How do I pay restitution while on probation, PRCS, or mandatory supervision in California?

You should ask your probation officer about making payments.[2274] You can also call the CDCR Office of Victim & Survivor Rights & Services Restitution Unit at (877) 256-6877 (toll free) to discuss your restitution balance and arrange your payments.

IMPORTANT: PAY OFF CONDITION-OF-PROBATION DEBTS FIRST! Always try to pay off debts that are conditions of your probation first, as these can affect the length of your probation.[2275] (Payments are supposed to go to these debts first automatically, but this doesn’t always happen.)[2276]BUT NOTE: If you are entitled to a mandatory dismissal of a conviction under Cal. Penal Code § 1203.4 because your probation was terminated (ended) early, you cannot be denied the dismissal because you still owe victim restitution.[2277] This means that if you owe victim restitution, you still have the RIGHT to a mandatory dismissal of a qualifying conviction. See PG 962 in the UNDERSTANDING & CLEANING UP YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD CHAPTER for more information.

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Make your payments in-person, online, or by mail:

    If you make a payment in person, ask the clerk (or collections representative) who receives your payment to put it toward your restitution and any other fines imposed as conditions of your probation first.
    If you make payments online, you can select which fines or fees your payment will go toward. Make sure you select the ones that are conditions of your probation first.
    If send your payment by mail, write on your check or money order in the memo line—or include a note—that indicates which fine or fee the payment is specifically meant for.

After you are off state parole, CDCR will refer the remainder of your debt (unpaid restitution fines, parole revocation restitution, court fines and fees, administrative fees) to the California Franchise Tax Board.[2278]

  1. 2274

    Cal. Victim Comp. & Gov’t Claims Board, Your Restitution Responsibilities: A Brochure for Adult & Juvenile Offenders at 5 (rev’d May 2009), http://www.victimsofcrime.org/docs/restitution-toolkit/c5_ca-restitution-brochure-for-offenders.pdf?sfvrsn=2.

  2. 2275

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 1203.3, 1203.4, 1203.4(a)(1).

  3. 2276

    Cal. Const., art. I, § 28(b)(13)(C) (Marsy’s Law); Cal. Penal Code §§ 1203.1d, 2085.5.

  4. 2277

    See People v. Seymour, Case No. H040560 (Santa Clara County, Super. Ct. No. CC955665).

  5. 2278

    Cal. Penal Code § 2085.5; Cal. Rev. & Tax Code § 19280; see also Office of Victim & Survivor Rights & Svcs., Cal. Dep’t of Corr. & Rehab., Offender Restitution Information FAQ, http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/victim_services/restitution_offender.html.