Suffolk County court users who owe criminal case fees can now skip the trip to their local courthouse and pay online with ePay, the Massachusetts Trial Court’s new web-based payment system. Over 200,000 payments made in person at Commonwealth courthouses each year will now be able to be made online with ePay.
ePay has been available for payment of fees in criminal cases in all eight divisions of the Boston Municipal Court Department and Suffolk Superior Court as of May 14, 2018. “People expect to be able to make court-related payments online – just like they can for most services,” said First Justice, Michael C. Bolden, of the South Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court, “ePay is much more convenient than having to pay fees in person and does not require taking time off from work to get to the courthouse.” Court users can use ePay for payment of probation fees, victim witness fees, or most other criminal assessments at participating courthouses. Use of ePay via PayPal or credit card involves a small convenience fee that goes to processing vendors.
In 2017, nearly three-quarter of the Trial Court’s 298,000 criminal case payments were made at the counter by check or cash. As use of ePay grows, court visitors can expect shorter lines to enter their local courthouses and at the counter. ePay was recently piloted at six courts and will be rolled out statewide through June 2018. For more information, please visit https://www.mass.gov/epay-in-the-courts
