Administrative Enforcement Program

SEPTA is dedicated to offering safe and clean service for customers and employees. One of the ways SEPTA does this is by streamlining the enforcement process for quality-of-life and quality-of-ride violations that occur on the system as specified under state statute or city code. 

The program went into effect in January 2019. 

The Administrative Enforcement Notice

SEPTA Transit Police may serve a single Administrative Enforcement Notice. Notices carry a $25.00 fine for each offense. This supports SEPTA’s goal to discourage disorderly behavior on the system while also: 

  • Easing the financial burden of paying when a fine is issued
  • Removing the stigma associated with summary violations
  • Reducing cases in the Philadelphia Municipal Court system
  • Focusing Transit Police resources on system patrol instead of administrative tasks from processing many violations

Transit Police will continue to temporarily hold a person found to be in violation of a quality-of-life issue. The $25.00 fine will only be assessed for the specific violation in question. It will not reflect any prior contacts with Transit Police for other violations. 

There are two options to respond to the Administrative Enforcement Notice:

Pay the Fine

The envelope attached to the Notice can be mailed to SEPTA. It can also be submitted at a SEPTA Sales location. 

Attend a Hearing

Every Administrative Enforcement Notice issued includes a hearing date, time, and location to appear and present a statement challenging the facts related to the issuance of the notice and fine.

The hearing officer will have the authority to uphold or nullify the notice.

Failure to appear for the hearing will be considered as a waiver of the offender’s desire to appeal the notice and payment of the fine will be expected. 

A chronic offender is a person who receives four violations and/or does not pay the fines. When you get your fourth Administrative Enforcement Notice, the Transit Officer will inform you of a SEPTA system ban, which includes property and services.

This ban can be appealed by requesting and appearing at a scheduled hearing. If you violate the ban, you will be arrested for a misdemeanor defiant trespass.

The ban will be in effect for one year from the point of notification. For chronic offenders who may be struggling with poverty, homelessness, addiction, or mental health issues, the solution will focus on the delivery of social service assistance.