New Zealand's unpaid fines amount to almost $644 million - and include one unpaid for 37 years.
The country's oldest outstanding fine - for "using a cheque under false pretences" - was imposed on September 27, 1974.
A warrant remains for the offender's arrest.
The Ministry of Justice declined to release the name of the person who incurred the fine or where the fine was recorded, citing legal reasons.
Figures released to the Otago Daily Times under the Official Information Act reveal that fine was one of 450,035 imposed on people or companies, amounting to $643.9 million owed to the Crown, as of November 30.
Any recovered fines were returned to the Crown, with the court collecting court-imposed fines.
Ministry of Justice collections acting general manager Jacquelyn Shannon said enhanced collection systems contributed to unpaid fines falling from $710.5 million on October 31, 2010.
Those enhancements include the passing of the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill, which can lead to unpaid fines affecting a person's ability to obtain credit.
It also allows people to be penalised by losing their driver's licence for unpaid fines, she said.
Of those outstanding fines, $164 million is owed from the Southern region - which includes all South Island district court regions, as well as Wellington, Lower Hutt, Masterton, Porirua, Upper Hutt and the Chatham Islands.
The Northern region - which accounts for district court regions in Auckland and further north - owes the highest amount in the country with $280 million, while Central was second with $198 million.
The highest individual amount was owed by a person or business in the Northern region with $500,000 worth of fines, while the highest in the Central and Southern regions were $389,000 and $298,000 respectively.
More than half of all the fines outstanding were for police infringements ($339 million), followed by court-imposed fines ($157 million) and local authority infringements ($139 million).
The ministry estimates, of the 450,000 individual unpaid fines relating to a person or business, 101,000 had been imposed on people now living overseas.
Ms Shannon said "the enforcement options under the legislation were limited" for people living overseas. An arrest warrant could be issued so a person could be arrested and payment sought when they returned to New Zealand.
In November, a New Zealander, now living in Australia, was escorted from a cruise ship by police and Customs officers after it berthed at Port Chalmers. The man, who left the country in the 1990s without paying reparation of $3700, was taken to the Dunedin District Court to pay the fine.
