Starting this week, the City of Alexandria is asking the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to withhold registration renewals on any vehicle with an outstanding parking citation.

City residents are urged to pay their delinquent parking tickets immediately if they want to avoid any additional fees or delays in registering their vehicles, a release from the City said.  

Once the DMV puts the hold in place, the vehicle owner will have to pay the delinquent balance, plus a $20 administrative fee before the DMV will renew their registration. Three delinquent citation fines also could result in those pesky boots every resident tries to avoid.

Alexandria officials said that by implementing the DMV’s Vehicle Registration Withholding Program they hope to collect some of the $625,000 in unpaid fines and late penalties on 9,900 parking citations issued from July 1, 2006, to Nov. 10, 2007.