If you have been a victim of a crime and have sustained financial losses as a result of that crime, you may seek restitution from the defendant through the courts. The information below will assist you in seeking restitution.

What You Can Receive
  • The court must award restitution to the victim(s) in the full amount of economic losses.
  • An offender has a right to a hearing before a judge to dispute the determination made regarding the amount of restitution.
  • The court shall order full restitution unless it finds compelling and extraordinary reasons for not doing so. The court must state these reasons on the record.
  • An offender's inability to pay is not a compelling and extraordinary reason for waiving or reducing a restitution order.
What You Have To Do
  1. Retain records and receipts which demonstrate the cost of damage, repairs, medical bills, etc. incurred by you.
  2. Give this information to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office as soon as possible. Such records must be received by the District Attorney prior to the defendant's sentencing.
  3. Please contact the District Attorney's Office to check on the status of your case.
    • South San Francisco (650) 877-5454
    • Redwood City (650) 363-4677

Special Note

If you have been a victim of a violent crime, you may also be eligible for benefits through the State Board of Control/Victims' of Crime Program. For information, assistance and/or an application, contact the Victim Center in South San Francisco at 599-7479 or call the Victims of Crime Program at 1-800-777-9229.
Inquiries for the Courts should be directed to:

  • So. Municipal Court Division Branch. 363-4302
  • No. Municipal Court Division Branch 877-5771
  • Superior Court Division Branch 599-1170

As directed by the Court order, victim restitution is paid by the defendant in one of the following manners:

  1. Directly to the victim, with the defendant required to provide proof to the court by a specified date.
  2. To the victim through the Probation Department as directed by the Probation Officer. All inquires should be directed to:
    • Adult Probation (650) 363-4244
    • Juvenile Probation (650) 312-8816
  3. To the victim through the Revenue Services Division in one of the following manners:
    • Paid in full by a specific date (no payments required).
    • Paid in monthly installments.

Inquires should be directed to:

  • Sandy White (650) 599-7374
  • Irma Hollister (650) 363-4165

Revenue Services remits the money received from defendants to the victims.
In order to return money to you, it is critical that we know where you are. Please submit changes of address in writing to:

Revenue Services
P.O. Box 2999, Redwood City, CA 94064
Please submit a copy of photo I.D. or Driver License and the defendant's name and court case number.

If you have comments or suggestions about this site, please e-mail Revenue Services