How to Appeal a Penalty Charge Notice

Did you receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and are feeling unsure about how to handle it? Don’t worry; this guide is here to help.

Paid service: This page links to JustAnswer, a paid question-and-answer service. Check its current price, any trial, recurring subscription, renewal and cancellation terms before paying. Advice does not replace your responsibility to meet appeal or court deadlines and cannot guarantee an outcome. MoneyNerd may receive a referral fee.

This guide explains the main challenge stages for civil Penalty Charge Notices. A police Fixed Penalty Notice or a private parking charge follows a different process.

In this article, we will help you understand:

• What a PCN is, and why you might have received one.
• If you must pay it straight away.
• How to make an appeal if you think the charge is not fair.
• Situations when you might not need to pay at all.
• What could happen if you decide not to pay.

Getting a PCN can be quite upsetting, and the whole process might seem a bit puzzling. But don’t worry; we’re here to walk you through everything you need to know.

Where can you legally park in the UK?

The RAC has published a comprehensive guide discussing where you can and can’t legally park in the UK. If you have a question about parking laws in the UK, it has probably been answered in their long post. Everything is covered from parking on private land, yellow lines, white zig zags and more. 

Penalty Charge Notice Vs Fixed Penalty Notice 

It’s important to know the difference between a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). The former are issued by councils and transport authorities as explained above, while the latter is issued by the police or the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). 

A Fixed Penalty Notice is issued for more serious traffic offences, such as speeding. When you receive a Fixed Penalty Notice, it’s likely you will also receive points on your license. Paying a Fixed Penalty Notice will prevent the matter from escalating to the magistrate’s court. But you’ll need to go to court to appeal against a Fixed Penalty Notice, and you may have to pay court costs. 

What happens if you don’t pay a fine?

Ignoring a PCN can make the fine grow bigger and could even lead to court action and a visit from an enforcement officer (bailiff).

We cover the three steps that may take place if you choose to not pay the PCN in your name. 

#1: Charge Certificate

A charge certificate can increase the penalty by 50% once the statutory conditions are met. It is not an automatic consequence of the first 28 days passing: a timely challenge or appeal affects the permitted next steps. Follow each notice’s deadline.

For example, if you received an £80 fine for illegal parking and then received a charge certificate due to non-payment, you will now owe £120. 

#2: Court Order

If the charge certificate remains unpaid, the authority may register the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre and issue an Order for Recovery. This is part of the statutory PCN process, not an ordinary County Court Judgment. The order normally gives 21 days to pay or submit the permitted witness statement or statutory declaration.

Learn how to appeal against a PCN court order towards the end of this guide!

#3: Enforcement Action

After an unpaid Order for Recovery, an authority may obtain a warrant and instruct enforcement agents. Further notice and enforcement rules apply. Get free debt advice promptly and do not ignore the documents.

Advertisement

Paid legal information: Continue to JustAnswer

Advertisement. Paid general legal information from JustAnswer. Memberships renew automatically until cancelled. Check the initial price, renewal price, billing interval and cancellation terms. The standard service does not create a solicitor-client relationship. No successful outcome is guaranteed. MoneyNerd may receive a referral fee.

Can you challenge it?

The route and deadline depend on the notice and stage. Many formal stages allow 28 days, but check when the period starts and which document you must answer.

Informal appeals Vs formal appeals

For an on-street council parking PCN, you can normally make an informal challenge before a Notice to Owner is served. An informal challenge is not a mandatory prerequisite for later formal representations. A postal PCN may invite formal representations from the outset.

Formal representations are normally due within 28 days of service of the relevant Notice to Owner or postal PCN. Follow the document’s instructions and deadline; there is no universal day-29-to-day-56 window measured from the original PCN.

Your representation should clearly outline the reason or reasons why you believe the PCN should be cancelled and you should not have to pay a fine. This needs to be done in writing. To back up your claims, you should provide as much evidence as possible.

Your supporting evidence can be anything that strengthens your application, such as photographic evidence of your vehicle parked or an out of order sign on a ticket machine. 

We can see here that this forum user on MoneySavingExpert noticed that there was no other sign visible, so they might have grounds to appeal their pcn.

In most cases, appeals follow a standard process that you can learn more about by checking out the table below.

When	Action
On receiving a council PCN	Read the notice, keep it, gather evidence and note all payment and challenge deadlines.
Windscreen or handed-to-driver PCN	An informal challenge may be available before the Notice to Owner. Early challenge can preserve a discount under the authority’s policy; 14 days is not a universal final appeal deadline.
Postal PCN or Notice to Owner	Normally make formal representations within 28 days as stated on the notice. Do not assume there is an extra informal stage.
Representations rejected	The Notice of Rejection explains how to appeal to the appropriate independent tribunal, normally within 28 days.
Appeal unsuccessful	Pay by the deadline given in the decision or obtain advice on any available review. Further statutory charges can follow if you do neither.
Other ticket type	Private parking charges and FPNs use different procedures; follow the actual notice.

Further guidance: Traffic Penalty Tribunal; Citizens Advice.

How do you write a letter of appeal?

Your letter of PCN appeal needs to include your name, address, penalty or parking charge notice reference number, your vehicle registration number and the date your PCN was issued. It should then go on to state a valid reason or reasons why you believe the PCN should be cancelled and no fine should be owed. 

You can save time and worry by downloading the free appeal PCN letter template from MoneyNerd. It makes appealing your PCN easier and quicker. The letter should be accompanied by supporting evidence, which may include a witness statement or photographic evidence.  

What grounds can support a challenge?

Give an accurate explanation supported by evidence. Relevant issues may include whether the contravention occurred, signs were adequate, a genuine breakdown occurred or the authority followed the required process. These are matters to assess, not guaranteed cancellation reasons.

You can read some other ways to get out of a parking ticket on this page of the Citizens Advice website.  

What happens if it’s rejected?

If your formal representation against a PCN is rejected, you will be sent a ‘notice of rejection’ and be given a further 28 days to make a full payment. Alternatively, you can escalate the formal appeal to an independent tribunal. 

If you neither pay nor appeal in time after a formal rejection, a charge certificate may be issued under the applicable rules. Further debt registration and enforcement can follow if it remains unpaid.

Escalate to the Independent Tribunal

You have 28 days to escalate your PCN appeal to an independent tribunal if you believe the outcome of your formal appeal was wrong. This appeal process is different depending on where you live in the UK. 

If you escalate your formal appeal to an independent tribunal in England or Wales, you’ll either use the London Tribunal or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. 

London Tribunal Vs Traffic Penalty Tribunal

If your PCN was issued in London, you must use the London Tribunal. For PCNs issued anywhere else in England or Wales, you must use the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. 

The London Tribunal adjudicates on all appeals against local London councils, as well as appeals against PCNs issued by Transport for London. You can even lodge your new formal appeal online using their website. You’ll need to re-state your case to the tribunal. 

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal accepts all PCN appeals against local authorities outside of London, including those in Wales. Independent lawyers will judge your case, which can also be submitted online via the Traffic Penalty Tribunal’s website. 

In Scotland

In Scotland, the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland’s General Regulatory Chamber deals with relevant parking and bus lane appeals after a council rejection. Follow the Notice of Rejection and the official Scottish guidance for the deadline and grounds.

In Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland also has a dedicated department and independent tribunal for dealing with PCN appeals after first being rejected by the issuer. You can find more information using the Department of Justice website. 

Can you challenge a court order?

An Order for Recovery is not a fresh opportunity to argue the merits of the original PCN. You normally have 21 days to submit the correct witness statement or statutory declaration on one of the permitted grounds. The grounds depend on the form. For a relevant TE9 case, they include:

1. You paid the penalty charge in full and have evidence of payment.
2. You did not receive the Notice to Owner or relevant penalty notice specified on the form.
3. You made formal representations in time but did not receive a Notice of Rejection.
4. You appealed to the tribunal in time but did not receive its response, as specified on the form.

How do you do it?

Use the official guide to choosing TE9 or PE3 and any out-of-time application. Read the form’s grounds and witnessing requirements carefully and make only a truthful statement.

Once completed, you need to send the form to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. You can send a digital version of the form to [email protected] or send a hard copy by post to:

Traffic Enforcement Centre
Civil National Business Centre
St Katharine’s House
21–27 St Katharine’s Street
Northampton
NN1 2LH

If your appeal against a court order is successful, the order of recovery will be erased. Your PCN may then be cancelled, or the PCN issuer might restart the process using the correct procedures that were not used the first time around. 

Challenge a parking ticket from a private company

It’s also possible that you received a parking ticket that was not from a local council. Some private landowners will give you a parking ticket if you exceed your allotted time or did not buy a ticket to park at all. One example of this could be supermarkets. 

If you have received a parking ticket from a private company, you can still appeal against the parking ticket if you believe it is wrong. You should speak to them directly to find out where to send your appeal. If they reject the appeal, you can also escalate the appeal to an independent tribunal. 

An eligible private parking appeal goes to POPLA for a BPA operator or the Independent Appeals Service for an International Parking Community operator. These are private parking appeal services, separate from the statutory traffic tribunals. Follow the rejection letter and current service rules.

References

1. Direct Line Group — Parking Fines Statistics