When You Cannot Pay
Penal Code 1205 — no more than one day for each one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) of the base fine
The ceiling on custody. A judgment may direct imprisonment until a fine is paid, but the term for nonpayment may not be more than one day for each one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) of the base fine, nor longer than the term allowed for the offense itself.
Credit. A defendant held in custody for nonpayment receives credit on the fine for each day held, at the rate in the judgment. Where the base fine is satisfied in part by jail credit or community service, the penalties and assessments on it are reduced by the same percentage.
Installments. For a misdemeanor, the judgment may direct payment within a limited time or in installments on specified dates.
Restitution to a victim, license holds for unpaid fines, and the constitutional rule against jailing someone only for being poor are not set out on this page. What a court will do in a particular case is a question for a licensed California attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Penal Code 1205 — Imprisonment for nonpayment, installments, and credit
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.