I Was Sent A Traffic Violation For A Plate I Turned In 11 Years Ago For A State I No Longer Live In

I was recently sent a traffic violation from Nassau County NY for an unregistered vehicle with plates I had on a car back in 2014, but I believe I turned them in when I moved to my new state in summer of '14.

Thankfully my parents still live at the address I was at when I had those plates, and that is the only way I found out about this. I also haven't even been to Nassau County since 2016, and was in my current state on the date of the violation, January 3, 2025.

I've tried contacting the traffic and parking violations office, but the phone number will only direct you through an endless loop of automated menus, and their online contact suggested I plea guilty by mail and pay the $195 fine. If I knew that would be the end of it, I would be tempted to just pay it and move on with my life.

However, somebody out there somehow has plates that are only in my name from 11 years ago and this is likely to be an issue again in the future. I just want to resolve this and move on, but I'm not in a position to go to NY to fight this in court.

I know I can plead not guilty by mail, but what are the next steps? Do I need a lawyer? How can I talk to a person on the phone?? I called the county clerk, but she said she cant help and didn't have a number at which I could speak to a person either.

I'm at a loss.