Filing a Chapter 100 appeal with the Controller's Office

If a fine is required for an appeal, submit the fine. The Controller's Office will accept checks and in some instances another form of security. If you are financially unable to make an advance deposit of the fine amount prior to the Controller's administrative review, you may request an advance deposit hardship waiver.  

Please submit your Administrative Appeal to the Controller's Office. If you have questions, please contact Controller.AdministrativeAppeals@sfgov.org.

When the Controller's Office receives your request for an appeal, we will work with our pre-qualified pool of contracted Hearing Officers to appoint an arbiter to this matter. 

Once the Hearing Officer is appointed, the Parties will be asked to submit a series of dates where they are unavailable to meet for a hearing. Scheduling for hearings can be difficult. The Controller’s Office respectfully requests that, “unavailable” is interpreted as a vacation or attending to another legal matter.

Once unavailable dates are received, the Controller's Office and the hearing officer will work to analyze the data and establish clear dates leading up to a hearing. This is also a time to discuss any required pre-filing documents if mandated by the Hearing Officer. 

Please submit required documentation by their established due date before the hearing. The Hearing Officer will outline pre-filing requirements. There may be times where pre-filing documents are not required for Chapter 100 appeals. These pre-filings can help the Hearing Officer understand the details of the case.

Please attend the public hearing on the agreed upon hearing date. Both parties will be give the opportunity to call witnesses and submit evidence. Each side will have equal amounts of time to explain their case. Often times Chapter 100 hearings are only a 1-2 hours long, but occasionally extra time is needed. Hearings are held on MS Teams. Public Notices are found here.

At the hearing, the Hearing Officer will clearly outline expectations for next steps. This can include submitting closing arguments or other documentation by agreed upon due date if needed.