What happens to my court-ordered debt while I’m incarcerated?

Your debts CAN increase while you’re inside—but WHETHER they do and by HOW MUCH will depend on different things, such as: how old the debt is, whether it has been sent to collections, the amount of victim restitution you owe, and whether you’ve been making restitution payments.

Some reasons your debt may increase while you’re incarcerated are:

    You can be charged interest and administrative fees on your restitution debts.[2167]
    NOTE: If you are paying restitution through your facility while incarcerated, you may be charged administrative fees for any payments you make. [2168] If CDCR or a county agency is automatically taking restitution payments directly from your prison or jail account, you may not even realize you’re being charged extra. (See PG. 675 for more information about paying restitution while you’re incarcerated.)
    If your debt is delinquent, you may be charged a $300 penalty (called a “civil assessment”) for late payments or non-payment.
    NOTE: If you were unable to pay the debt because you were incarcerated, you may be able to ask the court to forgive (“vacate”) the penalty.[2169] (See PG. 677 for information on vacating civil assessment charges.)
    If your debt has been sent to “collections” (see explanation in side box) you may be charged an extra administrative fee to cover the costs of transferring your debt to the collection agency.[2170]
    You may be charged for failures to appear in court.[2171]
    You may be charged a fee if your driver license was suspended due to unpaid court debts.[2172]
  1. 2167

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 1202.4(f)(3)(G) (10% interest on victim restitution debt),1203.1(l) (15% administrative fee on victim restitution), 1202.4(l)) (10% administrative fee on restitution fine). ↑

  2. 2168

    Cal. Penal Code § 2085.5 (e), (f), (i) (as amended by 2014 Cal. Legis. 513 (S.B. 419)). ↑

  3. 2169

    Cal. Penal Code § 1214.1(a) (court will impose a penalty for failure to appear or failure to pay unless good cause is shown; incarceration is considered good cause). ↑

  4. 2170

    Cal. Rev. & Tax Code § 19280(a)(2)(A). ↑

  5. 2171

    Cal. Veh. Code § 40508.5 (authorizing $15 assessment for failure to appear and/or other violation). ↑

  6. 2172

    Cal. Veh. Code § 40508.6 (authorizing $10 assessment for suspension of driver license due to unpaid debt). ↑