Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If the PCN was sent to the registered keeper’s address based on details obtained from the DVLA, not receiving the notice is not a valid ground of appeal. The registered keeper should always ensure their address is up-to-date at the DVLA.

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.

Costs associated with submitting an appeal are not usually awarded. There are rare exceptions if the adjudicator that heard your case considers that the authority (or you) were unreasonable during proceedings, or – as defined by law – were ‘vexatious’ or ‘frivolous’.

Traffic adjudicators are lawyers with at least five years’ experience and their appointments are agreed by the Lord Chancellor. Adjudicators are wholly independent from the authority that issued the PCN they are deciding the appeal against.

No, appealing to an independent traffic tribunal is free.

Payment instructions are typically provided on the PCN itself. You can usually pay online, by phone, by mail or in person, and there is a discount of 50% for paying within 14 days. If a PCN is taken through to the appeal stage and this appeal is unsuccessful, the full penalty amount will be due.

A PCN is either attached to the windscreen of the vehicle or handed to the driver (in the case of parking contraventions), or sent through the post to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

An authority must usually respond to representations made against a PCN within 56 days. After such time, the representations are usually deemed to have been accepted.

A PCN must be issued before the end of 28 days, beginning with the date of the contravention.

The Freeman on the Land movement and similar groups commonly believe that people are only bound by the contracts and laws they have consented to. However, contract law and alleged rights under common law are not the same as legislation relating to the issuing of PCNs and their subsequent recovery.

Motorists do not have a choice as to whether they are liable for a PCN Notice and being a ‘freeman’ does not exempt anyone from paying such a PCN if it has been correctly issued.

Liability for the payment of a PCN is not dependent on, and does not require, consent or the existence of a contractual relationship with the council. Any such assertion to the contrary is incorrect and there is no legal basis upon which to make this argument.

In addition, the following references also have no legal basis for challenging the issuing of a PCN:

• ‘lawful rebellion’
• Article 61 of the Magna Carta
• the Coronation Oath Act 1688
• The Bill of Rights Act 1689
• the ‘People’s peace’
• legal fictions, ‘straw men’ and ‘I, X of the family Y’
• maritime or admiralty law
• Uniform Commercial Code
• Notice of removal of implied right of access.

Paying a PCN, either at the discount rate (within 14 days) or otherwise, is considered to be accepting the penalty was issued correctly. An appeal can only be made if the PCN is first challenged with the authority through to the representations stage and a Notice of Rejection of Representations has been received.

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.

No, the PCN will now need to be paid in full.

While sale of a vehicle is a valid ground of appeal, it must be remembered that the burden of proof rests with you as the registered keeper at the time the PCN was issued (identified by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency [DVLA] database) to demonstrate that a sale has taken place. A bare assertion will rarely be sufficient evidence to transfer liability of the PCN.

As the hirer / lessee, you will have likely signed an agreement accepting liability of penalty charges issued during the hire / lease period, so will likely be liable for the PCN.

The registered keeper of the vehicle is responsible for the penalty issued, even when they were not the motorist at the time of the contravention.

See Key Case: Francis v Wandsworth, R v The Parking Adjudicator ex parte the Mayor and the Burgesses of the London Borough of Wandsworth (1996).

Challenging and / or appealing a PCN is part of a civil process that is conducted outside of the court system.

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.

The registered keeper of the vehicle is liable for the PCN. They may not necessarily have been the driver at the time of the alleged contravention, but they are legally liable for the penalty charge.

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.

This can be a valid ground of appeal but full details of the circumstances of the breakdown should be provided, as well as evidence of the recovery and/or repair of the vehicle. It is for you to prove that the vehicle could not be moved due to a mechanical failure. A bare assertion is unlikely to be sufficient.

You should provide a crime reference number from the police when submitting a challenge or appeal against the PCN, which will be taken into account in assessing whether you are liable to pay.

This depends on the PCN you have been issued. The grounds that apply are listed in the PCN document.

When challenging or appealing a PCN, you should provide any evidence, such as photographs, relating to the signs or lines you think were not clear and/or provide an explanation as to why.

Signs and lines serve to advise the motorist of a restriction and must not mislead. Trifling omissions, however, do not render a sign or line unenforceable. So long as the sign or marking does not mislead and remains substantially compliant with the requirements of the regulations, the restriction is enforceable.

See Key Case: R (on the application of Herron and Parking Appeals Limited) v The Parking Adjudicator and others (2010) and Letts v London Borough of Lambeth PATAS 1980151656 (1980).

If PCN remains unpaid or is ignored, the authority that issued it has the right to increase the charge and register the outstanding amount as a debt.

28 days after either:
• receiving a Notice to Owner (parking PCNs only) or a PCN by post and either not paying the PCN or making representations to the authority;
• receiving a Notice of Rejection of Representations (after making representations to the authority that issued the PCN) and either not paying the PCN or appealing to an independent adjudicator;
• an adjudicator dismissing your appeal and not paying the PCN

you are likely to receive a Charge Certificate, which increases the penalty charge owed by 50% and means you no longer have a right to make representations (some authorities may still accept representations, but this will be at their discretion).

If the PCN remains unpaid 14 days after receipt of a Charge Certificate, the authority can register the debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre at the Northampton County Court and you will be sent an Order for Recovery, with the risk of Bailiffs (‘civil enforcement agents’) taking action to collect the debt after 21 days.

If your appeal is successful, the PCN will be cancelled and there will be nothing to pay.

In exceptional circumstances, however, the decision an adjudicator has made can be looked at again if the authority applies to have the decision reviewed. The authority can take this option by applying to review the decision.

If you have challenged and / or made representations to the authority and have been unsuccessful, the authority will issue a Notice of Rejection of Representations explaining the reasons and providing information on how to appeal further to an independent tribunal and its adjudicators.

Once a Notice of Rejection of Representations has been received, the PCN should either be paid immediately or appealed within 28 days.

Following a dismissed appeal, the PCN should be paid to the authority without delay.

In exceptional circumstances, the decision an adjudicator has made can be looked at again. This can be done by applying to review the decision.

A PCN document will include details of:

• the date and time of the alleged contravention
• the vehicle registration mark and other details of the vehicle that the alleged contravention refers to
• a description and details of the alleged contravention, sometimes with a photograph/s
• the amount (in £) of the penalty charge that needs to be paid
• this will include a reduced / discounted rate (50% of the penalty charge amount) that applies if the PCN is paid within either 14 or 21 days (depending on the type of penalty).
• The document will also include instructions on how to pay the penalty charge or challenge it.

A Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is a document issued by a local authority or charging authority to the registered keeper of a vehicle detailing an alleged contravention of its traffic restrictions by said vehicle.