Find Key Cases

You may have been issued a FPN by the Police or a local authority. You should contact the authority that issued you with the penalty, following the instructions enclosed in the documents you received. A different process applies for challenging FPNs.

A Parking Charge Notice may sometimes look similar to a PCN, but it is not the same. It has been issued by a private operator, rather than a local authority or charging authority.

To pay or challenge a private parking penalty, contact the operator whose details appear on the notice you have received. Further information can be found on the British Parking Association website.

You have 28 days from the date the PCN was issued to challenge it with the authority. For all PCNs other than some issued for parking contraventions (see below), this challenge is called ‘making representations’.

For PCNs issued to the windscreen of a vehicle or handed to the driver, in the case of parking contraventions, the challenge process starts with an Informal Challenge to the authority, before representations can be made.

Authorities are only obliged to accept the reduced penalty amount when the payment is received by them within the discount period (usually within 14 days). This is stated on the face of the PCN itself.

Writing to the enforcement authority or lodging an appeal, however promptly, does not freeze the discount. The full penalty amount applies, although some enforcement authorities will offer the motorist an extended discount period when representations have been rejected. If a subsequent appeal is lodged and refused by the adjudicator, the appellant has 28 days to pay the penalty at the full rate. The penalty will not increase during the appeal process, but it is the full charge that is frozen, not the reduced, discount amount.

Yes, you have the right to challenge a PCN. A challenge must always be made first to the authority that issued the PCN. Instructions on how to do this will be included with the PCN.