If the defendant is sent to prison, you may not receive any payments until after he/she is released. Once on probation or parole, the defendant will be put on a payment schedule by the Probation and Parole Department. Payments are made to the Clerk of Courts’ office by the defendant and the Clerk of Courts distributes the money to the victim(s). When the defendant begins to make a payment, a certain amount of money is taken out for court costs, and the remaining money is applied to pay restitution amounts until they are completely paid off. Generally, the defendant has the entire length of his/her sentence to repay the monies owed.