Pink Summons vs. OATH Summons: Which One Do You Have?
By Kenneth F. Smith, Esq., former Brooklyn prosecutor
Short answer: A pink summons is a criminal court summons. It sends you to NYC Criminal Court, and if you miss your date, the court issues a warrant for your arrest. An OATH summons is a civil ticket heard by the city's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. If you miss that hearing, you get a default and a fine, not a warrant. Same city, sometimes the same conduct, very different consequences.
A lot of people, and a lot of online answers, mix these two up. That's a problem, because the right move for one can be the wrong move for the other. Here's how to tell which one is in your hand, and what each one means.
Not sure which one you have? Send us a photo of it. A former Brooklyn prosecutor will tell you what it is and what to do next. Send your summons to SummonsPros.
Why the same conduct can get either ticket
Since June 2017, New York City's Criminal Justice Reform Act has given police officers a choice for a group of low-level offenses. For things like an open container of alcohol, public urination, littering, unreasonable noise, spitting, and most Parks Department rule violations, an officer can write a civil summons that goes to OATH instead of a criminal summons that goes to court.
The civil route is meant to be the default for those offenses, but officers keep the option of a criminal summons in certain situations: for example, if the person has a history of unanswered summonses or recent arrests, has an open warrant, or the officer has another legitimate law enforcement reason and a supervisor signs off. So two people drinking a beer on the same park bench can walk away with two different kinds of tickets.
Bottom line: don't assume. The charge doesn't tell you which system you're in. The summons does.
How to tell them apart
Look at the summons itself, specifically at where it tells you to go and what it calls the proceeding.
It's a criminal (pink) summons if it directs you to appear at a Criminal Court location on a specific date. In Manhattan and Brooklyn, that's 1 Centre Street. The other boroughs have their own criminal courthouses. Criminal summonses can be looked up on the court's MySummons.NYC site.
It's an OATH summons if it names the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) and gives you a hearing date. OATH summonses can be looked up in the city's OATH Summons Finder by name, address, or summons number.
If you still can't tell, don't guess. Guessing wrong in one direction means you ignore a criminal summons thinking it's "just a fine," and that's how people end up with warrants.
What happens if you miss a pink summons
This is the serious one. NYC Criminal Court's own summons FAQ says: "An arrest warrant will be issued if you miss your appearance date." That warrant doesn't expire. It sits in the system until it surfaces, at a traffic stop, a background check, or any time police run your name.
Once there's a warrant, you also lose easy options. The court says you can't pay a summons online while a warrant is outstanding. We walk through all of this, and how it gets fixed, in What Happens If You Ignore a Pink Summons in NYC?
What happens if you miss an OATH hearing
An OATH summons is civil, so missing the hearing does not produce an arrest warrant. Instead, according to OATH's own guidance:
You're found in default, and a penalty is imposed. It's often higher than if you had shown up.
You can request a new hearing once. If OATH receives your request within 75 days of the missed hearing date, it will grant it.
If you don't pay, the city can enter a judgment against you in Civil Court, the Department of Finance can start collection, and you can lose the ability to get or keep a city license, permit, or registration.
So an OATH summons won't get you arrested, but ignoring it can still follow you financially.
Side by side
What it is: Pink summons = criminal. OATH summons = civil.
Where it's heard: Pink = NYC Criminal Court. OATH = Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, often by phone, online, or by mail.
Miss it: Pink = arrest warrant. OATH = default and a penalty, with a 75-day window to ask for a new hearing.
Worst case: Pink = a conviction is possible, and an open warrant if you don't deal with it. OATH = a civil fine, and a judgment and collections if unpaid.
Look it up: Pink = MySummons.NYC. OATH = OATH Summons Finder.
Got a pink summons? That's what we do: flat fee, and in most cases you don't have to go to court. See how SummonsPros handles it.
Which one should worry you more?
The pink one. Not because it's a big case (most pink summonses are minor), but because the consequences of handling it badly are criminal-court consequences: a warrant if you miss it, and a possible conviction if you walk in alone and plead to whatever's offered. Handled properly, most pink summonses end in a dismissal, an ACD that ends in dismissal and sealing, or a non-criminal violation.
An OATH summons deserves attention too, especially if you hold a city license or permit. But it's a civil matter, and the system is built to let you respond without ever standing in a courtroom.
One more reason to take the pink one seriously: if you're not a U.S. citizen, how a criminal summons is resolved can matter beyond the fine. Our guide on pink summonses and immigration status explains what to watch for.
Common questions
"The officer told me it was 'just a ticket.' Does that mean it's OATH?"
Not necessarily. Officers say that about both. Go by what's printed on the summons: a Criminal Court and an appearance date means criminal.
"Can I pay a pink summons online like an OATH ticket?"
Sometimes, before your court date and if there's no warrant. The court allows online payment "in most instances." But paying is pleading guilty, so understand what you're agreeing to first. And once a warrant is out, online payment isn't available.
"I got both kinds at the same time. Now what?"
Handle each one in its own system and on its own deadline. The criminal one is the priority, because it's the one that turns into a warrant.
"Do you handle OATH summonses?"
Send it to us. We'll tell you what you're facing and whether you need a lawyer for it at all. For many people with a single, minor OATH ticket, the honest answer is that you can respond on your own.
The bottom line
Before you do anything else, figure out which summons you have. If it names a Criminal Court and an appearance date, it's a pink summons, and missing it means a warrant. If it names OATH and a hearing date, it's civil, and missing it means a default and a fine. When in doubt, treat it as criminal until someone who knows the difference tells you otherwise.
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