What's an idling complaint actually worth?
Complaints per month × average penalty × 25% share × the real upheld rate × the share of upheld penalties that actually gets paid. Defaults are computed from 362,855 OATH hearing records. Adjust them to your scenario.
Earnings arrive months after filing (hearing + collection lag) and are taxable income. Estimates only, not financial advice.
Source: NYC Open Data, OATH Hearings Division Case Status · DEP idling summonses · as of November 2026 · calculator defaults are dataset-derived · methodology
How to read this number
The calculator is an expected-value model: it discounts every complaint by the historical 96.6% upheld rate rather than assuming you win them all, discounts again for the share of upheld penalties that actually gets paid, and uses penalties as actually imposed at OATH rather than the statutory minimum. The biggest lever is volume, which depends on how many idling trucks your routine puts you in front of, and whether your camera setup lets you capture compliant 3-minute videos without standing around holding a phone. Read the full guide before filing your first complaint.
Why the average penalty overstates the payout
The $760 average is pulled up by default judgments. When a company never answers the summons, OATH imposes the default amount ($1,000 to $2,000 on DEP's schedule), and default cases are 39% of all upheld cases. But a default penalty is a judgment, not a payment: only 40% of default dollars have been recorded as paid, against 100% for companies that admit and pay. The city's award to you comes out of the proceeds collected, so the right question for each path is what was paid, not what was imposed.
| How the case ended | Upheld cases | Avg. imposed | Paid so far | Your 25%, per case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decided by default | 126,470 | $1,276 | 40% | $129 |
| Admitted | 112,502 | $464 | 100% | $116 |
| Lost at a hearing | 58,017 | $407 | 88% | $89 |
| Settled | 30,979 | $387 | 100% | $99 |
"Your 25%, per case" is a quarter of the amount recorded as paid, divided by every upheld case on that path, so it already reflects the cases that were never collected. Recorded payments can include fees, so admitted and settled cases can show slightly over 100%, shown here as 100%.
Source: NYC Open Data, OATH Hearings Division Case Status · DEP idling summonses · as of November 2026 · paid = OATH paid_amount · methodology
Collection keeps rising for years
Share of upheld penalties recorded as paid, by the year of the violation. Recent years are still collecting, which is why the calculator's default uses the years that have had at least four full years to pay.
- 2019 77%
- 2020 79%
- 2021 81%
- 2022 68%
- 2023 64%
- 2024 61%
- 2025 48%
- 2026 44%partial year
The penalty amounts behind the average
The six amounts OATH imposes most often on upheld idling cases, and what each one is on DEP's schedule (15 RCNY 43-02). Your share of a $350 first-offense admission is $87.50; your share of a $2,000 default is $500, if it is ever paid.
| Penalty | What it is | Upheld cases | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| $350 | first offense | 119,949 | 36.6% |
| $1,000 | first offense, default | 85,847 | 26.2% |
| $600 | third or later | 61,901 | 18.9% |
| $2,000 | third or later, default | 29,176 | 8.9% |
| $440 | second offense | 19,578 | 6.0% |
| $1,500 | second offense, default | 11,468 | 3.5% |
The schedule's tiers count prior idling violations by the same respondent and vehicle within three years. Full schedule and statute in the NYC idling law guide.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the calculator defaults come from?
Directly from NYC OATH hearing records (as of November 2026): average upheld penalty $760, upheld rate 96.6% of decided cases, 79.0% of upheld penalties paid for violations from 2019 to 2021, and the 25% complainant share. Nothing is assumed except how many complaints you file.
Why use the upheld rate instead of assuming every complaint pays?
Because not every complaint results in a collected penalty. Some are dismissed, and the award is paid out of what the city actually collects: 60% of upheld penalty dollars have been recorded as paid across all years so far. Multiplying by both the upheld rate and the collection rate gives an honest expected value, not a best case.
Is this realistic as a side income?
The math is real but the work is real too: each complaint needs 3+ minutes of compliant video plus filing time, and payment lags months behind filing. Median upheld penalty is $600, so a typical upheld complaint is worth about $150 to you once it is paid, before taxes.