issued by a registrar of the Magistrates’ Court and sent to the Sheriff of Victoria electronically. The Court can issue warrants electronically under section 115(3) of the Fines Reform Act 2014.

Electronically issued warrants mean sheriff’s officers can access information to make it easier to engage with you and reflect modern processes of Fines Victoria and the Court.

What documents will I be provided with when a warrant is executed?

When a warrant is executed, sheriff’s officers will provide you with:

the details of the warrant – A Debtor Summary Report. This will include the date the warrant was issued, details of the offence(s) including which legislation the offence falls under and the outstanding amount
the warrant powers summary – This is an official record that tells you what the warrant is, where the powers for the warrant come from and what the Sheriff can do under the warrant

If you don't do anything about your Enforcement Warrant

If you do not pay the full amount (including the added costs), apply to pay in instalments, apply for more time to pay or deal with your fines in another way, you will be personally served with a 7 Day Notice. Sheriff’s officers can also take other enforcement action can be taken against you such as wheel clamping your vehicle or seizing your property.

Talk to someone

If you'd like to discuss your options, contact Fines Victoria.

* Fine amounts and fees correct as of 1 July 2023. Amounts are adjusted in July each year.

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About the Sheriff

The Sheriff of Victoria is an officer of the Supreme Court of Victoria responsible for actioning warrants issued by Victorian courts for civil and criminal matters.

If a fine remains unpaid, the Sheriff must enforce the warrant issued against you. Sheriff's officers have authority under the legislation to action warrants.

A sheriff's officer can:

come to your address and ask for payment (this is an official process called a 'payment demand')
stop you at a police roadblock
wheel clamp, detain or sell your vehicle
search for and seize your property to sell
remove the number plates from your vehicle
arrest you, so that you are brought before a magistrate or judge or release you on a community work permit to undertake community work under certain conditions.

See what happens when the sheriff contacts you on the Department of Justice and Community Safety website.

If you cannot afford to pay

If you cannot afford to pay your fine in full, you can ask to pay in regular instalments. If eligible, you can pay your fines in monthly or fortnightly payments. Your payments can also be automatically deducted from your Centrelink payment.

You can also ask for more time to pay.

If you meet certain criteria, you may be able to apply for the Work and Development Permit scheme or the Family Violence Scheme.

Fines Victoria