4-12(a)(3) Failed to Present Document

Many traffic stops occur every day in New York City. The most common charges are speeding and disobeying a traffic control device. A ticket issued much less frequently is for failing to present documents to the police officer. This is a violation of New York City Rules and Regulations. The text of the statute is as follows:

Vehicle operators must present and/or surrender their operator's license, vehicle registration and insurance documents upon request of a law enforcement officer.

The charge can be substantiated when the motorist simply does not have the documents or is taking too long to find them. This violation carries a fine of $138 and does not have points.

Not to be confused with No Inspection, No Insurance, or No Registration

Since motorists get this ticket for failing to present documentation of inspection, insurance, or registration, they assume the ticket is for not having inspection, not having insurance, or not having registration. This is incorrect and they are different violations. The violation does not allege that the car was not inspected, insured, or registered. Rather it alleges that the driver did not have the documents showing as much at the time of the traffic stop. In fact, if you were to come to court with the relevant documents that were missing at the time of the traffic stop it would not help and would not be a defense. Even if you have the documents now, you did not have the documents at the time of the traffic stop. However, if you were charged with no inspection, no insurance, or no registration, and came to court with proof that at time of the traffic stop the car was inspected, insured, or registered, then it would be a proper defense and would require the judge to dismiss the case.

4-12(a)(3) Issued with Other Tickets

Obviously, nobody gets stopped for failing to present documents. If the officer is asking you for your documents, unless it was a checkpoint, you were pulled over for another violation. We have seen officers issue this ticket as a “roadside reduction”, in lieu of ticketing for the original reason of getting pulled over.

In most cases, this ticket is issued along with another ticket, the initial reason for being pulled over. Some motorists plead guilty to the ticket for failing to present documents while pleading not guilty to the other ticket. This is a mistake. For several reasons, if you are fighting one ticket you should fight both tickets.

Fighting Traffic Ticket in New York City

Traffic tickets in New York City are handled differently than traffic tickets in other parts of the state. The cases are not adjudicated in a town or village court. Rather they are adjudicated in the New York City Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB). The TVB is an administrative agency of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). There are 8 TVB locations in New York City, two in the Kings County, two in New York County, two in Queens County, one in Bronx County, and one in Richmond County.

There are fundamental differences between the justice court and the TVB. Most importantly is that there are few discovery rights in the TVB. Another difference is that there is no plea bargaining in the TVB. If you contest a ticket, the TVB will schedule a trial/hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. The police officer that issued the ticket will appear and testify. He cannot negotiate the ticket and will not have a conversation with you off the record.

Benjamin Goldman Law Office

The Benjamin Goldman Law Office is a New York State traffic ticket defense firm. We first opened our firm in 2011. Since then, our attorneys have helped many hundreds of motorists with tickets in the Traffic Violations Bureau. We will be glad to take on your case.

The Benjamin Goldman Law Office is dedicated to traffic law. The lawyer that will be assigned to your case will have many years of experience handling tickets just like yours. Our attorneys utilize all available procedural tactics to improve the odds of obtaining a dismissal or not guilty verdict. The efforts of our firm are attested with the hundreds of five-star reviews we have received.

An attorney gives you a better chance at beating the ticket. An additional benefit of retaining an attorney is that you will not have to appear personally in court. There is no benefit to appearing personally in court unless you are presenting a provable defense. Your attorney can fight the ticket in your place.

The Benjamin Goldman Law Office provides all motorists with a free 10-minute consultation. You can get in touch with us at your convenience to discuss your ticket. Our team can be reached by text message, phone call, website submission, and email. We look forward to helping with your case.

Fight the VTL § 4-12(a)(3) Ticket