After months of drivers largely skipping out on the risk of parking tickets, D.C. officials announced Monday they will fully restart parking enforcement on June 1 — but will also give scofflaws a break on overdue tickets.

The D.C. Department of Public Works will resume enforcement of expired parking meters, residential parking permits, vehicle tags, rush hour parking and other violations. It will also start ticketing and towing vehicles that are in no-parking zones and abandoned vehicles with flat tires or expired registration. Officers will also enforce rules regarding the registration of out-of-state automobiles, as well as no-parking rules on designated street-sweeping routes. Starting in July, DPW will boot vehicles with two or more tickets that are over 60 days old.

While DPW largely gave drivers a pass on many violations during the pandemic, it never stopped ticketing for some safety violations like blocking crosswalks, fire hydrants, or bike lanes. School zone parking enforcement restarted on March 15. But as D.C. starts resuming some of its pre-pandemic patterns, city officials decided to fully resume enforcement of all violations.

“We know we can expect to see more activity on our roads and sidewalks, and these enforcement mechanisms are one way we can make our transportation network more efficient, restart important government services, and help protect residents and visitors as they move around D.C.,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement.

D.C.’s potential revenue from parking tickets fell by half in 2020, as people stayed at home more and the city loosened its enforcement of parking violations. But city officials have also said that as they start ramping up enforcement and collecting revenue again, they want to be sensitive to the impact of unpaid or outstanding tickets — especially for drivers who may have been financially impacted by the pandemic.

To that end, D.C. is also launching a ticket amnesty program that will waive late fees on tickets. (The fines associated with most tickets double after 30 days.) The four-month program applies to parking, red light, speed, and stop sign camera tickets, as well as minor moving violations. It will run from June 1 to Sept. 30, and all tickets issued before the end of the program will be eligible. DPW tow and storage fees will not be waived.

Starting June 1, people with tickets who are facing financial hardship should contact the D.C. Central Collection Unit for settlement options. Any ticket included in a settlement plan will no longer be eligible for adjudication.

“We recognize that there’s more inequality and some of that enforcement can be regressive in nature,” City Administrator Kevin Donahue said in February. “So when we turn it on, we have to look at our policies about how we do forgiveness and how we do payment plans so that someone who has not been impacted by the pandemic should be paying their tickets — they should be paying for meters — but someone who has been [impacted], we have to probably change how we approach some of our policies and allow some forgiveness there.”

D.C. used to host ticket amnesty programs on a regular basis, but the last one that was offered was in 2012.

“In addition to getting many drivers in compliance with their ticket obligations, the amnesty program will help District residents pay their outstanding tickets so they can obtain a REAL ID credential and obtain assistance if they face financial hardship due to the pandemic,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure Lucinda Babers.

Residential parking permit cost increasing

Starting June 1, households with multiple cars will pay more to park those extra vehicles on residential streets. The first vehicle will cost $50 a year, up from the previous $35. A second vehicle will cost $75, a third $100, and every vehicle thereafter will cost $150. An exemption exists for one resident per household 65 years of age or older; they will pay a $35 annual RPP fee for the first vehicle registered at a legal mailing address. The fee for each subsequent vehicle registered at a legal mailing address is the same.

DMV requirements also resume June 1

After a long period during which the DMV extended expired tags and stickers because of the pandemic, valid registration and inspection stickers must be displayed starting June 1 to avoid tickets and penalties. You can only renew registration online or by mail. Vehicle inspection is available on a first-come, first-service basis.

All expired D.C. driver’s licenses and ID Cards must be renewed before July 1.