How Long Can a PCN Be Issued After the Offence? 

Have you received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and are unsure about what to do next? You’ve come to the right place! Every month, more than 130,000 people visit our website for guidance on fines and parking tickets.

Receiving a PCN can be both confusing and frustrating. In this guide, we’ll explain:

• The time limit within which a PCN can be issued after the offence.
• How you can challenge the charge if you believe it’s wrong.
• Different situations where you may not need to pay the PCN.
• What could happen if you decide not to pay the PCN.

Churchill Motor Insurance reports that in 2022, UK councils issued 19,631 parking fines every day — that’s an increase of 12% from the previous year.¹ So rest assured, you’re not alone.

Don’t worry; we have the expertise to help you through this. So, let us walk you through the details…

How long can they serve the notice?

Your local authority has 28 days to serve you with a Penalty Charge Notice.

But this can be extended in certain situations, such as if the DVLA are too slow to respond to the issuing authorities’ requests for the car owner’s details.

How long does it take to arrive?

A Penalty Charge Notice could be left on your vehicle or handed to you by a parking warden, meaning you are served the PCN instantly.

On the other hand, if enforcement cameras or other electronic surveillance were used to spot your traffic offence, the PCN would usually arrive within four weeks at most. 

Keep in mind that it can take longer than four weeks if the PCN issuer has difficulty getting your address from the DVLA. A common example of this are Aldi Parking fines.

How long can they pursue?

A PCN can be pursued for many years, but the likelihood of this is low.

Most PCNs are successfully pursued within 28 or 14 days if no payment is received. 

How do you pay the parking fine?

Your Penalty Charge Notice should list all the ways you can pay. The most common method is to pay online through an online payment portal if your council allows it.

To pay for your PCN online, visit your issuer’s website and enter your vehicle registration and PCN numbers. You can find the latter at the top of your PCN.

You can then see your PCN details and pay with a bank card. 

If you pay your PCN within the first 14 days, you could get a discount of up to 50% of the fine!

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

Can you appeal it?

You have the right to lodge an appeal against your PCN as long as you appeal within 28 days of receiving the PCN.

Most of the time, you will make a formal appeal officially called a representation. 

A formal appeal requires you to create a detailed account and explain why you believe the PCN should be cancelled.

For example, you might argue that you shouldn’t be fined for driving in a bus lane because you had moved over momentarily to let an ambulance pass. Your representation should be supported with evidence, including photographs or statements. 

You must make an informal appeal if the PCN was left on your vehicle or given to you by a parking warden.

If an informal appeal is rejected, you can move on to make a representation. 

Successful representations usually result in the PCN being withdrawn. You can appeal to an independent tribunal if your representation is rejected.

The tribunal you must use depends on the location of the supposed offence. 

Appeal Process Steps

When appealing your Penalty Charge Notice, due process must be followed, and it consists of several steps. Here’s a quick table summarizing all you need to know.

Process:	Steps you should take:
When you receive the ticket…	You should gather as much evidence as you can to support your appeal claim and prove that the ticket was unfairly issued.
If you were given the ticket in person/attached to your car…	You must make an informal appeal (sent to the local authority/council that issued the PCN) within 14 days. This should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If it was posted to you…	You will be given 21 days to submit an informal appeal (from the day you received the letter). Your informal appeal should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If the informal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice to Owner and will have 28 days to respond to this with a formal appeal. You can conduct the formal appeal online or via paper form. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal can send you one of these forms.
If the formal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice of Rejection. From here, you are free to challenge the council’s verdict at an independent tribunal.
If the independent tribunal disagrees with your appeal…	You should pay the ticket within 28 days of the tribunal rejecting your appeal. If you don’t, the fine will be increased by 50%. If you don’t have the money to pay the fine, you should contact Citizens Advice or another debt charity.

Reasons to Appeal the Charge

There are many reasons to appeal a PCN and get your appeal accepted. The most common PCNs issued are for parking offences, and some good reasons to appeal include the following:

1. Not receiving your PCN in good time
2. You were, in fact, parking correctly.
3. You overstayed because you had broken down
4. An emergency stopped you from getting to your vehicle
5. The payment machine was out of order

What is the time limit for a parking fine?

The council should send you a Penalty Charge Notice within 28 days of the incident.

This time limit is extended if the council needs to request your address from the DVLA and they are slow to respond. They must request your information from the DVLA within 14 days when required. 

If the DVLA are too slow and the PCN cannot be sent within 28 days, the Penalty Charge Notice time limit can be extended by a maximum of six months. 

How long do they have to send it?

Private parking tickets usually have to be issued within 14 days of the offence if the motorist was not notified of the offence at the time.

If they were given a notice at the time, the company has around two months to send the fine. 

If you were not sent a private parking ticket in good time, you may be able to use this as a reason not to pay.

Delaying the fine has made it more difficult to make a successful appeal. 

There are many private parking companies in the UK, and typically, they’ll look for ways to force you to pay.

References

1. SkyNews – Number of parking tickets issued every day in UK revealed