New Parking Laws UK

Police penalties: speeding, red lights and penalty points

2026-10-25T12:01:00Z

Speeding, going through a red light, using a hand-held phone while driving and careless driving are criminal offences, dealt with by the police. This page explains the process and when to get legal advice. It is not a guide to contesting a police penalty: with points, a possible ban and a court case at stake, get advice before you fight one. For a council penalty, such as for parking, a bus lane or a yellow box junction, start at fight your ticket. This page covers England and Wales.

How police penalties differ

Criminal, not civil. A council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is a civil penalty with no penalty points, and you appeal to an independent tribunal. Police penalties are for crimes: a disputed case goes to the magistrates' court.
Penalty points. Speeding, red light, phone and careless driving offences all add points to your driving record, and enough points can lead to a ban.
Paying is not a conviction, but the points count as one. Paying a police fixed penalty discharges "any liability to conviction", so there is no court case. But the points are treated as if you had been convicted when they are counted towards a ban, and for the rules on when past offences become "spent".
No discount and no tribunal. There is no discount for paying early. If you think a fixed penalty is wrong, the place to argue is court.
Who deals with what. Speeding and red lights stay with the police, not councils: see moving traffic penalties. For road charges such as the congestion charge, see road charging penalties.
Parking. Where the council does not enforce parking, the police can put a fixed penalty notice on the vehicle instead: £30 outside London, with no points. The councils page names the areas where the police still enforce parking. Leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position is a separate offence, with 3 points.

What happens after you are caught

Stopped by the police

An officer can give you a verbal warning or a fixed penalty notice, or report you. If you are reported, a letter follows, offering a course or a fixed penalty, or about going to court. A fixed penalty with points is only possible if your driving record shows it would not take you to 12 points or more. If you were warned at the time that you might be prosecuted, no Notice of Intended Prosecution has to follow.

Caught by a camera

The Notice of Intended Prosecution goes to the vehicle's registered keeper, with a request to name the driver (a section 172 notice).
The 14-day rule. For speeding, red lights, careless driving and some other offences, you cannot be convicted unless you were warned at the time, or within 14 days of the offence a summons was served on you or a notice on you or the registered keeper (section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988). The law assumes this was done unless you prove otherwise, and the rule does not apply after an accident, or if neither you nor the keeper could be traced in time. It does not apply to phone offences. Because the 14 days apply to the keeper, the driver of a company or hire car may get a notice later.
Naming the driver. The keeper must name the driver within 28 days (section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988). Failing to do so is an offence: 6 penalty points (code MS90) and a fine of up to £1,000, more points than a speeding fixed penalty. A keeper who could not have found out who was driving, using reasonable diligence, is not guilty, but has to show it.
Next, the driver gets an offer of a course, a fixed penalty offer by post (a "conditional offer"), or a letter about going to court.

Your choices: a course, a fixed penalty or court

A course

The police decide. A course is an alternative to prosecution for speeding and some other offences, offered at the police's discretion. There is no right to one, however low your speed.
Once in 3 years. You cannot be offered a course if you completed a similar one in the 3 years before the new offence.
The result. You pay a fee. Complete the course and there is no fixed penalty to pay, no points and no conviction. It cannot remove points you already have, and you cannot have the course once you have paid the fixed penalty.

The National Police Chiefs' Council's 2025 guidance suggests what the police should offer, by speed: a course where you are eligible, otherwise a fixed penalty, and court at the highest speeds.

Limit (mph)	Course	Fixed penalty	Court
20	24 to 31	24 to 34	35 and over
30	35 to 42	35 to 49	50 and over
40	46 to 53	46 to 65	66 and over
50	57 to 64	57 to 75	76 and over
60	68 to 75	68 to 85	86 and over
70	79 to 86	79 to 95	96 and over

Below these speeds, such as 22 mph in a 20 mph limit, the guidance suggests neither a course nor a fixed penalty. That does not make the speed allowed: approved speed devices may read no more than 2 mph too high (3% above 66 mph), each force sets its own policy, and the police can still prosecute, case by case. If they do, the notice says what you are offered.

A fixed penalty

The amounts. Speeding or going through a red light: £100 and 3 points. Using a hand-held phone: £200 and 6 points. Careless driving: £100 and 3 points.
Time to pay. The notice gives the date: at least 21 days for a roadside notice, and at least 28 days for a conditional offer by post. You give your name, date of birth and driving licence number when you pay. Use only the payment methods on the notice: websites offering a discount are not official.
At 12 points. If the points would take you to 12 or more, a fixed penalty is not available and the case goes to court.
If you do nothing. For a roadside notice, the fixed penalty plus half (£150 instead of £100) can be registered against you as a fine, and the points still go on your record. After a postal offer, the police can prosecute.
If you dispute it. Ask for a court hearing, as a roadside notice explains, before its deadline; or leave a postal offer unpaid, and the police decide whether to prosecute. A court fine can be more than the fixed penalty, with costs and more points.

Court

The notice. Speeding, red light, phone and naming-the-driver cases can be decided under the Single Justice Procedure. You get a single justice procedure notice and have 21 days from its date to respond. Plead guilty and a magistrate can decide on the papers, with your fine reduced by up to a third. Plead not guilty and you go to a hearing. If you do not respond, a magistrate decides without hearing from you.
Fines. Courts follow the Sentencing Council's guidelines, which set fines as a share of your weekly income. For speeding the starting point is 50%, 100% or 150% of weekly income, by how far over the limit you were: in a 30 mph limit, 31 to 40 mph, 41 to 50 mph, or 51 mph and above (speeding guideline). The maximum is £1,000, or £2,500 on a motorway; for using a phone, £1,000, or £2,500 in a lorry or bus. Give the court details of your income when asked, or it can assume you can pay.
Points or a ban. For speeding the court must add 3 to 6 points or ban you. In its two higher bands the guideline gives a ban of 7 to 28 days, or 7 to 56 days, as the alternative to points.
Costs and surcharge. If you are convicted, the court can also order you to pay the prosecution's costs, and must order a victim surcharge.
Special reasons. A court can decide not to add points for "special reasons": circumstances of the offence itself, not your personal situation. Arguing special reasons is a point to get legal advice.

Penalty points and losing your licence

How long they last. Points stay on your driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence, and count towards a ban for 3 years. Insurers and employers may be able to see them for the whole 4 years. View your driving licence record to check your points.
12 points ("totting up"). If points from offences committed within 3 years of each other reach 12 or more, the court must ban you for at least 6 months, unless it finds grounds to shorten or avoid the ban. The minimum is a year if you have had a ban of 56 days or more in the 3 years before the latest offence, and 2 years if you have had more than one.
Exceptional hardship. The court cannot take into account ordinary hardship, or a claim that the offences were not serious. Exceptional hardship can count, but you must prove it, usually with sworn evidence. Losing your job is not enough on its own, and grounds accepted in the last 3 years cannot be used again.
New drivers. If you reach 6 or more points within 2 years of passing your first driving test, your licence is revoked, even when the points come from a fixed penalty. Points on a provisional licence count. To drive again you must pass the theory and practical tests again. One phone offence is enough.

If you think you should not have been penalised

These situations often need advice:

You were not the driver. Name the driver within the 28 days. If you do not know who it was, still reply, saying what you did to find out.
The details are wrong, such as the vehicle or the place. Write to the police at the address on the notice, keep a copy, and still reply in time.
The notice seems late. The 14-day rule has exceptions and is presumed to have been met, so get advice before relying on it.
The camera. A camera's record can be used as evidence only if the device is of a type approved by the Secretary of State, used under the conditions of its approval: a question for a solicitor.

When to get legal advice

Get advice from a solicitor who deals with motoring offences if:

the points would take you to 12 or more within 3 years, or you could be banned;
you passed your test less than 2 years ago and the points would take you to 6 or more;
you do not know who was driving, or the driver will not be named;
a Notice of Intended Prosecution arrived more than 14 days after the offence;
you want to plead not guilty, or to question the camera or other evidence;
you think special reasons apply, or a ban would cause exceptional hardship;
your job depends on driving;
you have a court notice for a more serious offence, such as careless driving.

The Law Society's Find a Solicitor lists solicitors by area of law: choose "Crime - motoring". Citizens Advice explains finding free or affordable legal help (in Wales), including free or fixed-fee first appointments and legal cover that may come with your car insurance or a motoring organisation. While you get advice, reply to every notice within its time limit.

Wales

The same law. The offences, penalty points, fixed penalties, courses and courts are the same in Wales as in England.
20 mph. Since 17 September 2023 the default speed limit on restricted roads in Wales, usually roads with street lights no more than 200 yards apart, has been 20 mph instead of 30 mph (the Welsh order). Restricted roads have no 20 mph repeater signs. Since July 2024 highway authorities have been reviewing which roads should go back to 30 mph, so follow the signs (Welsh Government).
Cameras. Speed and red light cameras in Wales are run by GoSafe, a partnership of the four Welsh police forces, the 22 councils and the Welsh Government. Its mobile cameras also detect phone and seat belt offences. GoSafe asks for questions about a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be put in writing.

How to fight a congestion charge, ULEZ or clean air zone penalty

2026-10-25T12:00:00Z

A road charging penalty is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for not paying a road charge on time: London's congestion charge, Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), Low Emission Zone or Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels charge, a clean air zone, Oxford's zero emission zone, the Dart Charge, the Mersey Gateway bridges or Durham's road user charge. It comes by post to the vehicle's registered keeper, and it is a civil penalty, not a criminal offence. Road charging has its own grounds of challenge, and in London the adjudicator cannot take your circumstances into account. This guide explains what the charging authority has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. How the tribunals work is on appealing to the adjudicator. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

You must pay the charge for the right vehicle and the right day, through the scheme's official payment service, by the deadline. If you do not, the charging authority can send a PCN to the registered keeper, who is liable even if someone else was driving (regulation 6 of the Road User Charging Schemes (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013, "the 2013 Regulations"; in London, regulation 6 of the Road User Charging (Charges and Penalty Charges) (London) Regulations 2001). The deadlines and penalties:

London's congestion charge, ULEZ and Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels (Transport for London, TfL): pay by midnight on the third day after you drive. Penalty £180, or £90 if paid within 14 days (TfL).
London's Low Emission Zone (lorries, vans, buses, coaches and other larger vehicles): the same deadline. Penalty £500, £1,000 or £2,000 depending on the vehicle, halved within 14 days (TfL).
Clean air zones in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Newcastle and Gateshead: each charges only vehicles that do not meet its emission standards, and only Birmingham's and Bristol's include private cars. Pay by 11.59pm on the sixth day after (GOV.UK). Penalty £120, or £60 within 14 days, plus the unpaid daily charge everywhere except Birmingham (Traffic Penalty Tribunal).
Oxford's zero emission zone: pay within six days after. Penalty £60, or £30 (Oxfordshire County Council).
The Dart Charge at the Dartford Crossing: pay by midnight the day after you cross. Penalty £70, or £35, plus the crossing charge (GOV.UK).
The Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges (Merseyflow, for Halton Borough Council): pay by 11.59pm the day after. Penalty £50, or £25, plus the crossing charge (Merseyflow).
Durham's road user charge zone: pay in advance or within 24 hours of entering. Penalty £50, or £25 within 14 days (Durham County Council; Traffic Penalty Tribunal).
Oxford's temporary congestion charge ended on 27 September 2026. A penalty for an earlier journey is £70, or £35 within 14 days (Oxfordshire County Council).

Appeals against TfL go to the Road User Charging Adjudicators at London Tribunals, and all the others to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. None of these schemes is in Wales, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, which also hears appeals from Welsh councils, lists road charging schemes in England only.

What the charging authority has to prove

The authority has to prove that your vehicle was used in the zone, or made the crossing, when a charge applied; that you were its registered keeper; and that it received no valid payment for that vehicle and day (London Tribunals' annual report 2025-26). It is then for you to show, more likely than not, that a legal ground applies:

you never were the keeper, had stopped being liable before the journey, or became liable after it;
the charge was paid on time and in the way the scheme requires;
no penalty charge is payable, for example because the vehicle was exempt or was not yours;
the vehicle was used without your consent;
the penalty is more than the scheme allows;
you are a hire firm and the hirer signed a statement accepting liability.

These six are the only grounds in London (regulation 13 of the Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001, and for the tunnels Schedule 8 to the Silvertown Tunnel Order 2018). The 2013 Regulations, which cover every other scheme except Durham's, add procedural impropriety and let you ask the authority to cancel for compelling reasons (regulation 8); Durham's PCN sets out its own rules.

Only TfL can cancel a London penalty because of your circumstances, such as illness or an honest mistake: the adjudicator can only decide whether a ground applies (Walmsley v Transport for London, 2005). Elsewhere an adjudicator cannot allow an appeal on mitigation either, but under the 2013 Regulations can recommend that the authority cancels for compelling reasons (regulation 11).

Arguments that have won

The vehicle in the photos was not yours

In London Tribunals case 9260478614 (2026) the adjudicator accepted that a ULEZ penalty was for a cloned car: the keeper had reported it to the police, and his photos showed a different front number plate and front-end damage missing from TfL's photos. In case 9260916937 (2026) stickers and a dealer's name on the number plate were enough at the Blackwall Tunnel.

You were no longer the keeper

You normally stay liable until you tell the DVLA you have sold the vehicle. But in case 9260528938 (2026) a finance company's letter saying it had collected the car two days before the journey was enough, although the DVLA still showed the driver as keeper. In case 9260920333 (2026) the buyer of a van won, because the seller had not told the DVLA about the sale and so remained liable.

Someone used it without your permission

In case 9260988734 (2026) a would-be buyer drove a car off the seller's drive against his instructions and brought it back soon after. The adjudicator accepted that it was used without consent, even without a police report, because it was returned quickly and the police would be unlikely to act. Outside London you must give a crime reference or similar evidence (regulation 8(7)).

TfL's own systems misled you

London adjudicators cancelled penalties in 2026 where a dated screenshot showed TfL's vehicle checker saying no ULEZ charge was due (case 9260976553); where a timed screenshot showed the car was already on someone else's Auto Pay account (case 9260428434); and where the keeper had paid a failed Auto Pay balance before TfL suspended the account (case 9260940931). Wrong advice from TfL staff can count too (R (Dolatabadi) v Transport for London, 2005).

The authority did not follow the procedure

TfL must reply to your representations with a notice of its decision. In case 926060316A (2026) it could not show that it had sent a Notice of Rejection, and the appeal was allowed. Under the 2013 Regulations the authority must reply within 56 days, or it is treated as accepting your representations: in Mr M v Secretary of State for Transport (2025) a Dart Charge penalty and the crossing charge were cancelled because the first reply did not say how to appeal and the Notice of Rejection came months later.

Other points to check

A diversion. If an accident or roadworks diverted you into the congestion charge zone, give TfL the place, the time and whether you spoke to a police officer (TfL). In case 9260866136 (2026) an adjudicator believed a driver whom police had diverted into the zone after an accident, and allowed her appeal.
Exemptions and discounts. Many have to be registered before you travel. Keep paying while you wait for one (Mr K v Birmingham City Council, 2023).
A hired vehicle. The hire firm can pass the penalty to you only if you signed a statement accepting liability for penalties. An agreement without the hirer's details or a statement of liability failed in Mr S v Birmingham City Council (2023).
The discount. TfL freezes the amount owed when it receives your representations, so a challenge made within 14 days keeps the £90 rate while TfL considers it. Outside London the authority need not offer the discount again after 14 days (Mr S v Birmingham City Council, 2024), though Merseyflow holds the amount while it considers a challenge.
A late PCN. The 2013 Regulations set no time limit for sending one (Mr R v Bristol City Council, 2023), although Merseyflow says it allows itself 6 months.
You never got the PCN. If the first you hear is a court order, you have 21 days to make a statutory declaration (London) or witness statement (elsewhere) that you did not receive it, or got no reply to your representations or appeal. That cancels the order and the charge certificate, but not the penalty: the authority can send the PCN again, or the case goes to the adjudicator.

Arguments that usually fail

"I didn't know about the charge," or "I didn't see the signs." Not knowing is not a ground (London Tribunals' annual report 2025-26). ULEZ signs need not say that a charge applies (Robert Morris v Transport for London, 2019; R (Kleiber) v Secretary of State for Transport, 2024), and following a sat nav is no excuse (Mrs K v Birmingham City Council, 2023).
"I paid, but for the wrong registration or day." The payment must be for the vehicle and the day used (Walmsley, 2005; Mr P v Bristol City Council, 2023; case 9260941661, 2026, a friend's one-letter typing error).
"I paid on another website." Paying an unofficial website is not paying the charge (Mr M v Birmingham City Council, 2025).
"I was only in the zone a few minutes after midnight." In clean air zones and the ULEZ each day from midnight is a new charge (Mr A v Birmingham City Council, 2024).
"I have Auto Pay." Not if the account was suspended or closed after a failed payment and you ignored TfL's emails (case 9260969955, 2026).
"I wasn't driving," or "the garage had it." The keeper is liable, and leaving the vehicle with a garage is consent (Miss P v Bradford Council, 2023).
"I had sold it." Not if you had not told the DVLA before the journey (Mr P v Bradford Council, 2025).
"Please let me pay less." Adjudicators cannot reduce a penalty, restore the discount or accept just the daily charge (Mr M v Birmingham City Council, 2025).

Evidence to gather

The PCN and its photos. Check the registration, date and time, and compare the vehicle with yours.
Your payment receipt from the official website or app, showing the registration, date and reference number. A bank statement alone may not show which vehicle and day you paid for (case 9260564727, 2026).
Auto Pay records: account screens, payments and TfL's emails.
Proof of sale or transfer: the DVLA's confirmation, a bill of sale or the finance company's letter.
For cloned plates: photos of your vehicle from all sides, proof of where it was, and the police reference.
For an exempt or compliant vehicle: your registration confirmation, or a certificate of conformity from the manufacturer.
Dated screenshots of any vehicle checker or account page you relied on.

What to write

Keep it short and factual: what happened, which ground it fits, and what the evidence shows, one point per paragraph. Quote only decisions you have read. London's road charging adjudicators report growing use of AI in appeals, and long, legalistic representations that cite irrelevant cases; they limit further written representations to three A4 pages (Practice Direction 1).

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

The vehicle in the PCN photos is not mine. My [car] has [a dealer's name on the number plate and a dent in the bonnet], which the vehicle in the photos does not, as my photos show. At [time] on [date] it was at [place], as [my tracker record] shows, and I have reported the cloning to the police (reference [number]). No penalty charge is payable.

I sold the vehicle on [date] to [name and address] and told the DVLA the same day, as the attached [confirmation] shows. I had ceased to be the person liable before [date of the journey].

Before driving into the zone on [date] I checked TfL's vehicle checker, which said no charge was due for my vehicle, as my dated screenshot shows. I relied on that information.

I made representations on [date] and received no Notice of Rejection within 56 days, so the authority is treated as having accepted them (regulation 8(10) of the Road User Charging Schemes (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013).

Next steps and your chances

Challenge first. Make representations to whoever sent the PCN within 28 days of it being served; the authority can ignore later ones. If it rejects them, appeal within 28 days of the Notice of Rejection: to the Road User Charging Adjudicators for a TfL penalty, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the others.
If you do nothing. After 28 days a charge certificate raises the penalty by half, for example from £180 to £270. Fourteen days later the authority can register the debt at the county court, which adds a fee, and later send enforcement agents (bailiffs).
Your chances. In 2025-26 London's Road User Charging Adjudicators received 22,420 appeals and allowed 38.5% of those they decided, most of them because TfL did not contest the appeal (30.2% of all those decided). Where TfL defended its decision, about 1 in 8 appeals succeeded (annual report 2025-26). At the Traffic Penalty Tribunal in 2025-26, 1,681 clean air zone appeals were allowed, 1,337 of them uncontested, and 1,856 refused (annual report 2025-26). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions quoted by number are on London Tribunals' register of appeals, where you can search by case reference, and Morris and Kleiber are on its key cases page. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal's decisions are on its Traff-iCase site, and the court judgments on Find Case Law.

How to fight a dropped kerb or pavement parking penalty

2026-10-25T10:04:00Z

A penalty for parking next to a dropped kerb (contravention code 27), on a part of the road raised to the level of the pavement (code 28), on the pavement (code 62) or for double parking (code 26) is usually fixed to your vehicle by a civil enforcement officer. Each is a higher level civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. The rules are on parking next to a dropped kerb and parking on kerbs and pavements, and the amounts on PCN fine amounts. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

Dropped kerbs. Under section 86 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 you must not park on the road next to a pavement, cycle track or verge lowered to the level of the road to help pedestrians cross, cyclists on or off the road or vehicles across the pavement, or where the road has been raised to the level of the pavement for those purposes. It applies wherever the council has a special enforcement area, which includes all of London, and needs no traffic order. The exceptions include a marked bay, parking outside a home by or with the consent of its occupier, and some loading: parking next to a dropped kerb lists them all.
Double parking. Section 85 bans parking in the same areas with no part of your vehicle within 50 cm of the edge of the road. The same exceptions apply, except the one for homes. Under both rules, stopping only to let people in or out, or because something beyond your control stops you, is not parking.
Pavements in London. Section 15 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 bans parking with one or more wheels on or over the pavement, a verge or any other part of the road that is not the carriageway, unless signs show that it is allowed there. There are a few narrow defences, such as a police officer's permission.
Pavements elsewhere in England. There is no general ban. A council can give you a penalty only under yellow lines or other waiting restrictions, which cover the pavement and verge too (the PCN is then usually code 01 or 02); where a traffic order bans pavement parking and signs show it; or in Exeter and Essex, under local laws. Lorries over 7.5 tonnes must not park on a pavement or verge anywhere (code 61).
Not yet in force. The government plans to let councils in England outside London penalise parking that unnecessarily obstructs the pavement, and later to ban pavement parking across whole areas. Neither power was in force on 25 October 2026.
Wales has the same dropped kerb and double parking rules as England. For pavements it is like England outside London: no general ban, and no new power yet.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove the contravention; you do not have to disprove it. At a dropped kerb it must show that your vehicle was parked on the road next to a kerb lowered, or a road raised, for one of the three purposes. A car parked entirely on the pavement is not on the road (Chergui v Waltham Forest, 2006, under the similar London law that section 86 replaced), though in London that is pavement parking instead. For double parking, the council must show that no part of your vehicle was within 50 cm of the edge of the road. For pavement parking in London, that a wheel was on or over the pavement or verge; elsewhere, that a restriction covering the pavement applied and was properly signed.

If you say the place was private land, the council must prove that it is part of the road (R (Pereira) v Environment and Traffic Adjudicators, 2020). But if you rely on an exception, such as the occupier's consent, it is for you to show that it applied (Mr A v Brighton and Hove City Council, 2026).

Arguments that have won

It was outside your home, or the occupier agreed

The occupier of a home, or anyone with their consent, may park across its dropped kerb, as long as the consent was not paid for and the driveway is not shared (section 86(3)). Send a bill showing that you live there, or a short signed letter from the occupier. In Wales, government guidance says councils should act against a vehicle parked outside a home only if the occupier asks them to.

You were letting someone in or out

At a dropped kerb or when double parked, stopping only for as long as it takes someone to get in or out is not parking. In Wanambwa v Southwark (2003), a London case about a loading ban, a driver who got her husband's wheelchair out of the car, took him into a bank and came back shortly afterwards was letting a passenger out, and the appeal was allowed. Waiting for a passenger who has not arrived does not count (Mr A v Brighton and Hove City Council, 2026).

In London, no wheel was on the pavement

The London ban is about wheels. In Wolman v Islington (2007) the Court of Appeal said it is hard to call a vehicle with all its wheels on the road, and only part of its body over the pavement, parked on the pavement. If the officer's photos show all your tyres on the road, say so. The same case decided that a motorcycle on its stand on the pavement is parked on it, even with its wheels off the ground.

The land was not part of the road

The London ban, and yellow lines, cover only land that is part of the road: a highway, or a road the public has access to. In R (Pereira) (2020) the High Court cancelled a penalty for a car on its owners' own strip of pavement, where they had parked on about 200 days a year for 13 years. The council had not proved that the strip was a highway, and the public had no access to it while they parked there. Owning the land is not enough on its own: see the arguments that usually fail.

Outside London, the pavement ban was not signed

Outside London a ban on pavement parking needs a traffic order, and signs that tell drivers about it. In Burnett v Buckinghamshire County Council (1998) the council relied on an order banning parking on footways in High Wycombe, but there were no signs, and the appeal was allowed.

Other points to check

How you got the PCN. In England the officer must fix the PCN to your vehicle or hand it to you. The council can post it only if someone prevented that, or you drove away after the officer had started preparing it: just watching the car does not count, and a camera alone is not enough. If none of this happened, say so. In Wales, councils may also use cameras for these contraventions.
What the kerb is for. The adjudicator decides this from what is there: in Mrs H v Borough of Broxbourne (2024) a block-paved section of road raised to the level of the pavement was a pedestrian crossing point. If a low kerb serves none of the three purposes, show it with photos.
Signs in Wales. Welsh Government guidance says the dropped kerb ban must be shown with signs or road markings. It is guidance, not law, but if there were none, say so and ask the council to cancel.
Late notices. A Notice to Owner cannot be sent more than 6 months after the PCN, and a posted PCN must usually be served within 28 days: see appealing against a PCN.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.

Arguments that usually fail

"There were no signs or lines." None are needed at a dropped kerb in England (Mrs H v Borough of Broxbourne, 2024). London's pavement ban needs signs only where pavement parking is allowed.
"It's my own land." Not if the public walk over it: the courts upheld a penalty for a scooter on its owner's own piece of a central London pavement (R (Dawood) v Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, 2009), and yellow lines applied to a strip of footway behind a boundary line that nothing stopped the public using (Mr B v Sheffield City Council, 2023).
"I stayed in the car." Waiting is parking, even with the driver inside (Mr M v Slough Borough Council, 2024).
"There's nowhere else to park," or "I've always parked there." A driver who had parked on the pavement at the same corner for years, next to double yellow lines, lost: there is no right to park outside your home (Mr B v Rochdale Borough Council, 2023).
"I parked on the pavement to keep the road clear while loading." In London the loading must be something that could not be done properly from the road, and the vehicle must never be left unattended (Norrell v Westminster, 1999).
"I thought the sign allowed pavement parking." A London driver who parked just outside the signed stretch where it was allowed lost, although he acted in good faith (Davies v Enfield, 2007).
"I have a Blue Badge." Badge holders are not exempt: the government's Blue Badge guidance for England lists lowered kerbs and pavements among the places not to park.

Evidence to gather

The officer's photos and notes. Ask for them if they were not sent: they show where your wheels were.
Photos of the place, taken safely: the whole kerb and what it leads to, such as a driveway or crossing point; any signs or bay markings, and where they start and end; for double parking, a tape measure from the kerb.
Proof of an exception: a bill showing your address, a signed letter from the occupier, a delivery note, or an account of who you were dropping off.
Proof about the land, if you say it is not part of the road: the title plan, and photos of any posts or chains.
The PCN, and any Notice to Owner, with the dates they arrived.

What to write

Keep it short and factual: what happened, which ground it fits, and what the evidence shows, one point per paragraph. Quote only decisions you have read: London's adjudicators have seen appeals citing cases that do not exist, invented by AI tools.

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

I live at [address] and parked across the dropped kerb to my own driveway, which is not shared, as the attached [council tax bill] shows. Section 86(3) of the Traffic Management Act 2004 allows the occupier to park there, so the contravention did not occur.

I stopped at [time] only to help my passenger, who uses a wheelchair, out of the car and into [place], and I came straight back. Stopping to let someone get out is not parking (section 86(8)(b) of the Traffic Management Act 2004; Wanambwa v London Borough of Southwark, 2003).

The officer's photos show all four of my wheels on the road, with only the [front of the car] over the pavement. No wheel was on or over the pavement, so the contravention did not occur (Wolman v London Borough of Islington [2007] EWCA Civ 823).

There are no signs on [street] showing that parking on the pavement is banned, as my photos show. A ban made by traffic order must be signed, so the contravention did not occur (Burnett v Buckinghamshire County Council, 1998).

Next steps and your chances

Challenge the council, then appeal within 28 days if it rejects your formal representations: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. For a PCN fixed to your vehicle, an informal challenge within 14 days may keep the discount open. Appealing against a PCN explains each stage and time limit.
The grounds are the same for parking PCNs everywhere, including London. Most of the arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur"; you can also argue procedural impropriety, and ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons. An adjudicator who refuses your appeal can still recommend that the council cancels the penalty. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 49% of the parking appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The tribunal decisions and court judgments quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a Blue Badge or disabled bay penalty

2026-10-25T10:03:00Z

Two kinds of penalty are covered here: a Blue Badge holder's, usually on yellow lines (contravention code 01, or 02 where loading is banned), when the badge or clock was not displayed properly, the time ran out or the concession did not apply; and anyone's for parking in a disabled bay without displaying a valid badge (code 40 on the street, or 87 in a council car park). Both are civil penalties: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. Where badge holders can park is on Blue Badge parking, and the amounts on PCN fine amounts. Arguments about loading and yellow lines in general are in how to fight a yellow line or loading penalty. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

Councils must give badge holders exemptions in their traffic orders, under the England regulations and the Wales regulations of 2000. The exemptions apply only to a vehicle displaying a valid badge in the right way.

Yellow lines: up to 3 hours, with the blue clock set to the quarter hour in which you arrived, and not within an hour of an earlier stay in the same road that day (regulation 8). There is no exemption where loading is banned, unless the council has chosen to give one.
On-street meters, pay and display and time limits: free, and with no time limit, unless the signs set one for badge holders too (regulations 7 and 9).
Disabled bays: only for vehicles displaying a valid badge, and the clock as well if the bay has a time limit.
Displaying the badge: on the dashboard, front side up, so that it can be read clearly through the windscreen (regulation 12 of the badge regulations). The clock goes on the dashboard too.
A valid badge is one that has not expired or been cancelled. It may be used only when the holder is travelling in the vehicle, or is being dropped off or picked up where it is parked.
Central London. The national exemptions do not apply in the City of London, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea or part of Camden (regulation 5 of the England regulations), so a badge does not let you park on yellow lines there. These areas, and Transport for London's red routes, have their own rules: see Blue Badge parking.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove the contravention: that your vehicle was parked where and when the restriction applied and, in a disabled bay, that no valid badge was displayed in the way the law requires. It does not have to prove that you meant to break the rule (Miss H v St Helens Council, 2024). The officer's photos are the key evidence, so ask for them: they should show the dashboard and, if displayed, the badge and clock.

If you rely on the badge holder's exemption on yellow lines, you need to show that it applied: that the badge and clock were on display and your time had not run out.

Arguments that have won

You set the clock to the right quarter hour

The clock has to show the quarter hour in which you arrived, not the exact time. In Behal v Redbridge (2009) a driver who arrived just after 9am set the clock's pointer at 9.15, and got a PCN at 9.04 for setting the clock ahead. The adjudicator held that the clock showed the quarter hour from 9 to 9.15, that the 3 hours run from the end of that quarter hour, and allowed the appeal. Set the pointer between the quarter-hour marks, not on one.

The restriction lasted 3 hours or less

Where a yellow line restriction lasts no more than 3 hours, such as 11am to 12 noon, the regulations exempt a vehicle displaying a badge for the whole of it. The clock and the one-hour rule are conditions only for longer restrictions (regulation 8(3) and (4) of the England and Wales regulations). Display the clock anyway: it avoids an argument.

There was no charge or time limit for you

Outside central London, a PCN for not paying at an on-street meter or pay and display, or for staying longer than other drivers may, should not be issued while your badge is correctly displayed, unless the signs set a limit for badge holders too (regulations 7 and 9). In a disabled bay with no time limit you do not need the clock. In Wales the law is the same, but the Welsh Government warns that some councils do not give badge holders free parking at meters, so check the signs.

You were dropping off or picking up a disabled person

You may stop for as long as a passenger needs to get in or out, even where loading is banned. In Wanambwa v Southwark (2003) a driver stopped where loading was banned, took her husband's wheelchair out of the car, took him into a bank and returned within a short time. The adjudicator held that this was a passenger getting out, not unloading, and allowed the appeal. The badge can also be used to park where you are dropping off or collecting the holder, even if they are not in the car when the officer arrives.

Other points to check

Was the badge valid? An expired, cancelled or replaced badge is not valid, and one too faded to read can get you a penalty. On code 01, the letter z after the code means the officer thought the badge was out of date, and y that it was obscured or illegible.
The one-hour rule. If the council says you came back to the same road within an hour of an earlier stay, ask for its evidence.
Was it a legal disabled bay? Advisory bays painted without a traffic order cannot be enforced: see parking bays for specific users. Ask the council for the order if you are not sure.
Car parks. Council car parks set their own rules for badge holders, shown on their signs. A charge in a private car park is not a council penalty: see appealing a private parking charge.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.

Arguments that usually fail

"My badge was there, it had just fallen down." It must be clearly displayed when the officer looks (Miss H v St Helens Council, 2024). Ask the council to cancel instead, sending a copy of the badge.
"I have a Blue Badge," where loading is banned. The exemption does not apply there, and worn or faded kerb marks were still enough in Mr H v Nottingham City Council (2024) and Mr H v Torbay Council (2023).
"I have a Blue Badge," in a permit bay, such as a residents' or business bay, unless the signs allow badge holders (Ferry v Islington, 2025, a business bay).
"I was only loading," in a disabled bay without a badge. There is no loading exemption there (Mrs K v Gateshead Council, 2023).
"The officer didn't wait." There is no right to a few minutes before a PCN is issued (Mr H v Nottingham City Council, 2024).
"It was urgent." An urgent need that is not an emergency is mitigation, which only the council can take into account (Miss H v Swale Borough Council, 2023, a driver with a stinging eye).
"I'm disabled and there was nowhere else to park." The adjudicator cannot cancel a penalty for that (R (Westminster) v The Parking Adjudicator, 2002), but the council can.
"It's my relative's badge." Using a badge when the holder is not part of the journey is a criminal offence, and a penalty can follow as well.

Evidence to gather

The officer's photos and notes. Ask the council if it has not sent them.
A copy of the badge, showing it was valid on the day, and a photo of how you display it and the clock.
Photos of the signs, kerb marks and bay markings, taken safely, including the times on the signs.
A statement from the badge holder, or an appointment letter, if you were dropping them off or collecting them.
The PCN, and the dates any notices arrived.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

I arrived at [9.05am] and set my clock to [9.15], the end of the quarter hour in which I arrived, as the officer's photo shows. The 3 hours run from the end of that quarter hour, so the PCN issued at [time] was within my exempt time (Behal v London Borough of Redbridge, 2009).

The single yellow line in [road] applies only from [11am to 12 noon], and my valid Blue Badge was displayed. Under regulation 8(3) of the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000, my vehicle was exempt for the whole of that period.

I stopped only to help my [mother], a Blue Badge holder who uses a wheelchair, out of the car and into [the surgery], and moved the car as soon as I came back. That is a passenger getting out, which is allowed even where loading is banned (Wanambwa v London Borough of Southwark, 2003).

My [mother]'s Blue Badge (copy attached) was valid and on the dashboard when we left the car, but it fell into the footwell. She was with me throughout. I ask the council to cancel the penalty for this reason.

Next steps and your chances

Challenge the council, informally within 14 days for a PCN fixed to your vehicle, then by formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, or of a PCN sent by post. Appeal within 28 days if the council rejects them: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Appealing against a PCN explains each step and the discount.
The grounds for parking PCNs are the same everywhere, London included. Most arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur". You can also ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons, and an adjudicator who refuses your appeal can recommend that it does. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 49% of the parking appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions and the High Court judgment quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's on its Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a permit or suspended bay penalty

2026-10-25T10:02:00Z

A penalty for parking in a residents' or permit bay without a valid permit (contravention codes 12, 16 and 19), or in a suspended bay (code 21), is usually fixed to your vehicle by a civil enforcement officer; car parks have codes of their own. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. The rules for permit bays are on parking bays for specific users, and the codes and amounts on contravention codes and PCN fine amounts. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

A residents' or permit bay is for holders of a valid permit for that zone, at the times on its sign; a shared use bay is also open to anyone who pays. Outside those times the bay may be open to everyone. The Highway Code says you must not park in a space reserved for others unless you are entitled to (rule 241).

Virtual and visitor permits. Many councils link permits to a registration, so there is nothing to display: the officer checks the registration. A permit, including a visitor permit set up online or by app, must be for that vehicle, zone and time.
Paper permits must be displayed so that they can be read through the windscreen, for as long as you are parked.
Permit parking areas. Signs at each way in say that parking is for permit holders, and the streets inside may have no bays or signs.
Suspensions. A council can suspend a bay under its traffic order, for example for works or a removal. While the suspension is signed, a permit does not let you park there, and it can apply even outside the bay's usual hours if the order allows it and the signs show it (Thorpe v Croydon, 1998).

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove the contravention; you do not have to disprove it. For a permit bay, that means the bay was for permit holders at that time and no valid permit was displayed or, for a virtual permit, recorded for your vehicle and that zone. The evidence is the officer's notes and photos and the council's permit records. A letter after the code can show what the officer thought was wrong: w for the wrong zone, x for the wrong registration, y for a permit that could not be read and z for one out of date (councils outside London need not use these letters).

For a suspended bay, the council has to show that the bay was suspended under the traffic order, and that, looking with reasonable care, you could have seen the suspension from where you parked (Barker Main and others v Kensington and Chelsea, 1995). Government guidance to councils in England, and the Welsh Government's guidance, say suspended bays should be clearly signed, so that drivers can easily see whether and when they may park.

Arguments that have won

The suspension was not clearly signed where you parked

In Barker Main (1995) an adjudicator decided 13 appeals about suspended residents' bays. He held that one sign for a stretch of bays, the minimum the traffic order required, was not always enough: appeals were allowed where the only sign was about 40 yards or 50 metres from the car, or the council could not say how far away it was. In two appeals decided with Burrows v Wandsworth (2000), about a ban on waiting for the London Marathon, a notice wrapped tightly round a post, which looked like a planning notice, was neither displayed nor in a prominent place as the law required, and both appeals were allowed.

Too little notice

Neither government's guidance sets a notice period for suspending a bay, and the Traffic Signs Manual says only that the signs should go up in advance. In Burrows v Wandsworth (2000), about a London council's power to ban waiting for a special event, 2 or 3 days' notice of a well-known annual race was "decidedly inadequate": it should have been weeks, so that residents away on holiday could find out. But in Barker Main (1995) notices put up 4 or 5 days ahead were enough, even for drivers who were away. Check what notice the council's own policy promises.

Your permit was valid

Codes 12 and 16 apply only where there was no valid permit: a paper one clearly displayed, or a virtual one for that vehicle and zone. If you had one, the contravention did not occur. Send the permit, a photo of it in place, or the council's confirmation of the virtual or visitor permit.

The signs did not tell you

The signs must give adequate information about the restriction. For a controlled parking zone, the Court of Appeal held that what matters is whether the signs, taken as a whole, told the driver about the restriction where they parked; faults elsewhere do not count, and signs need only comply with the regulations in substance, as long as they do not mislead (R (Herron) v Parking Adjudicator, 2011). If you came into a permit parking area by a road with no entry sign, or the bay's own sign was missing, hidden or wrong, say so and send photos.

Other points to check

A non-standard suspension sign. In Campbell v Camden (2010) an appeal was allowed because the traffic order required a sign prescribed or authorised under the law, and the council's notice used wording the regulations did not allow. The 2016 regulations now include a sign for a suspended parking place (Schedule 13, Part 6). Since Herron (2011) adjudicators may be less strict, so this depends on the words of the order: ask for a copy.
Exemptions. A traffic order can let some vehicles use a suspended bay, such as a removal van or the vehicles for the works, or give residents another bay while theirs is suspended. Check the notice, and ask for the order.
A written assurance. If the council told you in writing that you could park there, for example while it dealt with your permit, send the letter: an adjudicator has said it would be improper and unfair for a council to go back on one (Beatt v Wandsworth, 1996).
Time that had only just run out. In England the 10-minute grace period applies in any parking place made by a traffic order, to time that was paid for or free under the order. So it covers paid time in a shared use bay that had just ended, and may also cover visitor time. Wales has none in law.
A late Notice to Owner. If the penalty is not paid, the council must send the Notice to Owner within 6 months of the PCN. If yours came later, say so.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration, contravention code and any letter after it.

Arguments that usually fail

"I parked before the suspension notices went up." If the council gave reasonable notice, it does not matter that you did not see it, even if you were away: in Barker Main (1995), drivers who had left their cars for several days lost.
"There was no permit sign in my street." In a permit parking area the entry signs can be enough: in Mr C v Cheshire West and Chester Council (2022), signs at the only way in to a small group of streets were adequate, with none in the street itself.
"Nobody was working there, and other cars were parked too." A suspension applies while it is signed, whether or not work is going on, and other drivers' parking is no defence (Barker Main, 1995).
"It is a new scheme and nobody told me." Once the council has advertised the new traffic order as the rules require, it applies even if you did not know about it (Owens v Hammersmith and Fulham, 2000).
"I live here and there was nowhere else to park." There is no right to park outside your home, and a lack of spaces does not allow you to break a restriction (Ms C v Derbyshire County Council, 2023; Mr B v Rochdale Borough Council, 2023).
"A warden said I could park there," or "they never used to enforce it." An officer cannot give you permission, and a past failure to enforce does not stop a council enforcing now (Beatt v Wandsworth, 1996; Mr B v Rochdale, 2023).
"My permit had slipped out of view," or "it had only just expired." A permit must be valid and, on paper, readable from outside: a Blue Badge that slid into the footwell was not displayed (Miss H v St Helens Council, 2024). If the council caused the expiry, for example by not processing a renewal, send the evidence and ask it to cancel.
"I set up my visitor's permit for the wrong car." A permit must be for the vehicle that is parked; the letter x on a PCN means a wrong registration. A Scottish tribunal took the same view of an app payment with one wrong digit (Fife Council v Mrs M, 2024). Ask the council to cancel, with the permit record.

Evidence to gather

Your permit: the paper permit, or the council's confirmation of a virtual or visitor permit, showing the registration, zone and times.
The council's evidence. Ask for the officer's photos and notes and, for a suspension, the record of when and where the notices were put up.
Photos of the signs, taken safely: the bay's sign, the entry signs on the road you came in by and, for a suspension, every notice, photographed from where you parked, with the distance to it.
Proof of when you parked, if the suspension notices went up afterwards, such as a dated receipt or a witness statement.
Letters or emails from the council about your permit or the bays.
The PCN, and the date it was issued.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

The only suspension notice was about [distance] from where I parked, outside [address], and could not be seen from my car, as my photos show. The suspension was not adequately signed, so the contravention did not occur (Barker Main and others v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 1995).

I had a valid [virtual / visitor] permit for [registration] in zone [zone] from [date and time] to [date and time], as the council's attached confirmation shows, so the contravention did not occur.

The suspension notices went up on [date], only [one day] before the suspension began, and I had parked on [date], before they appeared, as [evidence] shows. That was not reasonable notice (Burrows v London Borough of Wandsworth, 2000).

I came into the zone from [road], which has no entry sign, and there is no permit sign in [street], as my photos show. The signs did not give adequate information about the restriction, so the contravention did not occur.

Next steps and your chances

Challenge it with the council first. For a PCN fixed to your vehicle, write within 14 days if you can, while many councils keep the discount open. If the council says no, make formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, then appeal within 28 days of a rejection: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Appealing against a PCN explains the discount and every time limit.
The grounds. Parking PCNs have the same legal grounds everywhere, London included. Most of the arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur", and a council that broke the rules under "procedural impropriety". You can also ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons, and an adjudicator who refuses your appeal can recommend that it does. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 49% of the parking appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's, with the Scottish one, on its Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a pay and display or parking app penalty

2026-10-25T10:01:00Z

A penalty in a pay and display bay or car park, or where you pay by phone or app, is usually fixed to your vehicle by a civil enforcement officer. The usual ones are for overstaying your paid-for time (contravention code 05), not displaying a valid ticket (code 06) and not paying, for example by app (code 11); car parks, meter feeding and returning too soon have codes of their own. They are lower level penalties, except code 06 in Wales. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. The rules are on pay and display bays, and the codes and amounts on contravention codes and PCN fine amounts. For a private car park's Parking Charge Notice, see appealing a private parking charge; for other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

You may park for the time you have paid for, up to the maximum stay, on the days and at the hours shown on the signs and the machine. The details are set by the council's traffic order for the bays, so they vary.

A paper ticket must usually be displayed so that it can be read from outside, for the whole time you are parked.
Paying by phone or app. Nothing is displayed: the officer checks the payments for that location against your registration, so the location code and registration must be right. Adjudicators have treated a valid app payment as a displayed ticket (Mr B v Calderdale Borough Council, 2025).
The grace period. In England no penalty may be imposed if you stay 10 minutes or less beyond your paid-for or free time, in the street or in a council car park (regulation 5 of England's 2022 civil enforcement regulations). It does not help if you never paid. Wales has no grace period in law, although Welsh councils can choose to allow one.
Meter feeding and no return. Where the traffic order bans it, buying more time to stay on is a contravention even within the maximum stay, and where the signs give a no-return time you must not park in the same bays again until it has passed. See meter feeding and re-parking in the same bays.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove the contravention; you do not have to disprove it. It relies on the officer's notes and photos of your vehicle, the signs and the machine and, for app payments, the officer's check for a payment for that location and registration. Government guidance to councils in England recommends that a PCN gives the times the officer started and stopped watching your vehicle.

Overstaying. The PCN must come after your paid time and the 10-minute grace period have both run out. An officer may watch your vehicle during the grace period but cannot issue the PCN until it has ended (Mr B v Calderdale, 2025).
Meter feeding or returning too soon. The council has to show that your vehicle stayed put while you paid again, or came back too soon. Officers note the times and the positions of the tyre valves, and app records show when each stay began.

Arguments that have won

You were inside the grace period

In England, compare the time your paid or free time ran out, on your ticket or app receipt, with the time on the PCN. If the PCN was issued 10 minutes or less after it, no penalty may be imposed. Government guidance tells councils that a penalty in those 10 minutes is unlawful, unless you were parked unlawfully anyway, for example because you never paid.

The machine was out of order

Government guidance tells councils in England not to issue a PCN when a meter or pay and display machine is out of order, unless another way to pay was available and clearly shown, such as another machine or paying by phone. Councils must have regard to that guidance. The Welsh Government's guidance leaves a broken machine to each council's officers to judge, for example where another machine was close by.

The traffic order matters too. In Jabri v Kensington and Chelsea (1997) a meter broke after the driver had paid and left; the order banned parking at an out-of-order meter only for someone who knew, so there was no contravention. But in Carless v Corporation of London (1997) the driver saw the meter break as he paid and left his car there anyway, and lost.

You were on your way to pay

There is no contravention while you take a reasonable time to walk to the machine, pay and display the ticket (Mayor v Camden, 1997). Where vouchers are sold in shops, that includes time to buy one: in Callaghan v Waltham Forest (2005) a driver who spent about 3 minutes in a shop getting a voucher won, and the adjudicator said the council could not expect drivers to keep vouchers in the car. It does not cover looking for change (see below).

The council's arrangements made it impossible to comply

In Williams v Hounslow (2009) the traffic order said tickets had to be fixed to the windscreen, but the machines issued tickets that did not stick and said "Display on dashboard". The ticket slid down and was partly hidden. The adjudicator held that a council must let drivers comply with its own order, and allowed the appeal. If the machine, ticket or app told you something different, ask for the traffic order.

Other points to check

A payment the officer did not see. If your receipt shows a valid session for the right location and registration when the PCN was issued, send it: the contravention did not occur.
Meter feeding and returning too soon. The parking place is usually the whole run of bays under the same restriction, so moving to the next bay is not leaving. If the officer's notes show the tyre valves in different positions, your vehicle had moved.
A late Notice to Owner. If the penalty is not paid, the council must send the Notice to Owner within 6 months of the PCN. If yours came later, say so.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.

Arguments that usually fail

"I had paid, but the ticket fell over." The ticket must be on display for the whole stay: one that fell face down still meant a contravention in Carr v Corporation of London (1997), as did a valid ticket that could not be seen in Mr S v West Northamptonshire Council (2022). Send the ticket anyway and ask the council to cancel: it has discretion to, and an adjudicator can only recommend it.
"I entered the wrong location code." It is your job to enter the right details, and an adjudicator cannot cancel for a genuine mistake (Miss R v Manchester City Council, 2023). Ask the council to cancel, with your receipt.
"I typed my registration wrongly." A Scottish tribunal held that paying for a registration with one wrong digit did not pay for the car that was parked (Fife Council v Mrs M, 2024). Its decisions do not bind adjudicators in England and Wales, but the Traffic Penalty Tribunal lists this one as persuasive. Ask the council to cancel.
"I went to get change." The time to pay does not include looking for change, even for 3 minutes in a shop, and leaving a car park to get change is a contravention (Mayor v Camden, 1997, decided with three similar appeals).
"The officer didn't wait." Apart from the grace period, there is no right to a set time before a PCN is issued (Mrs K v Gateshead Council, 2023).
"I paid by app, so there was no ticket to display." A virtual payment counts as a displayed ticket, and for an app session that had run out the council could use either code 05 or code 06 (Mr B v Calderdale, 2025).

Evidence to gather

Your ticket, or the app or phone receipt, showing the location code, registration and times.
The council's evidence. Ask for the officer's photos and notes if they were not sent, including when the officer first saw your vehicle.
Photos of the machine and signs, taken safely: the machine's screen or out-of-order notice, the charging hours and maximum stay, and any other machine or pay-by-phone sign nearby, or the lack of one.
Proof of a fault, such as a screenshot of an app error, a fault report or a witness statement.
Records of where you went, if you left and came back, such as an app session elsewhere or a receipt with the time on it.
The PCN, and the date it was issued.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

My paid time ended at [time], as my [ticket / app receipt] shows, and the PCN was issued at [time], [number] minutes later. No penalty may be imposed within 10 minutes of paid time ending (regulation 5 of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022).

The machine at [place] was out of order when I parked at [time], as my photos show, and there was no other machine or pay-by-phone sign nearby. Government guidance says no PCN should be issued in these circumstances.

I bought a ticket at [time], valid until [time] (attached), and displayed it, but it [fell face down] before the officer arrived. I ask the council to cancel the penalty.

I paid by app at [time] for [length of stay] but entered [the wrong registration / location code] by mistake, as the attached receipt shows. I had paid to park here, and I ask the council to cancel the penalty.

Next steps and your chances

Challenge it with the council first. For a PCN fixed to your vehicle, write within 14 days if you can, while many councils keep the discount open. If the council says no, make formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, then appeal within 28 days of a rejection: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Appealing against a PCN explains the discount and every time limit.
The grounds. Parking PCNs have the same legal grounds everywhere, London included. Most of the arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur", and a council that broke the rules under "procedural impropriety". You can also ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons, and an adjudicator who refuses your appeal can recommend that it does. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 49% of the parking appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's, with the Scottish one, on its Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a yellow line or loading penalty

2026-10-25T10:00:00Z

A penalty for parking on yellow lines (contravention code 01), on yellow lines where loading is also banned (code 02), or in a loading bay without loading (code 25, or 70 in a council car park) is usually fixed to your vehicle by a civil enforcement officer. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. What the lines mean is on double yellow lines and single yellow lines, and the amounts on PCN fine amounts. Blue Badge holders should also read how to fight a Blue Badge or disabled bay penalty. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

Yellow lines and kerb marks show a restriction made in a council traffic order, and may only be painted where an order puts one. Their meanings are in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, Schedule 7, Part 4.

Double yellow lines mean no waiting at any time, with or without a sign (Highway Code rule 238). A single yellow line means no waiting during the times on a nearby sign, or on the zone entry signs in a Controlled Parking Zone.
Yellow marks on the kerb ban loading too: two marks at any time, one mark during the times on the sign.
The whole side of the road is covered, from the middle of the road to the back of the pavement, including the verge.
The usual exemptions are in the traffic order, not on the signs: you may stop to load or unload, unless loading is banned, and to let passengers in or out, even where it is.
Loading bays are only for vehicles loading or unloading during the times shown, and some only for goods vehicles.
No grace period. The 10-minute grace period in England covers parking places, not yellow lines.

The rules are the same in London and Wales. Red routes, mostly in London, have their own rules.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove the contravention: that your vehicle was waiting where and when the restriction applied, and that the restriction was made by a traffic order and adequately signed. Its evidence is usually the officer's notes and photos, with the times the vehicle was seen.

If you say an exemption applied, such as loading or a passenger getting in, it is for you to show it (Mr A v Brighton and Hove City Council, 2026). Officers often watch for about 5 minutes where loading is allowed, but the law does not require it (Mrs W v Derbyshire County Council, 2022). The longer an officer saw no loading, the more you will need to explain (Bosworth and others v Tower Hamlets, 2016).

Arguments that have won

You were loading or unloading

Loading means moving goods that need a vehicle: something heavy or bulky, or goods delivered or collected in the course of business. In Bosworth and others v Tower Hamlets (2016) a panel of London adjudicators set out the rules, the same on yellow lines and in loading bays, and allowed the appeal of a builder who spent 10 to 15 minutes unloading materials for a café. The panel said:

couriers and delivery drivers on a round are covered, even for small parcels;
shopping is not loading, but bringing the car round afterwards for heavy goods you have chosen and paid for usually is;
paperwork, and carrying the goods to where they belong in the building, are part of loading;
what is too heavy to carry can depend on the person, for example their age or disability.

A passenger was getting in or out

You may stop for as long as a passenger needs to get in or out. In R (Makda) v The Parking Adjudicator (2010) the High Court held that this includes the time a driver needs to find a booked passenger, or to see that they are not there, and ordered that a minicab driver's appeals be allowed: he had stopped on double yellow lines for about a minute and a half. In Wanambwa v Southwark (2003) a driver took her husband's wheelchair out of the car, took him into a bank and returned within a short time. That was a passenger getting out, not unloading, so the appeal was allowed although loading was banned.

The lines or signs did not tell you clearly

The council must give adequate information about the restriction with its signs and markings (regulation 18 of the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996). They need not be perfect: in R (Herron) v The Parking Adjudicator (2011) the Court of Appeal asked whether, where you parked, they substantially complied with the regulations without misleading or failing to inform you, and gave a restriction with no sign showing its times as a failure to inform. The lines must also match the order: in Cooper v Richmond (2000) yellow lines painted between residents' parking spaces had no order behind them, so they were unlawful and left the bays inadequately signed, and the appeals were allowed. If you think the lines go beyond the restriction, ask the council for the order and its map.

Other points to check

A PCN by post because you drove away. This is allowed only if the officer had begun to prepare the PCN before you left: just watching you does not count. It must be served within 28 days, unless the council is waiting for the keeper's details from the DVLA.
A camera PCN. In England, including London, councils can enforce yellow lines by camera alone only where they are in a mandatory cycle lane. Wales has no such limit. See CCTV enforcement.
Gaps in the lines. A narrow gap does not help, but in Mr B v Rochdale Borough Council (2023) the adjudicator said larger breaks elsewhere in the road might make the restriction unenforceable there. Photograph the lines beside your vehicle.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code, and the time against the days and times on the nearest sign.

Arguments that usually fail

"I was only there for a few minutes." There is no grace period on yellow lines, and the officer does not have to wait before issuing a PCN (Mrs W v Derbyshire County Council, 2022).
"I stayed with the car." Waiting includes sitting in it (Schwarz v Camden, 2001; Mr M v Slough Borough Council, 2024, a driver taking a phone call).
"I was waiting for my passenger." If they are not there, drive on and come back (Mr A v Brighton and Hove City Council, 2026: over 3 minutes with nobody coming to the car).
"I was collecting something," or "I was there on business." Shopping, dropping off keys or delivering one small item is not loading (Bosworth, 2016), and nor is staying to talk business after a delivery (Mr G v Brighton and Hove City Council, 2026).
"I was loading," in a bay for goods vehicles only. Folding the seats down does not make a car a goods vehicle (Sager Construction v Hammersmith and Fulham, 2014; Mr I v Manchester City Council, 2023).
"The lines were faded," or "there was no loading sign." Lines and kerb marks need only be clear enough to tell you about the restriction, and two kerb marks need no sign (Mr H v Torbay Council, 2023; Mr B v Rochdale Borough Council, 2023).
"I ran out of petrol." That is not a breakdown but mitigation, which only the council can consider (Miss C v Surrey County Council, 2026).

Evidence to gather

The officer's photos and notes, with the times. Ask the council if it has not sent them.
Photos of the lines, kerb marks and signs, taken safely: beside your vehicle, any worn or missing parts, and the nearest sign.
Proof of loading: a delivery note, invoice or receipt with the time, and a note from the business. Generic letters, or papers whose times do not match, have failed (Bosworth, 2016).
Proof of a pick-up: the booking record, or a statement from the passenger.
The PCN, and the dates any notices arrived.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

From [time] to [time] I was unloading [building materials] for [business] at [address], as the attached delivery note shows. They were too heavy to carry far by hand, so the loading exemption applied (Bosworth and others v London Borough of Tower Hamlets, 2016).

I stopped at [time] to collect a passenger booked for [time], stayed only long enough to look for her and drove away at [time] when she did not appear, as the booking record shows. That time is covered by the exemption for passengers getting in or out (R (Makda) v The Parking Adjudicator [2010] EWHC 3392 (Admin)).

I stopped only to help my [husband], who uses a wheelchair, out of the car and into [place], and moved the car as soon as I came back. That is a passenger getting out, which is allowed even where loading is banned (Wanambwa v London Borough of Southwark, 2003).

There is no sign showing the times of the single yellow line in [road], which is not in a Controlled Parking Zone, as my photos show. The council did not give adequate information about the restriction, so the contravention did not occur.

Next steps and your chances

Challenge the council, informally within 14 days for a PCN fixed to your vehicle, then by formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, or of a PCN sent by post. Appeal within 28 days if the council rejects them: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Appealing against a PCN explains each step and the discount.
The grounds for parking PCNs are the same everywhere, London included. Most arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur", and a wrongly posted PCN under procedural impropriety. You can also ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons, and an adjudicator who refuses your appeal can recommend that it does. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 49% of the parking appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page, as is the High Court's judgment in Makda, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's on its Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a banned turn, no entry or School Street penalty

2026-10-25T09:01:00Z

These penalties come by post, usually with a link to the camera video, for not doing what a traffic sign says. The most common are a banned turn (contravention code 50), driving past a no entry sign (code 51), and driving where a "motor vehicles prohibited" sign bans you, as at most School Streets (code 52). The same arguments work for the other signs in this family, such as one-way streets and "ahead only" arrows. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. Which councils can issue these penalties, the full list of signs and the amounts are on moving traffic penalties. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

You must do what the sign says. Signs with red circles mostly tell you what you must not do, and signs with blue circles what you must do. A plate below the sign gives the times or the exceptions, such as "except buses" or "except for access".

School Streets close a road outside a school at the start and end of the school day, with "motor vehicles prohibited" or pedestrian zone signs showing the times. Residents and other permit holders are usually exempt.
Who enforces. London's boroughs and Transport for London, and councils elsewhere that have been given moving traffic powers. Everywhere else these signs are enforced only by the police.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove that your vehicle did not comply with the sign, using an approved camera, and that the restriction was adequately signed. Government guidance to councils in England outside London says signs should be readily understood from a moving vehicle, and that a trained officer must review the footage, and be satisfied that it clearly shows a contravention, before a PCN is issued.

Arguments that have won

The signs did not tell you clearly

The council must give drivers adequate information about a restriction. A sign that is missing, hidden by a tree or a parked vehicle, set back too far, or of the wrong type can mean the contravention did not happen. In R (Nottingham City Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator (2017) the High Court upheld adjudicators who cancelled a penalty because a street for buses only was marked with pedestrian zone signs.

It was not a turn

In Kennedy v Camden (2004) a driver at a no right turn sign drove straight across the junction, reversed into a side road and then drove on. The adjudicator held that a series of separate movements is not a "turn", and allowed the appeal. Be careful with this one: the adjudicator also said the manoeuvre broke the spirit of the ban and could be dangerous, and it could lead to other penalties.

The exception covered you

Read the plate under the sign. If it says "except for access" and you were going to or from a property in the restricted road, or a School Street permit covers your vehicle, say so and send the evidence: a delivery note, an appointment letter or the permit.

The PCN did not say what you did

In London a PCN must state the grounds on which the penalty is payable. In Metrick v Camden (2007) the PCN described the contravention only as failing to comply with "a prohibition on certain types of vehicle", without saying that the ban was on motor vehicles or showing the sign, and the appeal was allowed. A PCN that names the kind of vehicle banned, the place, the date and the time is enough (Haque and others v Ealing, 2016).

No warning letter at a new camera site

In England outside London a council should send a warning letter, not a PCN, for the first contravention at each camera site during the first 6 months of enforcement there. If this was your vehicle's first time there in that period, say so: the guidance expects councils to explain any departure from it, and an adjudicator may treat an unexplained one as a procedural impropriety. London has no such general rule. In Wales, councils are advised to send warning letters for about the first two weeks of camera enforcement.

Other points to check

A late PCN. Outside London the council must serve the PCN within 28 days of the contravention, or within 6 months if it asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within 14 days and did not get them in time. London Tribunals says a London PCN should normally arrive within 28 days.
Many drivers caught at the same place. That alone does not make the signs inadequate (Haque and others v Ealing, 2016), but government guidance tells councils outside London that persistent contraventions at one place should prompt them to review its layout and signs. It can support an argument about the signs.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.

Arguments that usually fail

"I followed my sat nav." The duty to follow the signs is yours (Miss F v South Tyneside Council, 2022).
"I'm not from here," or "I didn't know about the new restriction." The rules apply to every driver, and not knowing them is not a defence (Mr S v Cardiff County Council, 2024).
"Other adjudicators allowed appeals at this place." Decisions differ, and one adjudicator does not bind another. In Haque and others v Ealing (2016) adjudicators had disagreed about the signs for a timed ban on motor vehicles; when all the appeals were heard together, the signs were found adequate and every appeal was refused.
"The signs didn't say why the road was closed." Signs have to show the restriction, not the reason for it. Clearly visible signs that follow the regulations and government guidance will normally be adequate (R (Oxfordshire County Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator, 2010).

Evidence to gather

The council's video or photos. Watch from before you reach the sign, and note the times. The camera may not show the sign itself, so check what you could see as you approached it. In England outside London and in Wales the council must send you still images if you ask.
Photos of the signs, taken safely: from the driver's position as you approached, any advance warning signs, close-ups of the plates, and anything that hid a sign.
Your dashcam footage, if you have it.
Evidence of an exception: a permit, a delivery note or an appointment at an address in the road.
The PCN, and the date it arrived.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

The no right turn sign at [junction] was hidden by [tree branches] when I approached at [time], as my photos taken on [date] show. The council did not give adequate information about the restriction, so the contravention did not occur.

I did not turn right. As the council's video shows, I [drove across the junction, reversed into Y and then drove forward]. A series of separate movements is not a "turn" (Kennedy v London Borough of Camden, 2004).

The plate under the sign says "except for access", and I was delivering to [address] at [time], as the attached delivery note shows.

This was my vehicle's first contravention at this camera, which started enforcing on [date]. Under the government's statutory guidance the council should have sent a warning letter, not a PCN.

Next steps and your chances

Make representations to the council within 28 days of the PCN, then appeal within 28 days if it rejects them: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Moving traffic penalties explains the discount and each step.
In London a moving traffic PCN can only be challenged on five grounds. The arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur", and a late or missing PCN under "the penalty exceeded the amount". Outside London you can also argue procedural impropriety, and ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 40% of the moving traffic appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's on its Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a bus lane or bus gate penalty

2026-10-25T09:00:00Z

A penalty for driving in a bus lane (contravention code 34) or through a bus gate (code 33) comes by post, usually with a link to the camera video. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. The rules for bus lanes are on bus and cycle lanes, and the amounts on PCN fine amounts. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

A bus lane is a lane kept, at the times shown on its signs, for buses and any other vehicles the signs allow, such as cycles, taxis or motorcycles. A bus gate is a short stretch of road that only buses, and the vehicles shown on its round blue sign, may use. Each is created by a traffic order, and the council must put up signs and markings that give drivers adequate information about it.

The hours. Outside the times shown, anyone can use a bus lane. A lane with no times shown applies at all times.
Stopping. You may enter a bus lane to stop, load or unload where that is not banned (Highway Code rule 141), but many bus lanes also have waiting or loading restrictions.
Who may use it. Only the vehicles the signs show. A Blue Badge gives no right to use a bus lane during its hours.
Who enforces. In London, the boroughs and Transport for London. Elsewhere, councils that have been given bus lane enforcement powers, in England under the Traffic Management Act 2004 since 31 May 2022.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove that your vehicle was in the bus lane, or went through the bus gate, while the restriction applied, and that the restriction was adequately signed. The evidence must come from an approved camera. Government guidance to councils in England outside London says a trained officer must review the footage, and be satisfied that it clearly shows a contravention, before a PCN is issued.

Arguments that have won

The signs did not tell you clearly

The council must give adequate information about the restriction. In R (Nottingham City Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator (2017) a bus gate on Shakespeare Street was marked with pedestrian zone signs rather than the bus lane signs the government's Traffic Signs Manual calls for. Two adjudicators found the signs inadequate and cancelled the penalty, and the High Court dismissed the council's challenge. Photograph the signs and markings as you approached them, and say what was missing, hidden or misleading.

The camera was not approved

In Duthieuw v Ealing (2022) the approval certificate for a London bus lane camera had been issued under rules that do not apply in London. The adjudicator held that the camera's video could not be used, and allowed the appeal. If the council's evidence pack does not show that its camera is approved, ask.

You were not in it while it applied

Check the times on the signs against the time on the video. If the lane's hours had ended, or not yet begun, the contravention did not happen.

Your vehicle was allowed

If the signs allow your vehicle, such as a licensed taxi or a motorcycle, say so and send proof, such as your taxi licence.

Other points to check

London's two stages. In London a bus lane PCN asks you to pay within 28 days, and many councils will consider an informal challenge in that time. If it is not paid, the council sends an Enforcement Notice, and you then have 28 days to make formal representations. Don't miss that second deadline.
A layout that forced you in. Government guidance tells councils in England outside London to review places where drivers would have to break a restriction to avoid a safety or congestion problem, giving left turns where there is a bus lane as an example. If the layout left you no safe choice, show it with photos.
Making way for an emergency vehicle. If you moved into the lane only to let an ambulance, fire engine or police car through, say so and point to it in the video. It is not one of the legal grounds, but the council can still cancel the penalty for it.
A bus gate at a new camera site. In England outside London a council should send a warning letter, not a PCN, for the first contravention at a new camera site in its first 6 months. The rule covers moving traffic contraventions, such as a bus gate enforced under code 33, but not bus lanes under code 34.
A late PCN. Outside London the council must serve the PCN within 28 days of the contravention, or within 6 months if it asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within 14 days and did not get them in time.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.

Arguments that usually fail

"I followed my sat nav." The duty to follow the signs is yours (Miss F v South Tyneside Council, 2022).
"I'm not from here," or "I couldn't read the sign." The rules apply to every driver, whatever their knowledge or language (Mr S v Cardiff County Council, 2024).
"The lane's hours were nearly over." There is no such thing as a near miss: entering a few minutes before the end is not a defence (Mr D v Blackpool Borough Council, 2024).
"I drive a private hire car, and taxis are allowed." A private hire vehicle is not a taxi, so a sign allowing taxis does not include it (Mr K v Sheffield City Council, 2022).
"I have a Blue Badge." Badge holders have no exemption.
"The signs didn't say why the road was closed." Signs have to show the restriction, not the reason for it. Clearly visible signs that follow the regulations and government guidance will normally be adequate (R (Oxfordshire County Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator, 2010).
"Lots of drivers get caught there." That alone does not make the signs inadequate, although government guidance tells councils outside London that persistent contraventions at one place should prompt them to review its layout and signs.

Evidence to gather

The council's video or photos. Watch from before you reach the lane, and note the times. In England outside London and in Wales the council must send you still images if you ask.
Photos of the signs and markings, taken safely: from the driver's position as you approached, close up to show the times and the vehicles allowed, and any sign that was hidden or damaged.
Your dashcam footage, if you have it.
Proof that your vehicle was allowed, such as a taxi licence.
The PCN, the date it arrived and, in London, the Enforcement Notice.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

The entrance to [road] is marked only with [description of the signs], which do not show that it is a bus gate, as my photos show. The council did not give adequate information about the restriction, so the contravention did not occur (R (Nottingham City Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator [2017] EWHC 430 (Admin)).

The sign at [place] shows the bus lane operating until [time]. The council's video shows my vehicle in the lane at [time], after that, so the contravention did not occur.

My vehicle is a licensed taxi (licence [number], attached), and the signs allow taxis to use this lane.

I moved into the bus lane at [time] only to let [an ambulance] with its lights on pass, as the council's video shows. I ask the council to cancel the penalty for this reason.

Next steps and your chances

Outside London, make representations to the council within 28 days of the PCN, then appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days if it rejects them. You can argue any of the legal grounds, including procedural impropriety, and ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons.
In London, make representations within 28 days of the Enforcement Notice, then appeal to London Tribunals within 28 days of a Notice of Rejection. There are four grounds: you were not the owner; there was no contravention (which includes inadequate signs or an allowed vehicle); the vehicle was used without your consent; or the police are taking action against the driver for the same incident. You can still ask the council to cancel for other reasons, but the adjudicator can only consider those four.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 55% of the bus lane appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decision quoted here is on London Tribunals' key cases page, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's on its Traff-iCase site.

How to fight a yellow box junction penalty

2026-10-24T00:00:00Z

A penalty for stopping in a yellow box junction (contravention code 31) comes by post, usually with a link to the camera video. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. Which councils can issue these penalties, and how much they cost, is on moving traffic penalties. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.

The rule

The rule is in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, Schedule 9, Part 7, paragraph 11: you must not drive into a box junction so that you have to stop in it because of stationary vehicles.

It is about entering. The contravention happens when you drive in and then have to stop because of stationary vehicles. If you stop for another reason, for example because of a vehicle that is still moving, there is no contravention.
Part of your vehicle in the box counts.
Turning right. At a junction you may enter the box to turn right, and wait there while oncoming vehicles, or vehicles waiting to turn right, stop you from completing the turn.
Where a box can be. Only at a junction, at a gyratory or roundabout, along a two-way road no wider than 4.5 metres, or outside the vehicle entrance of a fire, police or ambulance station. The right-turn exception applies only to a box at a junction. On a narrow road you must not enter if oncoming traffic would make you stop.
Emergency vehicles being used for police, fire, ambulance and similar work are exempt when keeping to the rule would get in their way.

What the council has to prove

The council has to prove the contravention; you do not have to disprove it. In Des Banks v Hammersmith and Fulham (2014) the adjudicator said the council must show three things: that you drove into the box, that your vehicle then stopped in it, and that it stopped because of stationary vehicles. The video must show your vehicle entering the box, so that the adjudicator can see the traffic you faced (Place Invaders v Transport for London, 2004).

Government guidance to councils in England outside London says a trained officer must review the footage, and be satisfied that it clearly shows a contravention, before a PCN is issued. The officer must also know the right-turn exception.

Arguments that have won

The video does not show you entering

If the footage starts with your vehicle already in the box, or does not show the road beyond it, the council may not be able to prove what the traffic was like when you entered. That is why the appeal was allowed in Place Invaders v Transport for London (2004).

Your exit was clear, and something unexpected took it

If your exit was clear when you entered and something you could not have predicted then blocked it, such as a vehicle cutting across into your lane, there is no contravention. A panel of three London adjudicators decided this in Essoo v Enfield (2013). Government guidance to councils in England outside London says the same: the contravention can only arise from the traffic when you enter the box, not from anything unexpected that happens afterwards.

Not every adjudicator agrees. In Des Banks (2014) the adjudicator thought it was still a contravention in law, which the council should deal with by using its discretion not to enforce. Whether something was predictable is a question of fact in each case, so point to the moment in the video.

The box goes beyond the junction

A box junction can only be marked at the junction itself, or at one of the other places listed above. In Sam-Yorke v Camden (2009) part of the box covered road beyond the junction; the adjudicator found the marking unlawful and allowed the appeal. The 2016 rules use the same words, a box "at a junction between two or more roads". Photograph where the box runs past the junction, especially if your vehicle stopped in that part.

A full box at a T-junction

The government's Traffic Signs Manual (chapter 5) says half boxes are appropriate at T-junctions and other junctions where traffic queues back from one direction only. The manual is guidance, not law, but appeals have succeeded where the council could not explain why it marked a full box. In Mr S v Medway Council (2026) the driver relied on four earlier appeals that had succeeded on this point, but lost, because the council did explain its reasons.

You were turning right

If you entered to turn right and were held up only by oncoming traffic, or by vehicles waiting to turn right, the exception applies. Say so, and point to the oncoming traffic in the video. Whether you were blocking other traffic does not matter (Place Invaders, 2004).

Other points to check

No warning letter. In England outside London a council should send a warning letter, not a PCN, for the first contravention at each camera site during the first 6 months of enforcement there, including a long-established box when cameras start enforcing it. If this was your vehicle's first time there in that period, say so: the guidance expects councils to explain any departure from it, and an adjudicator may treat an unexplained one as a procedural impropriety. London has no such rule. In Wales, councils are advised to send warning letters for about the first two weeks of camera enforcement.
A late PCN. Outside London the council must serve the PCN within 28 days of the contravention, or within 6 months if it asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within 14 days and did not get them in time. London Tribunals says a London PCN should normally arrive within 28 days.
An exit you could not see. Government guidance tells councils in England outside London to review any "yellow box junction where the exit cannot be seen before entering it". If you could not see your exit, show it with photos taken from the driver's position.
Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.

Arguments that usually fail

"I only stopped for a few seconds." Any stop counts, however brief (Mr S v Medway Council, 2026). About 6 seconds was enough in Des Banks (2014). There is no grace period.
"I was following the car in front." If you follow a line of traffic into the box and it bunches up, that is your risk (Khan v Transport for London, 2013; Newman v Transport for London, 2008).
"Another lane was clear." What counts is the exit you were heading for, not one you could have used (Gillingham v Newham, 2013; Des Banks, 2014).
"I wasn't blocking anyone." The council does not have to show an obstruction (Place Invaders, 2004; Medway, 2026).
"The markings aren't perfect." Small flaws, such as the angle of the lines, a gap at a manhole cover or a corner that does not quite meet the kerb, do not make a box unlawful if its meaning is clear (Newman, 2008; the 2013 panel, following the Court of Appeal in Herron, 2011).
"I was turning right out of the side road." At a T-junction there is no oncoming traffic for that turn, so the right-turn exception does not apply (Medway, 2026).

Evidence to gather

The council's video. Watch it from before you reach the box, and note the times: when you entered, what was beyond the box, and why you stopped. In England outside London and in Wales the council must send you still images if you ask.
Your dashcam footage, if you have it.
Photos of the junction, taken safely: from where you approached it, and from the pavement, showing where the box ends and the shape of the junction.
The PCN, and the date it arrived.

What to write

Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:

My exit was clear when I entered the box at [time], as the council's video shows. A [vehicle] then cut across from the [right-hand] lane into the space ahead of me, which I could not have predicted. The contravention did not occur (Essoo v London Borough of Enfield, 2013).

The council's video starts at [time] with my car already in the box, so it does not show the traffic when I entered. The council has not proved the contravention (Place Invaders Ltd v Transport for London, 2004).

I entered the box to turn right into [road] and stopped only because of oncoming traffic, so the right-turn exception in paragraph 11(3) of Schedule 9, Part 7 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 applies.

The box extends about [distance] beyond the junction along [road], as my photos show, and my car stopped in that part. A box junction can only be marked at the junction itself, so the marking there is not lawful (Sam-Yorke v London Borough of Camden, 2009).

This was my vehicle's first contravention at this camera, which started enforcing on [date]. Under the government's statutory guidance the council should have sent a warning letter, not a PCN.

Next steps and your chances

Make representations to the council within 28 days of the PCN, then appeal within 28 days if it rejects them: to London Tribunals for a London PCN, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Moving traffic penalties explains the discount and each step.
In London a moving traffic PCN can only be challenged on five grounds. The box arguments above come under "the contravention did not occur", and a late or missing PCN under "the penalty exceeded the amount". Outside London you can also argue procedural impropriety, and ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons. See reasons for challenging a PCN.
Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 40% of the moving traffic appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, and they do not always agree, so make your case on your own facts.

The London decisions quoted here are on London Tribunals' key cases page.

The government's Private Parking Code of Practice

2026-10-22T09:04:00Z

Not in force yet

On 20 October 2026 the government laid its Private Parking Code of Practice before Parliament, under the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019. On 22 October 2026, when this page was checked, it was not in force.

Parliament has 40 days to object. The 40 days stop running while Parliament is dissolved or prorogued, or while both Houses are adjourned for more than 4 days.
If neither House objects, the government plans to issue the code on 30 November 2026.
It comes into force 21 days after it is issued: about 21 December 2026 if that plan holds.
It then replaces the industry's own code of practice, which operators follow until then. The arrangements for phasing in the new standards are to be published on GOV.UK when the code comes into force.

The code covers private car parks and private land in England, Wales and Scotland. Until it starts, the rules on the other private parking pages apply: private parking tickets and appealing a private parking charge.

What changes for drivers

5 minutes to decide. Every car park except pre-booked parking must give you at least 5 minutes after arriving to read the signs and decide whether to stay; free car parks with more than 500 spaces must give 10 minutes.
10 minutes to leave. Every car park except short-stay ones (under 30 minutes) must give you at least 10 minutes after your paid or free time ends. Both periods are minimums, not automatic cut-offs: operators must still look at the circumstances in an appeal.
No charge if you pay before you leave a car park run with number plate cameras (for stays of more than 24 hours, pay within 24 hours of arriving), or, in a free camera car park, if you enter your number plate in the terminal before you leave. No charge either if you are stuck in traffic inside the car park, or if you decided not to park and were held up leaving.
Charges cancelled on appeal, with reliable evidence, if you or a passenger fell ill, a medical appointment overran, childcare arrangements delayed you, the vehicle broke down, the payment machines were out of order with no other way to pay, you made a small slip typing your number plate, you stopped briefly to check directions, the emergency services or the landowner told you to drive in, an emergency forced you to drive in, or the operator broke the code.
£20 for honest slips. After a first appeal, the charge is cut to £20, to be paid within 14 days, if you hold a valid permit but did not display it, entered the wrong number plate (such as a partner's car or your previous car), or did not enter your number plate in a terminal. This is no longer limited to the first time. For a Blue Badge that was not displayed, the £20 applies the first time.
Late appeals. The operator must consider an appeal made after the 28 days for good reasons, such as a holiday or work trip, a hospital stay, a family emergency, a house move or the notice going to the wrong address. The 28 days then start again and any court action is paused.
Appeals after paying. You can appeal within 30 days of paying if you had to pay to get out, for example at a barrier, or if evidence later shows the operator did wrong.
A new address means a fresh start. If the operator finds a new address for you, it must send the notice again at the original amount, with another 28 days to pay or appeal.
Clearer notices. A notice must say whether it relies on the keeper rules in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, must not assume the keeper was driving, and must not look like a council penalty. Every letter about a charge must link to a new GOV.UK guide for motorists, once that guide is published.
Independent oversight. Once the code is in force, the government will start setting up a Scrutiny and Oversight Board, independent of both the parking industry and motorists' groups. It will review how well the code works, and whether the government should appoint a single appeals service.
Certified operators. Independent bodies will certify that operators follow the code, and the trade associations will only be able to admit certified operators. This is expected to take until around April 2027; until then the trade associations' own sanction points continue.

What stays the same

The £100 maximum charge.
At least 40% off for paying within 14 days, so £60 or less on a £100 charge.
The £70 limit on debt recovery fees, kept for now. The code says this does not mean the fee will be fair or recoverable in every case, and the government has said it will consult "as soon as possible next year" (2027) on cutting the limit or banning these fees.
Two stages of appeal: the operator, then POPLA or the Independent Appeals Service. The government also plans stricter standards for these two services, with no date set yet: decision makers with no links to the parking industry, trade associations no longer owning or running them day to day, and appeals allowed where the operator did not apply the Appeals Charter correctly.

How the code is enforced

Breaking the code will not itself be an offence or a reason to sue an operator, but a court can take the code into account. The government must take an operator's record into account when deciding whether the DVLA gives it the keeper details it needs to chase unpaid charges, and whether a trade association stays accredited. An operator that breaks the code risks losing access to DVLA records.

How the code got here

Parliament passed the Parking (Code of Practice) Act in 2019. A first code was published in February 2022 but withdrawn in June 2022 after parking companies challenged its lower charges and its ban on debt recovery fees in the courts. After a call for evidence in 2023 and a consultation in 2025, which received 4,526 responses, the government laid this code on 20 October 2026.

We will update this page and the other private parking pages when the code comes into force.

Appealing a private parking charge

2026-10-22T09:03:00Z

You can appeal against a private Parking Charge Notice in two stages: first to the operator that issued it, then to an independent appeals service. Both are free. This is a different process from challenging a council PCN, and the council tribunals cannot hear private parking appeals.

The rules below come from the industry's code of practice, which every member of the two trade associations must follow. Some change when the government's code comes into force, expected about 21 December 2026.

Stage 1: appeal to the operator

Appeal within 28 days of getting the notice. The notice says how, usually online, by email or by post. The operator cannot make you send a stamped addressed envelope.
The operator must reply within 28 days, or tell you when it will decide.
Keep the discount. If you appeal within the 14-day discount period and the operator rejects your appeal, it must let you pay the discounted amount for 14 more days from the rejection.
Late appeals. The operator must consider an appeal made after 28 days if you have evidence of exceptional circumstances, for example you were away or in hospital, or the notice went to the wrong address through no fault of yours.
Do not pay first. Once you have paid, you usually cannot appeal.

Explain clearly why the charge should be cancelled and send your evidence (see below). If you are the keeper and were not driving, you do not have to say who was: see when the registered keeper has to pay, which also explains the deadlines the operator's notices must meet.

The Appeals Charter

The industry's code includes an Appeals Charter: cases where, with evidence, the operator should cancel the charge or reduce it.

The charge should be cancelled where, for example:

you paid for your whole stay before leaving a car park run with number plate cameras;
you paid but made a small slip typing your number plate, such as 0 for O, or 1 for I;
you stopped briefly on a private road, such as an industrial estate, to check directions;
the emergency services or the landowner told you to drive in, or an emergency such as serious illness forced you to;
the vehicle was an emergency vehicle on duty, a doctor's or nurse's vehicle on an emergency call, a breakdown truck recovering a broken-down vehicle, or part of a funeral;
the operator broke the code when issuing the charge, or in a way that stopped you keeping to the terms.

On private roads with "no stopping" rules, such as some airport roads, a charge should be cancelled if you stopped to avoid an accident, to help in an accident or emergency, to let an emergency vehicle pass, at a closed gate or level crossing, for people using a zebra crossing, or because traffic was queuing.

The charge should be reduced to £20, if paid within 14 days, where:

you paid but entered the wrong number plate, for example your previous car's or another car in your household;
you or a passenger fell ill, a medical appointment overran, or childcare arrangements delayed you;
the vehicle broke down;
you hold a valid permit but did not display it;
a Blue Badge holder was in the vehicle but the badge was not displayed (this does not cover an unpaid parking fee);
the payment machines were out of order and there was no other way to pay;
you were allowed to park but did not enter your number plate in a terminal as the terms required.

The £20 offer applies only to the first charge of that kind for the vehicle, and not if you take the appeal on to the independent appeals service. Under the government's code, several of these cases will lead to cancellation instead (see the end of this page).

Stage 2: the independent appeals service

If the operator rejects your appeal, it must tell you how to appeal further. Which service hears it depends on the operator's trade association, shown on the notice and on the car park signs:

Operator belongs to	Appeals service	Time limit	Cost
British Parking Association (BPA)	POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals)	28 days from the operator's rejection	Free
International Parking Community (IPC)	Independent Appeals Service (IAS)	28 days from the operator's rejection	Free

POPLA needs the 10-digit verification code from the operator's rejection. The operator only has to give you one if you appealed to it within 28 days, and the code lasts 28 days. POPLA usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks and decides once: it cannot look at your appeal again. It decides whether the charge was issued correctly, so it cannot allow an appeal on mitigating circumstances alone, but it can send serious circumstances outside your control, with evidence, back to the operator to reconsider.
IAS can also hear an appeal after the 28 days if the operator agrees, but you then pay £15 and the decision binds you as well as the operator. A standard IAS decision binds only the operator.
No debt collection meanwhile. While your appeal is with POPLA or IAS, the operator must not start debt collection or court action, and must pause any it has started.
You lose the discount. If you take the appeal to POPLA or IAS and lose, you owe the full charge. The operator must give you 28 days from the decision to pay.

If the appeals service allows your appeal, the operator must cancel the charge. If it does not, the operator will expect the full charge. Unless you chose a binding late appeal to IAS, you can still dispute the charge if the operator takes you to court: get free advice first, for example from Citizens Advice.

Evidence that helps

Send copies, not originals, and keep a record of what you sent and when:

photos of the signs at the entrance and near where you parked, especially if they were missing, hidden, unlit or unclear;
your ticket, app or bank record showing what you paid and when;
a receipt showing you were a customer, if parking was for customers only;
your permit or Blue Badge;
evidence of a breakdown, illness, an overrunning appointment or an emergency, such as a garage invoice or a letter from the hospital;
the notice itself and the envelope or email it came in, to check the dates.

Changes when the government's code comes into force

Late appeals for good reasons, such as a holiday, a hospital stay, a family emergency or moving house, must be considered, the 28 days start again and any court action is paused.
You can appeal within 30 days after paying if you had to pay to get out of a car park, for example at a barrier, or if evidence later shows the operator did wrong.
Illness, overrunning medical appointments, childcare delays, breakdowns and broken payment machines lead to cancellation, not £20.
The £20 for a permit not displayed, a wrong number plate or a number plate not entered is no longer limited to the first time; a Blue Badge not displayed stays first time only.
Separately, the government plans stricter standards for POPLA and IAS, with no date set yet, including allowing an appeal where the operator did not apply the Appeals Charter correctly.

See the government's Private Parking Code of Practice.

When the registered keeper has to pay a private parking charge

2026-10-22T09:02:00Z

A private parking charge is owed by the driver, who accepted the car park's terms by parking. But operators usually know only the number plate, so they write to the registered keeper. Since 1 October 2012 an operator can make the keeper pay instead of the driver, but only if it follows strict rules on which notices it sends and when. The rules are in Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and apply in England and Wales.

This is different from a council Penalty Charge Notice, which the vehicle's owner has to pay whoever was driving: see registered keepers liability.

The conditions

The operator can make the keeper pay only if all of these are true:

It does not know who was driving. It does not have both the driver's name and a current address where papers can be served on them.
It gave the right notices at the right time (see below).
It asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within the same time limit as the notice to keeper, and got them.
The vehicle had not been stolen when it was parked.

The keeper is presumed to be the registered keeper on the DVLA's records, unless shown otherwise. And the rules do not create a new debt: the driver must have owed the charge in the first place, for example under clear terms on the car park's signs.

The notices and their deadlines

There are two ways an operator can do it.

After a ticket on the windscreen. A ticket fixed to the vehicle or handed to the driver before the vehicle leaves is the notice to driver. If it is not paid, the operator can send the keeper a notice to keeper, but not straight away: it must arrive between day 29 and day 56, counting from the day after the windscreen ticket.

With no windscreen ticket. Car parks run with number plate (ANPR) cameras, and other operators who did not put a ticket on the vehicle, send a notice to keeper by post. It must arrive within 14 days, counting from the day after the vehicle left.

A notice sent by post counts as arriving on the second working day after it was posted, unless shown otherwise. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are not working days. A notice to keeper that arrives outside its time limit cannot make the keeper liable, though the operator can still pursue the driver.

The notice to keeper must, among other things:

say which vehicle, car park and period of parking it is about, and why the charge is due;
say that the operator does not know the driver's name and a current address for them;
invite the keeper to pay or, if they were not driving, to give the driver's name and a current address and pass the notice on to the driver;
warn the keeper that they will be liable if, after 28 days, the charge has not been paid and the operator still does not know who was driving;
give any discount for paying early and explain how to appeal.

Under the industry's code of practice, an operator must not claim the keeper is liable under these rules when they cannot be.

The 28 days and naming the driver

The operator cannot pursue the keeper until 28 days after the notice to keeper was given. In that time you can:

pay the charge, or appeal against it; or
if you were not driving, name the driver: give the operator the driver's name and a current address where papers can be served on them. The operator must then pursue the driver, not you.

You do not have to name the driver. The government's guidance says the rules give the keeper a choice between naming the driver and paying the charge themselves (DfT guidance, 2012). But if you do not name the driver and the operator has followed every rule, you can be made to pay as the keeper. Naming the driver after the operator has started court action against you does not end your liability.

Operators must not simply assume the keeper was driving. The industry's code says, though, that a keeper's refusal to name the driver may be treated as evidence that they were driving, unless they can show they were not.

The most a keeper can be made to pay

Under these rules, the keeper cannot be made to pay more than the amount stated in the notice to keeper, less anything paid since.

Hire and lease vehicles

If the vehicle was on hire or lease (not hire purchase), the notice to keeper goes to the hire or leasing company. The company stops being liable if, within 28 days, it sends the operator:

a signed statement that the vehicle was hired to a named person at the time,
a copy of the hire agreement, and
a copy of a statement signed by the hirer accepting responsibility for parking charges.

The operator can then send the hirer a notice to hirer, and can pursue the hirer once 21 days have passed. The hirer can be made to pay no more than the amount in the notice to keeper.

Land the rules do not cover

The keeper rules apply only on what the Act calls relevant land. They do not apply on:

public roads;
council car parks and on-street parking places, or any other parking place provided or controlled by a council or another traffic authority: these use council Penalty Charge Notices instead;
land where parking is already controlled by law, for example by byelaws that set a charge or penalty for parking, as at some airports and ports.

On land outside these rules, an operator cannot use them to make the keeper pay.

Since 26 December 2025, land covered by the national railway byelaws counts as relevant land (SI 2025/1256), so the keeper rules now apply in those station car parks in England and Wales.

If the operator gets it wrong

If the operator misses a deadline or leaves out something the notice must contain, it loses the right to make the keeper pay under these rules, although it can still pursue the driver. If you think that has happened, say so in your appeal and give the dates. Keep the envelope or email the notice came in.

From when the government's code comes into force, expected about 21 December 2026, every notice must say whether it relies on these rules.

The rules are the same in England and Wales. For land in Wales, the Welsh Ministers rather than the UK government have the power to change them. Keep your address up to date with the DVLA, so that notices reach you.

Clamping and towing on private land

2026-10-22T09:01:00Z

Since 1 October 2012 it has been a criminal offence in England and Wales to clamp a vehicle, tow it away or block it in on private land without lawful authority (Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, section 54). Before then, private clamping firms could clamp cars and demand large release fees. Private car park operators now enforce their terms with parking charges instead.

What the law bans

It is an offence, without lawful authority, to:

fit a clamp or any other immobilising device to a vehicle, or
move a vehicle, or stop it being moved, by any means, for example by towing it away or blocking it in,

intending to stop the person entitled to take the vehicle away from doing so.

A sign saying "clamping in operation" does not make clamping lawful. Even if the driver agreed to the car park's terms, that agreement is not lawful authority. The offence is punished with a fine, and there is no upper limit.

Fixed barriers

There is one exception. A fixed barrier that was already there when the vehicle was parked can be used to keep it in, for example a car park barrier that only lifts once you have paid. The driver is treated as having agreed to it, even if the barrier was open when they drove in. The barrier, or the signs about it, must have been clear enough for the driver to know it was there.

A landowner may also carefully move a vehicle, at their own risk and cost, if the only aim is to get access to their own land, not to stop the owner taking the vehicle away.

Who can still clamp or tow

Only people with a specific legal power can clamp or remove vehicles. They include:

councils and the police, under road traffic law, on the streets and in council car parks (see clamping and towing by councils). The police can also remove vehicles from private land, but are expected to do so only when a vehicle is parked dangerously or is causing an obstruction, not to enforce parking rules;
the DVLA, which can clamp or remove untaxed vehicles;
enforcement agents (bailiffs), who can clamp or take a vehicle to recover a debt;
some places with their own Acts of Parliament or byelaws, such as some airports, ports and harbours, river crossings and common land.

Anyone with one of these powers can employ a private company to do the work. The terms on the signs of an ordinary private car park do not by themselves give such a power.

Railway stations since 26 December 2025

Until 2025 the national railway byelaws let station operators clamp vehicles in station car parks. Since 26 December 2025 they cannot do so in England and Wales. Breaking the parking terms at a station is now dealt with like any other private car park: the operator issues a parking charge and can pursue the registered keeper under the keeper rules.

Station operators can still remove and store a vehicle that is causing an obstruction, or when that is needed to deal with an emergency, to let maintenance be carried out or to keep the railway running safely (Railway Byelaws Amendment Order 2025). The change covers stations under the national railway byelaws; Transport for London and Merseyrail have byelaws of their own.

If you are clamped or towed on private land

Find out who did it. If your vehicle is missing, check whether the police or the council removed it: contact the police on 101, or the council if you were parked on a council street or in a council car park.
If a private company clamped, blocked in or towed your vehicle without lawful authority, report it to the police. It is a crime and a matter for the police. Call 999 if you feel threatened.
Do not damage or try to remove a clamp yourself.
Keep evidence: photos of the clamp or the empty space, the signs, any notice left on the vehicle and the people involved, and a receipt if you paid to get your vehicle back. Get legal advice about recovering money you paid.

If you were clamped or towed by someone with lawful authority, such as a council, follow the instructions on the notice. You can usually challenge the charges afterwards.

This page covers England and Wales. The law on clamping is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Private parking tickets

2026-10-22T09:00:00Z

Car parks at supermarkets, retail parks, hospitals, railway stations, gyms, hotels and blocks of flats are usually on private land. The companies that run them issue their own tickets, called Parking Charge Notices. Just under 17 million were issued in the UK in the last year, according to the government in October 2026.

This page explains what a private parking ticket is. The other pages on private parking explain when the registered keeper has to pay, how to appeal, the ban on clamping and towing on private land and the government's new code of practice.

A charge under a contract, not a fine

A Parking Charge Notice is a demand from a private company for money it says is owed under the terms on the car park's signs. By parking, the driver is treated as accepting those terms. If the driver breaks them, for example by staying too long, not paying or using a bay they are not allowed to use, the operator claims the charge the signs set out. Where the driver had no permission to park at all, the charge is claimed as damages for trespass.

A Parking Charge Notice is not a fine or a penalty, and breaking a car park's terms is not a crime: the operator cannot prosecute you or put points on your licence. If you do not pay and do not win an appeal, it can claim the money in the County Court, like any other company that says you owe it money.

The Supreme Court decided in 2015 that these charges can be enforced. In ParkingEye v Beavis, an £85 charge for staying longer than the 2 free hours at a retail park was upheld, because the operator had a legitimate interest in keeping spaces free for shoppers and the charge was shown prominently, in large letters, at the entrance. A charge out of all proportion to such an interest could still fail.

Council ticket or private ticket?

	Council ticket	Private car park ticket
Name	Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)	Parking Charge Notice, or a notice to keeper sent by post
Issued by	A council or Transport for London	A private company acting for the landowner
What it is	A penalty set by law	A charge under the car park's terms, or damages for trespass
Where	Streets and council car parks	Private car parks and private roads
Amount	£40 to £160, set by law, halved if paid early (the amounts)	Set by the operator, up to £100, at least 40% off if paid within 14 days
Challenge	The council, then an independent tribunal (how)	The operator, then POPLA or IAS (how)
If unpaid	A charge certificate adds 50%, then a court order	Reminders and debt collection letters, with up to £70 added, then a County Court claim

Under the industry's code of practice, a private operator must not call its charge a fine or a penalty, use the words "Penalty Charge Notice", or design its notices to look like a council's. If you are not sure who issued a ticket, check the name on it and the signs where you parked.

The limits operators must keep to

Until the government's code comes into force, the rules come from the industry's own Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice (version 1.1, in effect since 17 February 2025). It is not law, but every member of the two trade associations must follow it:

£100 at most. Operators can charge less.
At least 40% off for paying within 14 days, so £60 or less on a £100 charge. The 14 days run from the date a ticket was put on the vehicle, or from the date of issue of the first notice sent by post.
Up to £70 more once a charge is overdue, which operators call a debt recovery fee. Whether it can be recovered in court is disputed. The government's code keeps the £70 limit for now but says the fee will not be fair or recoverable in every case, and the government plans to consult in 2027 on cutting the limit or banning these fees.
Time to decide and time to leave. At most car parks you get at least 5 minutes after arriving to read the signs and decide whether to stay, and at least 10 minutes after your paid or free time ends before a charge can be issued. The time to decide can end sooner, for example once you have paid, or parked and walked away. There is no time to leave in short-stay areas of 30 minutes or less, such as station and airport drop-off zones.
No charge if you paid for your whole stay before leaving a car park run with number plate cameras, even if you took a while to pay. A charge issued in that case must be cancelled once you show you paid.
One charge per stay per day. An operator cannot issue more than one charge for the same stay on the same calendar day.
Clear signs. A sign at the entrance must say that terms apply, whether you have to pay or how long you can stay free, and name the operator and its trade association. Signs inside must set out the terms, show the amount of the charge in large print, and be readable in the dark if the car park is open then. Signs put up before October 2024 have longer to meet every detail.
Debt collectors must be members too. A debt collection company chasing a private parking charge must be a full member of a trade association, and must not use words such as "bailiff", "summons" or "prosecution".

From about 21 December 2026, the government's code is expected to take over. It keeps the £100, 40% and £70 limits, guarantees the 5 and 10 minutes at almost every car park, and makes operators cancel more charges on appeal.

Who keeps operators in check

Operators get the registered keeper's name and address from the DVLA, for £2.50 a time, to send notices by post and to chase unpaid charges. The DVLA only gives these details to companies that belong to an accredited trade association. There are two:

the British Parking Association (BPA), whose members' appeals go to POPLA, and
the International Parking Community (IPC), whose members' appeals go to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).

An operator that breaks the code gets sanction points from its trade association, and the ultimate sanction is losing access to DVLA records. Car park signs must show the logo of the operator's trade association, so you can tell which appeals service to use.

What to do if you get one

Read it carefully. Check who issued it, the date, time and place, why the charge is said to be due, the amount and the discount, and how to appeal.
Do not ignore it. Decide within 14 days if you can: pay the discounted amount, or appeal. You have at least 28 days to appeal. If you appeal within the 14 days and the operator rejects your appeal, you can still pay the discounted amount for 14 more days.
Appeal before you pay if you think the charge is wrong: once you pay, you usually cannot appeal.
If you were not driving, see when the registered keeper has to pay.
Keep evidence: photos of the signs and of where you parked, your ticket or payment record, and copies of everything you send.

If you do not pay

The operator will send reminders and may pass the charge to a debt collection company, adding up to £70. It can then claim the money in the County Court. If you receive court papers, reply by the date they give and get free advice, for example from Citizens Advice. If you ignore a claim, the court can give a County Court judgment against you, which can harm your credit rating.

Keep your address up to date with the DVLA, so that notices and court papers reach you.

Hospitals, stations and airports

NHS hospitals in England must offer free parking to disabled Blue Badge holders, frequent outpatients (3 or more appointments a month for at least 3 months), parents of sick children staying overnight (from 7.30pm to 8am) and staff working night shifts. Hospitals are responsible for the companies that run their car parks, and should normally allow a period of grace before a charge is issued (NHS car parking principles).
Railway stations. Since 26 December 2025, station car parks in England and Wales under the national railway byelaws are run like other private car parks: charges are claimed under the car park's terms, the keeper rules apply, and the operator can no longer clamp.
Airports and ports. Some have byelaws that control parking. On land where parking is controlled by byelaws, the keeper rules for private car parks do not apply, and the signs should say which rules are being enforced.

This guide covers England and Wales. The law on private parking is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Moving traffic penalties: box junctions, banned turns and bus gates

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Moving traffic contraventions break the rules that signs and road markings set for vehicles on the move: stopping in a yellow box junction, making a banned turn, driving through a bus gate, or driving into a road that is closed to traffic. In London, and where a council elsewhere has been given the powers, they are enforced by camera, and the council posts a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to the vehicle's registered keeper. Everywhere else they are still a matter for the police.

A moving traffic PCN is a civil penalty, like a parking PCN. It carries no penalty points and is not a criminal conviction.

What counts

Contravention	Code
Entering a yellow box junction and having to stop in it	31
Making a banned turn: no right turn, no left turn or no U-turn	50
Driving past a "no entry" sign	51
Driving the wrong way along a one-way street	29
Not going the way a blue arrow sign shows, such as "ahead only" or "turn left ahead"	32
Passing on the wrong side of a "keep left" or "keep right" sign	38
Not giving way to oncoming vehicles where a sign tells you to	37
Driving through a bus gate, or along a road for buses, cycles or taxis only	33
Driving where your type of vehicle is banned, such as "motor vehicles prohibited" or a weight limit for goods vehicles	52
Driving into a pedestrian zone, or a pedestrian and cycle zone, while vehicles are not allowed	53 or 54
Driving in a mandatory cycle lane (marked with a solid white line) during its hours	36

Signs with red circles mostly tell you what you must not do, and signs with blue circles what you must do. A plate below the sign gives the times or the exceptions.

A bus gate is a short stretch of road that only buses, and often cycles and taxis, may use, marked by a round blue sign showing the vehicles allowed. A School Street is a road outside a school that is closed to traffic at the start and end of the school day. It uses "motor vehicles prohibited" or pedestrian zone signs showing the times, so it is enforced in the same way. Residents and other permit holders are usually exempt.

Driving in a bus lane is a separate bus lane contravention (code 34), enforced the same way: see bus and cycle lanes. In England, stopping on school "keep clear" zig-zags where an upright sign bans stopping can also be enforced by camera (code 48). The exact wording of each code, and the suffix letters that add detail (for example, r after code 50 means a banned right turn), are on the contravention codes page.

Red lights and speeding stay with the police

Councils cannot issue PCNs for going through a red light or for speeding. The law lets councils enforce only signs whose breach carries no penalty points. Going through a red light (3 points) and speeding (3 to 6 points) remain criminal offences, dealt with by the police: see police penalties.

Who can issue the penalties

Area	Who
London	The London boroughs, the City of London and Transport for London, under the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003
England outside London	Councils that have applied to the Department for Transport and been given the powers by an order. The first took effect on 15 July 2022, and 81 councils had them by December 2025
Wales	Cardiff (since 10 November 2014), Carmarthenshire (since 10 December 2018) and Merthyr Tydfil (since 6 February 2025)

Everywhere else these rules are enforced only by the police, as criminal offences. Outside London the police can still prosecute even where a council has the powers, but you cannot be penalised by both for the same incident. In England, since 29 April 2026, a combined authority, such as a mayoral authority, can also enforce in a member council's area if that council agrees.

Having the powers does not mean a council enforces everywhere: it chooses its camera sites, and some councils take a year or more to start. Check the council's website, through the list of council parking pages.

The councils in England outside London with moving traffic powers, by the date the powers took effect:

15 July 2022 (12 councils): Bath and North East Somerset, Bedford, Buckinghamshire, Derby, Durham, Hampshire, Kent, Luton, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Reading, Surrey.
22 July 2023 (40): Birmingham, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, Bradford, Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester, Coventry, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Medway, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Northamptonshire, Nottingham, Oldham, Peterborough, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sheffield, Shropshire, South Gloucestershire, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Thurrock, Trafford, Walsall, West Berkshire, West Northamptonshire, West Sussex, Wigan, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wirral, Wokingham.
7 December 2024 (21): Bolton, Bury, Devon, Dudley, Hull, Leicestershire, North Somerset, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sandwell, Sefton, Solihull, Southend-on-Sea, Stockport, Suffolk, Sunderland, Wiltshire, Wolverhampton, York.
9 December 2025 (8): Brighton and Hove, Calderdale, Cornwall, Dorset, Kirklees, Knowsley, Milton Keynes, Slough.

The orders are on legislation.gov.uk: 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. More councils are preparing to apply, in England and in Wales.

Yellow box junctions

Rule 174 of the Highway Code says: "You MUST NOT enter the box until your exit road or lane is clear. However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right. At signalled roundabouts you MUST NOT enter the box unless you can cross over it completely without stopping."

In practice:

What matters is the traffic when you enter. The contravention is entering the box so that you have to stop in it because of stationary vehicles. Government guidance says being stopped by something unexpected after you have entered, such as a vehicle pushing in ahead of you, is not a contravention.
Turning right is the exception at a junction: you may wait in the box while oncoming traffic, or other vehicles waiting to turn right, stop you from turning.
Part of your vehicle stopped in the box counts.
Other places. Boxes can also be marked on a narrow two-way road (no wider than 4.5 metres), where you must not enter if oncoming traffic would make you stop, and outside the vehicle entrance of a fire, police or ambulance station.
Shapes. Since 22 April 2016 councils have been able to mark boxes in whatever shape fits the junction, without government approval.
Badly designed boxes. Government guidance tells councils outside London not to start enforcing where better road layout or signs would prevent contraventions. It gives a box whose exit you cannot see before entering as an example of poor design. An adjudicator can allow an appeal where a restriction is not properly signed or marked.
No grace period. In January 2026 the government answered a petition for a 10-second grace period by saying it saw no need to change the rules.

How much it costs

Area	Penalty	If paid early	After a charge certificate
London	£160	£80, within 14 days	£240
England outside London	£70 or £60	£35 or £30, within 21 days	£105 or £90
Wales	£70 or £60	£35 or £30, within 21 days	£105 or £90

Outside London the amount is the council's higher level penalty, which is £70 or £60 depending on the band it uses in that area. The PCN gives the exact dates. If it is not paid, the steps that follow, and the extra court and bailiff fees, are the same as for any PCN: see PCN fine amounts and paying a PCN.

The warning letter

In England outside London, for the first 6 months of camera enforcement at each new camera site, the council should send a warning letter, not a PCN, the first time a vehicle breaks the rule there. A second contravention at the same site within those 6 months gets a PCN. This also applies when a council starts enforcing an old restriction, such as a long-established box junction, by camera for the first time.

The rule comes from the government's statutory guidance, which councils must follow unless they can justify not doing so. If you got a PCN instead of a warning letter for your first contravention at a new site, say so when you challenge it.

London has no general warning rule. London councils are expected to send a warning letter for a first contravention in the first 6 months they enforce a mandatory cycle lane, a cycle route or a "buses prohibited" sign, the rules London added in 2022. Welsh councils are advised to send warning letters instead of PCNs for about two weeks after they first start camera enforcement.

How to challenge one

A moving traffic PCN comes by post, so it is already the formal notice: there is no informal challenge stage.

Look at the evidence. Councils usually let you see the photos or video online. In England outside London and in Wales the council must give you still images if you ask.
Check the date. Outside London the council must serve the PCN within 28 days of the contravention, or within 6 months if it asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within 14 days and did not get them in time. In London, London Tribunals says the PCN should normally arrive within 28 days, with longer allowed for delays such as at the DVLA. If yours came late, say so.
Make representations to the council within 28 days of the PCN, on the legal grounds. For example: the contravention did not happen (your exit was clear when you entered the box, or the sign was missing, hidden or wrong); you were not the keeper at the time; the vehicle was stolen; or the penalty is more than the law allows. Outside London you can also say the council did not follow the rules, for example by sending a PCN instead of a warning letter at a new camera site in England, and you can ask it to cancel the penalty for compelling reasons. London's moving traffic PCNs have fewer grounds, and neither of these is one of them.
Wait for the decision. Outside London the council must reply within 56 days, or your representations count as accepted. Challenging can cost you the discount. In Wales a council that rejects your representations must offer the discount again for 21 days. Transport for London keeps the discount open while it considers a challenge made within 14 days, and offers it again for 14 days if it says no.
Appeal within 28 days of the Notice of Rejection: to London Tribunals for London PCNs, or to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England outside London and Wales. Appealing is free.

Appealing against a PCN and appealing to the adjudicator explain each stage in full, and CCTV evidence covers camera enforcement in general. The arguments that win and lose are in the guides to yellow box junctions, bus lanes and bus gates, and banned turns, no entry and School Streets.

Blue Badge parking

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

A Blue Badge lets a disabled driver or passenger park closer to where they are going. In England and Wales it gives concessions for parking on the street: on yellow lines, at meters and in disabled bays. It is not a licence to park anywhere, and car parks set their own rules.

Who can use the badge

The badge belongs to the person it was issued to, not to a car. Display it only when the holder is travelling in the vehicle, as the driver or a passenger, or when someone is picking the holder up or dropping them off and needs to park where that happens. Family and friends must not use it on their own, even to run errands for the holder, and it must not be used to park while the holder waits in the car.

Yellow lines

With the badge and the blue parking clock on display, you can park on single or double yellow lines for up to 3 hours. Where the restriction lasts 3 hours or less, such as 11am to noon, the badge covers all of it, without the clock.

Set the clock to show the quarter hour in which you arrived.
Wait an hour before coming back. You must wait at least an hour before parking the same vehicle in the same road again that day.
Not where there is a loading ban, shown by yellow marks on the kerb and a sign giving the times, unless the council has chosen to allow badge holders there.
Not on yellow lines in car parks, and not where parking would cause an obstruction or danger.

Councils have to include these exemptions in their traffic orders, under the England regulations and the Wales regulations of 2000.

Meters, pay and display and bays

On-street meters and pay and display: you can park free, for as long as you need, with the badge on display.
Free parking with a time limit for everyone: badge holders generally have no time limit, unless the signs show a limit for badge holders too. Then display the clock.
Disabled bays on the street, with a wheelchair symbol on the sign: free, with no time limit unless the signs say otherwise. Display the badge, and the clock if there is a time limit. Use these bays rather than yellow lines where you can.
Personal disabled bays: some councils mark a bay near a badge holder's home with a permit number on the sign and the bay. Only that person may park there.

In Wales the law is the same, but the Welsh Government's leaflet warns that some councils do not let badge holders park free at meters and pay and display. Check the signs or the council's website before you rely on it.

Parking in a disabled bay without displaying a valid badge is a higher level contravention: code 40 on the street, or 87 in a council car park. See parking bays for specific users.

Where you must not park

The badge gives no exemption in these places:

where there is a loading ban, unless the council allows badge holders
in bays reserved for other users, such as residents', permit or loading bays, unless the signs allow badge holders
in a suspended bay, or at a meter that cannot be used
on a pedestrian crossing or its zig-zag lines
on a clearway, or on a bus stop clearway during its hours
on an urban clearway during its hours, although you can stop to let passengers in or out
on school "keep clear" markings during the times on the sign
in a bus lane, tram lane or cycle lane during its hours, or on a cycle track (badge holders cannot drive in bus lanes either)
in a pedestrian zone, unless the signs exempt badge holders
next to double white lines in the middle of the road, even if one line is broken
where there are temporary restrictions, such as no-waiting cones
across a dropped kerb
on the pavement where that is banned, which includes all of London (see parking on pavements)
anywhere you would cause danger or an obstruction, such as near a school entrance or a bus stop, on a bend, or within 10 metres of a junction

Parking in these places can get you a penalty charge, and you could also be prosecuted, have your car towed away or have the badge withdrawn.

Central London

The national concessions do not fully apply in four central London areas:

the City of Westminster
the City of London
the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
part of Camden: the area between the borough boundary and Euston Road, Woburn Place, Southampton Row, Theobalds Road and Clerkenwell Road, which Camden calls its Green Badge zone

These councils run their own schemes for disabled people who live or work there, such as Westminster's White Badge, the City of London's Red Badge and Camden's Green Badge. The yellow line concession does not apply in these areas. Each provides Blue Badge bays, usually free for up to 4 hours during controlled hours, and in pay bays lets badge holders stay an hour longer than they paid for, within the bay's maximum stay. Check the council's own rules before you travel: City of London, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Camden.

On Transport for London's red routes, you can stop on the red lines to pick up or drop off a badge holder, with the badge on display. You can park in Blue Badge bays, usually for up to 3 hours, and in red route parking bays during their permitted hours. You cannot park on double red lines at any time, or on single red lines during their hours. See TfL's rules for badge holders.

Car parks and private land

Car parks run by councils, shops, hospitals and other owners set their own rules for badge holders, shown on their signs, including whether you park free. Don't assume parking is free, and don't park on yellow lines in a car park.
In a private car park, a charge for breaking the rules is a Parking Charge Notice from the operator, not a council penalty. Disabled bays there are subject to the owner's rules.
NHS hospitals in England must let Blue Badge holders park free when they attend as patients or visitors. In Wales, parking at NHS hospitals is free for everyone.
Private roads: park only with the owner's permission. At airports, check the parking arrangements with the airport before you travel.

The government's Private Parking Code of Practice was laid before Parliament on 20 October 2026 and is expected to come into force about 21 December 2026. Operators that ask badge holders to display their badge will have to say on their signs where to display it and what extra time they give, and put up signs making clear that badge holders may not park on yellow lines on their land. If you forget to display your badge, the charge will have to be cut to £20 at your first appeal, the first time it happens, if you send a copy of your badge and you were in the vehicle. The code was not in force when this page was checked.

Displaying the badge and clock

The badge goes on the dashboard, where it can be read through the windscreen, with the front facing up so the hologram, badge number and expiry date show. The side with the photo must not be visible. If the vehicle has no dashboard, display it where it can be read from outside.
Keep it readable. If it fades or gets damaged, return it to the council for a new one: a badge that cannot be read can get you a penalty.
The blue clock goes on the dashboard too whenever you park on yellow lines or anywhere with a time limit, set to the quarter hour in which you arrived. The council that issued your badge supplies the clock.

If a badge is misused

Misusing a badge is a criminal offence with a fine of up to £1,000. That includes displaying a badge when the holder is not travelling, using a copied or altered badge, and using a badge that has been cancelled or should have been returned, for example because it has expired or the holder has died.

Police officers, traffic wardens and civil enforcement officers can ask to see the badge. Not showing it, without a good reason, is also an offence with a fine of up to £1,000.
They can keep a badge they reasonably believe is fake, cancelled, out of date or being misused.
Councils can cancel a badge reported lost or stolen, and can refuse to issue a badge, or take one back, after misuse.

The offences are in section 21 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 and section 117 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

The badge also protects you: a council must not clamp a vehicle displaying a valid Blue Badge. It should tow one away only in an exceptional case, such as a safety hazard, and then only to a safe place nearby, without charging for the move.

Who can get a badge

Your council issues the badge and decides each application. You can apply online on GOV.UK in England and Wales: apply for or renew a Blue Badge. A badge lasts up to 3 years. It costs up to £10 in England and is free in Wales.

You qualify without an assessment if, for example, you get the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, enough points for moving around in Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or are registered blind. Otherwise the council assesses you, for example if you cannot walk or find walking very difficult, have a severe disability in both arms and drive, or have a child under 3 who needs bulky medical equipment or must be kept near a vehicle.

The rules have widened in recent years:

From	Area	Who can now get a badge
17 December 2014	Wales	People who, because of a mental disorder, cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person's help (2014 regulations)
1 October 2016	Wales	People with a temporary but substantial walking disability expected to last at least 12 months, for a one-year badge (2016 regulations)
30 August 2019	England	People with non-visible ("hidden") disabilities, such as those who experience very considerable psychological distress during a journey, or who are at risk of serious harm, or put others at risk, when walking (2019 regulations)

England has no temporary badge, although some councils run their own temporary parking permits.

Where Wales differs

Meters and pay and display: the law is the same, but some Welsh councils do not give badge holders free parking, so check the signs.
Cost: badges are free in Wales and cost up to £10 in England.
Eligibility: Wales widened it earlier and gives one-year badges for temporary disabilities. In Wales, 12 points for planning and following journeys in PIP also qualifies you without an assessment.
Hospitals: NHS hospital parking is free for everyone.

Challenging a penalty

How to fight a Blue Badge or disabled bay penalty explains the arguments that win and lose, from setting the clock to dropping off a badge holder.

The official guides

The Blue Badge scheme: rights and responsibilities in England (Department for Transport)
The Blue Badge Scheme: rights and responsibilities in Wales (Welsh Government)
Who can get a Blue Badge (England) and Blue Badges: eligibility (Wales)

PCN contravention codes

2009-08-22T00:00:00Z

Every council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) shows a two-digit contravention code, sometimes followed by a suffix letter or number that gives more detail. The codes are standard across England and Wales, although not every council uses every code.

There are two official lists, and they use the same wording for every code they share:

London Councils' list, used by London boroughs and Transport for London (version 7.0, in force since 31 May 2022). Welsh councils are also told to use it.
PATROL's list, used by councils in England outside London and in Wales (last changed 16 September 2026).

The level, higher or lower, decides how much the penalty is: see higher and lower band PCNs and PCN fine amounts.

On-street parking

Code	Description	Level
01	Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours	Higher
02	Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force	Higher
04	Parked in a meter bay when penalty time is indicated	Lower
05	Parked after the expiry of paid for time	Lower
06	Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher	Lower (Higher in Wales)
07	Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time ("meter feeding")	Lower
08	Parked at an out-of-order meter during controlled hours	Lower
09	Parked displaying multiple pay & display tickets where prohibited	Lower
10	Parked without clearly displaying two valid pay and display tickets when required	Lower
11	Parked without payment of the parking charge	Lower
12	Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place where required, or without payment of the parking charge	Higher
14	Parked in an electric vehicles' charging place during restricted hours without charging	Higher
16	Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required	Higher
18	Using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering or exposing for sale of goods when prohibited	Higher
19	Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place or zone with an invalid virtual permit or displaying an invalid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket, or after the expiry of paid for time	Lower
20	Parked in a part of a parking place marked by a yellow line where waiting is prohibited	Higher
21	Parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space	Higher
22	Re-parked in the same parking place or zone within one hour after leaving	Lower
23	Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle	Higher
24	Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space	Lower
25	Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading	Higher
26	Parked in a special enforcement area more than 50 cm from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place (double parking)	Higher
27	Parked in a special enforcement area adjacent to a footway, cycle track or verge lowered to meet the level of the carriageway (dropped kerb)	Higher
28	Parked in a special enforcement area on part of the carriageway raised to meet the level of a footway, cycle track or verge	Higher
30	Parked for longer than permitted	Lower
35	Parked in a disc parking place without clearly displaying a valid disc	Lower
40	Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge in the prescribed manner	Higher
41	Stopped in a parking place designated for diplomatic vehicles	Higher
42	Parked in a parking place designated for police vehicles	Higher
43	Stopped on a cycle docking station parking place	Higher
45	Stopped on a taxi rank	Higher
46	Stopped where prohibited (on a red route or clearway)	Higher
47	Stopped on a restricted bus stop or stand	Higher
48	Stopped in a restricted area outside a school, a hospital or a fire, police or ambulance station when prohibited	Higher
49	Parked wholly or partly on a cycle track or lane	Higher
55	A commercial vehicle parked in a restricted street in contravention of the Overnight Waiting Ban	Higher
56	Parked in contravention of a commercial vehicle waiting restriction	Higher
57	Parked in contravention of a bus ban	Higher
61	A heavy commercial vehicle wholly or partly parked on a footway, verge or land between two carriageways	Higher
62	Parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway (pavement parking)	Higher
63	Parked with engine running where prohibited	Lower
99	Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zigzags	Higher

In codes 22 and 90, "one hour" may be replaced by the time on the signs. In codes 10 and 94, "two" may be replaced by another number.

Car parks (off-street)

Code	Description	Level
70	Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading	Higher
71	Parked in an electric vehicles' charging place during restricted hours without charging	Higher
73	Parked without payment of the parking charge	Lower
74	Using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering or exposing for sale of goods when prohibited	Higher
78	Parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space	Higher
79	Parked in a car park without registering for the free parking period (outside London only, added September 2026)	Lower
80	Parked for longer than permitted	Lower
81	Parked in a restricted area in an off-street car park or housing estate	Higher
82	Parked after the expiry of paid for time	Lower
83	Parked in a car park without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher or parking clock	Lower
84	Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time	Lower
85	Parked without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required	Higher
86	Not parked correctly within the markings of a bay or space	Lower
87	Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge in the prescribed manner	Higher
89	Vehicle parked exceeds maximum weight or height or length permitted	Higher
90	Re-parked in the same car park within one hour after leaving	Lower
91	Parked in a car park or area not designated for that class of vehicle	Higher
92	Parked causing an obstruction	Higher
93	Parked in car park when closed	Lower
94	Parked in a pay & display car park without clearly displaying two valid pay and display tickets when required	Lower
95	Parked in a parking place for a purpose other than that designated	Lower
96	Parked with engine running where prohibited	Lower

Bus lanes and moving traffic

These codes are used by London boroughs and Transport for London, and by councils elsewhere that have been given the powers: 81 councils in England outside London by December 2025, and Cardiff, Carmarthenshire and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. They have no higher or lower level in the lists: London charges one rate for them, and in the rest of England and in Wales they are charged at the higher level. Moving traffic penalties explains what each moving traffic code covers and lists the councils.

Code	Description
29	Failing to comply with a one-way restriction
31	Entering and stopping in a box junction when prohibited
32	Failing to proceed in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign
33	Using a route restricted to certain vehicles
34	Being in a bus lane
36	Being in a mandatory cycle lane
37	Failing to give way to oncoming vehicles
38	Failing to comply with a sign indicating that vehicular traffic must pass to the specified side of the sign
50	Performing a prohibited turn
51	Failing to comply with a no entry restriction
52	Failing to comply with a prohibition on certain types of vehicle
53	Failing to comply with a restriction on vehicles entering a pedestrian zone
54	Failing to comply with a restriction on vehicles entering and waiting in a pedestrian zone

London schemes, local codes and reserved codes

Code	Description	Where used
13	Reserved for Transport for London (Low Emission Zone)	London
17	Reserved for road user charging	All
39	Reserved for Transport for London (Ultra Low Emission Zone)	London
58	Using a vehicle on a restricted street during prescribed hours without a valid permit	London Lorry Control Scheme
59	Using a vehicle on a restricted street during prescribed hours in breach of permit conditions	London Lorry Control Scheme
60	Reserved for parking whilst obstructing the pavement	England outside London, not yet in use
64	Parked in contravention of a notice prohibiting leaving vehicles on a grass verge, garden, lawn or green maintained by a local authority	Essex only
65	Parked in contravention of a notice prohibiting leaving vehicles on land laid out as a public garden or used for the purpose of public recreation	Essex only
66	Parked on a verge, central reservation or footway comprised in an urban road	Exeter only
67	Using a vehicle on a restricted street without a valid HGV Safety Permit	London HGV Safety Permit Scheme
68	Using a vehicle on a restricted street in breach of HGV Safety Permit conditions	London HGV Safety Permit Scheme
72	Reserved for builders' skips contraventions	London
75	Reserved for littering from motor vehicles	All
76	Reserved for waste receptacle contraventions	London
77	Reserved for DVLA use	All
97	Driving a motor vehicle in an unrestricted street in excess of the posted speed limit	London

Code 97 was added in 2021 for a trial in Wandsworth, where the council planned to enforce a 20 mph limit on two roads with penalty charges (London Councils, 14 October 2021). The government said in 2022 that speeding should stay a criminal matter for the police (London Councils, 24 March 2022), and speed limits are enforced only by the police: see police penalties.

Codes 03, 15, 44, 69, 88 and 98 are not used. Code 36 used to mean "parked in a disc parking place for longer than permitted"; that is now covered by code 30.

Suffixes

A suffix after the code describes the contravention more precisely. Councils outside London may use them but do not have to.

General suffixes

a) permit holder only electric vehicle charging bay
b) business bay
c) buses only
d) doctor's bay
e) car club bay
f) free parking bay
g) motorcycle bay
h) hospital bay
i) wrong type of voucher
j) camera enforcement
k) ambulance bay
l) loading place
m) parking meter
n) red route
o) blue badge holder
p) pay & display
q) market traders' bay
r) residents' bay
s) shared use bay
t) voucher/P&D ticket used in permit bay
u) electronic payment
v) voucher
w) e-scooter bay
x) disabled bay
y) electric solo motorcycle bay
0) local buses / trams only\

electric vehicles bay\
goods vehicle loading bays\
bicycle bay\
virtual permit\
dedicated disabled bay\
hotel bay\
taxis only\
zero emission capable taxis only\
electric vehicle car club bay

Suffixes for particular codes

Restricted street (codes 01 and 02): a) temporary traffic order.
Permits (codes 01, 12, 16, 19 and 85): w) wrong parking zone, x) incorrect vehicle registration, y) obscured or illegible permit, z) out of date permit. On code 01, y and z are used only for Blue Badges.
Taxi ranks (code 45): w) "waiting" instead of "stopped".
Footway parking (codes 61, 62, 64, 65 and 66): 1) one wheel on footway, 2) partly on footway, 4) all wheels on footway, c) on vehicle crossover, g) on grass verge.
Camera enforcement: j) shows the contravention was recorded by camera. On codes 01 and 02 it can only be used where there is also a mandatory cycle lane, and not in Wales.

Moving traffic suffixes

32: d) proceeding in the wrong direction, t) turning in the wrong direction.
33: b) buses only, c) buses and cycles only, e) buses, cycles and taxis only, f) buses and taxis only, g) local buses only, h) local buses and cycles only, i) local buses, cycles and taxis only, k) local buses and taxis only, q) tramcars and local buses only, r) tramcars only, s) tramcars and buses only, y) pedal cycles only, z) pedal cycles and pedestrians only.
38: l) must pass to the left, r) must pass to the right.
50: l) no left turn, r) no right turn, u) no U-turn.
52: b) buses, g) goods vehicles exceeding the maximum gross weight shown, m) motor vehicles, s) solo motorcycles, v) all vehicles except non-mechanically propelled ones being pushed, x) motor vehicles except solo motorcycles.
53 and 54: c) adds "and cycle" after "pedestrian".

Parking next to a dropped kerb

2009-08-02T00:00:00Z

What is a dropped kerb?

A dropped kerb, or dropped footway, is where the kerb has been lowered to the level of the road:

to help people cross the road, including wheelchair and pushchair users,
to let cyclists on and off the road, or
to let vehicles cross the pavement, for example to a driveway.

The same applies where the road has been raised to the level of the pavement for the same purposes, such as at a raised crossing point.

Parking across a dropped kerb blocks driveways and crossing points and can force people with wheelchairs, pushchairs or visual impairments into the road.

The rule

Under section 86 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, you must not park on the road next to a dropped kerb or a raised section of road. The rule applies in England and Wales wherever the council has a "special enforcement area", which covers most places where the council enforces parking, including all of London. No traffic order is needed, and there may be no yellow lines. Some councils paint an advisory white line across a dropped kerb. The Welsh Government's guidance says the ban must be shown with signs or road markings in Wales, and that a Welsh council should not act against a vehicle parked outside a home unless the occupier asks it to.

Councils enforce it with contravention code 27 (dropped kerb) or 28 (raised road), both higher level penalties. In England these contraventions cannot be enforced by camera alone: a civil enforcement officer issues the PCN, which can be posted only if someone prevented the officer from issuing it or the vehicle was driven away before the officer finished. Blue Badge holders are not exempt.

The exceptions

You can park next to a dropped kerb:

In a marked parking bay, or anywhere else parking is specifically allowed, if the vehicle is wholly within it.
Outside a home, if you live there or have the occupier's permission, as long as the permission was not paid for. This does not apply to a shared driveway.
For the fire brigade, police or ambulance services, or responding to an emergency at the request of an NHS ambulance service.
To deliver or collect goods, or to load or unload, if it can't reasonably be done any other way, for no longer than necessary and no more than 20 minutes.
For building works, council waste collection, clearing an obstruction, or road or utility works, if the vehicle can't be used without parking there, for no longer than necessary.

Stopping briefly to let passengers get in or out, or because you are held up by circumstances you can't control or to avoid an accident, is not parking.

Even where you are allowed to park outside your own home, the Highway Code asks drivers not to park where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users, or in front of an entrance to a property.

Double parking

Section 85 of the same Act bans double parking in the same areas: you must not park with no part of your vehicle within 50 cm of the edge of the road, unless you are in a marked parking place. The same exceptions apply, except the one for homes. Councils use contravention code 26, a higher level penalty.

To challenge a penalty, see how to fight a dropped kerb or pavement parking penalty.

Paying a PCN

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How to pay

Pay the council that issued the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), using the payment details printed on it. Most councils take payment online and by phone, and some by post or in person. You will need the PCN number and the vehicle registration. Find your council's parking pages or use GOV.UK's pay a parking fine service.

Beware of text messages asking you to pay a parking penalty. Councils do not ask for PCN payments by text, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal warns that such messages are scams.

Paying at the discount

How you got the PCN	Pay half the penalty if you pay within
Fixed to your vehicle or handed to you	14 days of the PCN
By post, because the officer was prevented from issuing it or you drove away first	14 days of the PCN
By post, from camera evidence	21 days of the PCN (14 days for London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs)

For a PCN sent by post, the days count from when it is served, which is normally the second working day after it was posted. Councils must accept the discounted amount if full payment arrives in time. If you challenge the PCN within the discount period, many councils hold the discount while they consider your challenge, but check what the council says: see appealing against a PCN. Paying normally closes the case, so challenge first if you think the PCN is wrong.

If you don't pay

Notice to Owner. For a PCN fixed to the vehicle, the council can send a Notice to Owner to the registered keeper once 28 days have passed, and no later than 6 months after the PCN. It asks for the full penalty and gives 28 days to pay or make representations. A PCN sent by post already counts as the Notice to Owner.
Charge certificate. If the penalty is still unpaid 28 days after the Notice to Owner or postal PCN, or after the council rejects your representations or the adjudicator refuses your appeal, the council can send a charge certificate. This increases the penalty by 50%.
Order for recovery. If the charge certificate is not paid within 14 days, the council can register the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court, which adds an £11 court fee. You then receive an order for recovery, with a witness statement form (TE13).
Witness statement. You have 21 days to file it, and you can use it to say why the debt should not have been registered, but only on four grounds: you did not receive the Notice to Owner or postal PCN; you made representations in time but had no reply; you appealed in time but had no reply, or the charge certificate came before your appeal was decided or after it was allowed; or you had already paid the penalty in full. A witness statement is signed with a statement of truth, and making a false one can be contempt of court. If you file it, the order and the charge certificate are cancelled and the case goes back to the council or the adjudicator. If you are too late, you can ask for more time on form TE14, explaining why you are late. For London bus lane and moving traffic penalties the forms are different: a sworn statutory declaration (form PE3).
Enforcement agents. If you still don't pay or respond, the council can ask the court for a warrant of control and pass the debt to enforcement agents (bailiffs). Their fees are added to what you owe: £79 when the case is passed to them, £247 if they visit, and more if goods are sold. They must give you at least 14 clear days' notice before they can take goods. GOV.UK explains your rights with bailiffs.

If something stops you from dealing with a PCN in time, such as illness or being away, contact the council as soon as you can. Ignoring a PCN only makes it more expensive.

Parking on kerbs and pavements

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Rule 244 of the Highway Code says you must not park partially or wholly on the pavement in London or Scotland, and you should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.

London

Parking with one or more wheels on the pavement or verge is banned everywhere in London, unless signs show that it is allowed, often with marked bays. The ban comes from section 15 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974. Councils enforce it with a Penalty Charge Notice, contravention code 62, which is a higher level penalty. Blue Badge holders are not exempt.

There are limited defences, for example loading or unloading that could not be done properly without parking there, for up to 20 minutes or longer if the council allows, with the vehicle never left unattended, or parking with a police officer's permission.

The rest of England, and Wales

There is no general ban yet. A council can only give you a penalty for pavement parking:

where there are yellow lines or other waiting restrictions, because these cover the pavement and verge as well as the road;
where it has banned pavement or verge parking on a street or in an area with a traffic order, shown by signs; or
in Exeter and Essex, which have their own local laws against parking on verges and footways.

Elsewhere, the police can still act against a vehicle that causes an unnecessary obstruction of the road, which includes the pavement.

Lorries over 7.5 tonnes must not park on a pavement, verge or the land between two carriageways anywhere without police permission, except when essential for loading or unloading and never left unattended. Councils enforce this with contravention code 61.

What is changing in England

On 8 January 2026 the government announced two changes for England outside London:

Obstruction of the pavement. Regulations letting councils issue penalties when a civil enforcement officer sees a vehicle unnecessarily obstructing the pavement, with no need for signs or a traffic order. The government plans to lay them before the end of 2026.
Area-wide bans. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (Royal Assent 29 April 2026) lets the government make regulations allowing local transport authorities, such as county and unitary councils and the new strategic authorities, to ban parking on pavements and verges across their areas without asking the government. The government plans these regulations "no earlier than late 2027".

Neither change was in force when this page was checked. Code 60 has been reserved in the code list for the pavement obstruction contravention.

What is changing in Wales

Wales has no pavement parking power of its own yet. A Welsh taskforce recommended in 2020 that councils should be able to enforce against pavement obstruction, but the plans were delayed. In February 2026 the Welsh Government said it supported England's obstruction approach and was discussing with the UK government how to apply it in Wales.

For comparison, Scotland has banned pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs nationally since 11 December 2023.

Why it matters

Vehicles parked on pavements:

Force pedestrians into the road, including people with pushchairs, wheelchairs or visual impairments.
Narrow the pavement so that it is hard or impossible to get past.
Damage paving, kerbs and verges, which councils then have to repair.

To challenge a penalty, see how to fight a dropped kerb or pavement parking penalty.

Re-parking in the same bay or set of bays

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Many short-stay bays have a "no return" rule, shown on the signs: for example "No return within 2 hours". Once you leave, you must not park in the same parking place again until that time has passed.

The "parking place" is usually the whole set of bays covered by the same restriction, often a whole street or stretch of bays, not just the bay you used. Moving to the next bay is not leaving. Car parks have their own no-return rules, shown on the signs and machines.

The contravention codes

Code	Description	Level
22	Re-parked in the same parking place or zone within one hour after leaving (on-street)	Lower
90	Re-parked in the same car park within one hour after leaving (car parks)	Lower

"One hour" is replaced by the time on the signs where it is different. See the full list of contravention codes.

How it is enforced

Civil enforcement officers record the vehicle registration, the location, the times and often the position of the tyre valves (for example "9 o'clock"), and take photographs, so they can show whether a vehicle has left and come back. Where you pay by phone or app, the payment records show when each stay started.

Blue Badge holders parked on yellow lines have a similar rule: you must wait at least an hour before parking in the same road again on the same day.

See also meter feeding, which applies when you pay again without leaving.

Meter feeding

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"Meter feeding" means paying again to stay longer in the same parking place once your first period has started, whether at a meter, at a pay and display machine, or by phone or app. Where the traffic order for the bays bans it, you can get a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) even if the extra time would not take you past the maximum stay. The aim is to keep short-stay spaces turning over.

The rules vary from place to place. Some councils let you extend your stay by phone or app up to the maximum stay shown on the signs, and others don't. Check the signs, the machine and the payment app before you buy more time. If in doubt, move on when your first period runs out.

The contravention codes

Code	Description	Level
07	Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time (on-street)	Lower
84	Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time (car parks)	Lower
30	Parked for longer than permitted (on-street)	Lower
80	Parked for longer than permitted (car parks)	Lower

Codes 30 and 80 are for staying longer than the maximum stay. See the full list of contravention codes.

How it is enforced

Civil enforcement officers record the vehicle registration, the bay or machine, the times on your ticket or payment, and often the position of the tyre valves (for example "9 o'clock"), and take photographs. This shows whether the vehicle has moved between payments.

See also re-parking in the same bays, which applies when you leave and come back too soon.

Pay and display parking bays

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You can park in a pay and display bay for the time you have paid for, up to the maximum stay shown on the signs and machines. Check the signs for the days and hours that charges apply, the maximum stay, and whether you may return.

Paying and displaying

Paper tickets. Display the ticket clearly inside the windscreen, printed side up, so that the expiry time can be read from outside. Check it after closing the door, because the draught can move it, and make sure a permit or sticker isn't covering it.
Paying by phone or app. Many councils now take payment by phone or app, and some bays are cashless. You don't display anything: the civil enforcement officer checks your vehicle registration against the payments. Make sure you enter the right location code and registration, and keep the confirmation in case you need to challenge a penalty.

When your time runs out

Grace period. In England a council cannot issue a penalty if you have stayed in a paid-for or free parking place for 10 minutes or less beyond your time. This applies in council car parks too. It does not help if you never paid, and it does not apply on yellow lines. Wales has no grace period in law, although Welsh councils can choose to allow one.
Leave when your time is up. Buying more time to stay beyond the time you first paid for, or beyond the maximum stay, can be a contravention: see meter feeding.
No return. Many bays say, for example, "No return within 2 hours". That means you must not park in the same bay or set of bays again until 2 hours have passed since you left: see re-parking in the same bays.

Common contraventions

Overstaying your paid-for time (code 05), not displaying a valid ticket (code 06), and not paying the parking charge, for example in a pay-by-phone bay (code 11), are lower level contraventions, so they carry the lower penalty. The exception is Wales, where not displaying a valid ticket is a higher level contravention. See PCN fine amounts. To challenge a penalty, see how to fight a pay and display or parking app penalty.

Examples of Pay & Display parking signs.

Parking duration is limited to maximum period shown on ticket machine and parking signs

Designated Parking Bay

Parking bays for specific users

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Only park in a reserved bay if you are entitled to

Many bays are reserved for certain users. The sign beside the bay says who may use it and when, and outside those times the bay may be open to everyone. It is your responsibility to check that you are entitled to park there. The Highway Code says you must not park in spaces reserved for specific users, such as Blue Badge holders, residents or motorcycles, unless you are entitled to.

Bay	Who may use it	Usual contravention codes
Residents' and permit bays	Holders of a valid permit for that zone, and in shared use bays anyone who pays	12, 16, 19
Disabled bays	Blue Badge holders displaying the badge correctly	40 (on-street), 87 (car parks)
Loading bays	Vehicles loading or unloading during the times shown	25 (on-street), 70 (car parks)
Electric vehicle charging bays	Electric vehicles that are charging, during the times shown	14 (on-street), 71 (car parks)
Car club, motorcycle, doctors', ambulance and other bays	The vehicles or users named on the sign	23
Diplomatic and police bays	Diplomatic or police vehicles only	41, 42
Taxi ranks, bus stops and cycle docking stations	Taxis, buses and hire cycles only	45, 47, 43

All of these are higher level contraventions except code 19 (an invalid permit or ticket, or paid time run out, in a residents' or shared use bay), which is lower. See the full list of contravention codes.

Permits

Many councils now issue virtual permits linked to your vehicle registration, so there is nothing to display: the civil enforcement officer checks the registration. Check that the permit is for the right vehicle, zone and dates. With a paper permit, display it so it can be read through the windscreen.

Disabled bays

On-street disabled bays made by a traffic order are enforced by the council: display your Blue Badge correctly, with the parking clock if the bay has a time limit. Some councils paint advisory disabled bays outside homes without a traffic order. These cannot be enforced by the council or the police, and any Blue Badge holder may use them. Disabled bays in private car parks, such as supermarkets, are subject to the car park owner's rules.

To challenge a penalty, see how to fight a permit or suspended bay penalty or how to fight a Blue Badge or disabled bay penalty.

Blue Badge holders may not use bays reserved for other users, such as residents' or loading bays, unless the signs allow it. See Blue Badge parking for where else badge holders can and cannot park.

Examples of parking bay signs.

Parking restricted to permit holders only

Parking space reserved for named vehicles

CCTV evidence

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Councils use approved cameras, on poles, in cars or on buses, to record some contraventions. The Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is then sent by post to the vehicle's registered keeper. A trained council officer has to check the images before a PCN is sent.

Parking in England: only in certain places

Since 1 April 2015, councils in England, including London, cannot use cameras to enforce most on-street parking rules. A civil enforcement officer has to issue the PCN on the street, by fixing it to the vehicle or handing it to the driver. On the street, cameras can only be used where a vehicle is parked or stopped on:

a bus lane,
a bus stop or bus stand clearway,
school entrance "keep clear" markings, where an upright sign bans stopping,
a red route, or
a mandatory cycle lane (marked with a solid white line) that also has yellow lines or loading restrictions, since 22 June 2020.

Cameras can also be used in council car parks. The rules are in regulation 11 of the 2022 regulations.

Parking in Wales

Wales has no such limit: Welsh councils may use cameras for any parking contravention. The Welsh Government recommends using them only where enforcement by a civil enforcement officer is not practical.

Bus lanes and moving traffic

Bus lanes and moving traffic contraventions, such as stopping in a yellow box junction, making a banned turn, ignoring a "no entry" sign or driving in a mandatory cycle lane, are enforced by camera:

Area	Who enforces	Penalty
London	The London boroughs and Transport for London	£160, halved if paid within 14 days
England outside London	Councils with bus lane powers, and for moving traffic the councils given powers since 2022 (81 by December 2025)	£70 or £60, halved if paid within 21 days
Wales	Cardiff (since 2014), Carmarthenshire (2018) and Merthyr Tydfil (2025)	£70 or £60, halved if paid within 21 days

In England outside London, for the first 6 months at each new camera site, a driver's first contravention there should get a warning letter rather than a PCN. Where a council does not have these powers, moving traffic offences are a matter for the police. Red light and speed cameras are always police matters, not council penalties: see police penalties.

Moving traffic penalties explains what counts, lists the councils with the powers and sets out the yellow box junction rules.

Approved devices

Councils may only use cameras of a type certified as meeting the legal standards: by the Secretary of State in England (regulation 4 and Schedule 1 of the 2022 regulations) and by the Welsh Ministers in Wales (the Approved Devices (Wales) Order 2013). The Vehicle Certification Agency does the certifying for both. The cameras must record clear, timed and dated images of the vehicle's registration and the location.

If you get a camera PCN

Look at the evidence. Councils usually send a still image with the PCN or let you view the images online. Ask for them if they don't.
Pay early to save half, within 21 days of the PCN being served (14 days for London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs).
Or challenge it by making formal representations to the council within 28 days, and then appealing to the independent adjudicator if they are rejected. See appealing against a PCN.

Enforcement and fairness to motorists

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Fairness

Councils enforce parking under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, and they must have regard to the official statutory guidance: the Department for Transport's guidance in England and the Welsh Government's guidance in Wales. An adjudicator can treat a council's failure to follow the guidance, without a good explanation, as a reason to allow an appeal.

The main points for motorists are:

Enforcement is about keeping traffic moving, not raising money. Raising revenue should not be an objective, and councils should not set targets for income or for the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).
No rewards for tickets. Staff pay, rewards and targets should never be based on the number of PCNs, clampings or tow-aways.
Clear, lawful signs and lines. Councils should not issue PCNs where signs or road markings are wrong, missing or don't match the traffic order, and should accept a challenge that shows they were defective.
Published policies. Councils should publish their parking policies, including how they use their discretion to cancel penalties, and an annual report on their parking income, spending and PCNs.
Discretion and a fresh look. A council can cancel a PCN at any stage, even when the contravention happened, if the circumstances justify it. Challenges should be considered afresh and impartially, not just by checking the officer's notes.
Surpluses go back into transport. Money left over from on-street parking charges and penalties can only be spent on purposes set by law, such as transport, roads and the environment.
Independent appeals. If the council rejects your representations, you can appeal to an independent adjudicator, free of charge.
A say in the rules. Councils should consult on their parking policies when they review them. In England they should also run a petition scheme, so that residents and businesses can make the council review the parking restrictions in a place (right to challenge parking policies, 2015).

Find your council's parking information and policies.

Enforcement

How a civil enforcement officer issues a PCN

A civil enforcement officer must wear a uniform, which should show the council's name and the officer's identity number. They issue the PCN by:

fixing it to your vehicle, or
handing it to the driver.

They record evidence such as the vehicle details, the location, observation times and photographs. If you come back before the PCN has been issued, the guidance suggests councils may consider a verbal warning for a minor contravention, but this is up to each council.

Read about challenging a PCN.

When a PCN can come by post

A council can post the PCN to the vehicle's registered keeper, using the address the DVLA holds, if:

The contravention was recorded by an approved camera. In England cameras can only be used for parking contraventions in council car parks, and on the street only on bus lanes, bus stop and bus stand clearways, school "keep clear" markings, red routes and mandatory cycle lanes that also have yellow lines. Wales has no such limit. See CCTV evidence.
The officer was prevented from issuing the PCN, for example by threats or violence.
The officer had started to issue the PCN but the vehicle was driven away before they could finish.

The vehicle's owner is legally responsible for paying, and the owner is presumed to be the registered keeper: see registered keepers liability. Keep your address up to date with the DVLA so that you receive any notices.

Clamping and towing

Councils can clamp or tow away a vehicle that is parked in contravention, but the guidance says clamping should be rare. It is mainly for persistent evaders, whose vehicles have three or more unpaid penalties. A vehicle causing danger or an obstruction should be towed away rather than clamped. A vehicle displaying a valid Blue Badge must not be clamped, and should generally not be towed away.

To get a clamped or towed vehicle back you pay a release fee and the penalty charge, and you can then challenge both.

Background information

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Traffic wardens and the police used to enforce all parking in England and Wales by issuing Fixed Penalty Notices. Parking offences were criminal offences, dealt with through the criminal justice system, and not paying could mean a trip to the local magistrates' court. Today almost every council enforces parking itself, as a civil matter.

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is still the Act under which councils make traffic regulation orders: the legal orders behind yellow lines, parking bays, parking charges and permits. Breaking an order was a criminal offence, enforced by the police and traffic wardens through the magistrates' courts.

The Road Traffic Act 1991: decriminalised enforcement

The Road Traffic Act 1991 made the London boroughs responsible for most parking enforcement, which moved from the police to the boroughs by the end of 1994. Parking contraventions there stopped being criminal offences: they were "decriminalised". Instead of fines, councils issued Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), with a right of appeal to independent adjudicators, and unpaid penalties were recovered through the county court.

Councils outside London could choose to take on the same powers, known as decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE). Their appeals went to the National Parking Adjudication Service.

The Traffic Management Act 2004: civil parking enforcement

On 31 March 2008, Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 replaced the 1991 Act's parking rules in England and Wales. Decriminalised parking enforcement became civil parking enforcement, parking attendants became civil enforcement officers, and penalties were split into a higher and a lower level depending on how serious the contravention is. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal took over from the National Parking Adjudication Service, and in London the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service was renamed London Tribunals in 2015.

All 22 councils in Wales and almost every council in England now use civil parking enforcement. In the few areas that do not, parking restrictions are still enforced by the police as criminal offences: see the list of councils and their parking pages. The police can also act anywhere against dangerous or obstructive parking.

The main changes since 2008

Year	Change
2012	Clamping and towing on private land without lawful authority became a criminal offence in England and Wales, and private car park operators gained the right to pursue the registered keeper if they follow strict notice rules (1 October 2012)
2013	Wales replaced its 2008 rules with new regulations that also cover bus lanes and moving traffic. Cardiff became the first Welsh council to enforce moving traffic, in 2014
2014	The paper tax disc was abolished (1 October 2014)
2015	In England, cameras could no longer be used for most on-street parking contraventions (1 April 2015), and a 10-minute grace period was introduced at the end of paid or free parking time (6 April 2015)
2016	The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 replaced the 2002 rules for traffic signs and road markings (22 April 2016)
2019	Blue Badges in England were extended to people with hidden disabilities (30 August 2019). Wales had widened eligibility in 2014 and 2016
2022	England's parking rules were remade (31 May 2022). Councils outside London could apply for powers to enforce moving traffic contraventions such as yellow box junctions and banned turns
2025	London's penalties rose for the first time since 2011, to up to £160 (7 April 2025)
2026	A new Act allows area-wide pavement parking bans in England, once regulations are made (29 April 2026). The government laid a statutory code of practice for private car parks before Parliament (20 October 2026)

See enforcement and fairness, CCTV evidence, pay and display bays, parking on pavements and PCN fine amounts for the details.

Bus and cycle lanes

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Bus lanes

Bus lanes keep buses moving. The signs show the times the lane operates and which other vehicles may use it. Cycles may use most bus lanes; taxis and motorcycles only where the signs show them. During the times shown you should not drive in a bus lane unless the signs allow your vehicle. Outside those times anyone can use it, and a lane with no times shown operates at all times.

You may enter a bus lane to stop, load or unload where this is not prohibited, but many bus lanes also have waiting or loading restrictions. Blue Badge holders have no right to drive in bus lanes during their hours of operation. Police, fire and ambulance vehicles being used for those purposes are exempt in London, and usually elsewhere under the local traffic order.

Councils enforce bus lanes with cameras, and the PCN is posted to the vehicle's registered keeper. Bus lane penalties are civil penalties, like parking penalties: they are halved if you pay within 21 days (14 days in London), and you can challenge and appeal them, although in London the grounds for challenging are narrower and formal representations are made against a later Enforcement Notice. How to fight a bus lane or bus gate penalty explains the arguments that win and lose. In London, the London boroughs and Transport for London enforce them; elsewhere, councils that have been given bus lane enforcement powers. A bus lane PCN uses contravention code 34. See PCN fine amounts for what it costs. Driving through a bus gate, a short stretch of road for buses only, is usually a moving traffic contravention instead: see moving traffic penalties.

Cycle lanes

The Highway Code says:

Cycle lane marked with a solid white line (a mandatory cycle lane): you must not drive or park in it during its times of operation.
Cycle lane marked with a broken white line (an advisory cycle lane): do not drive or park in it unless it is unavoidable.
Any cycle lane: you must not park in it while waiting restrictions apply, such as yellow lines.

Cycle tracks are separated from traffic, for example by a kerb, and may be shared with pedestrians. You must not stop or park on a cycle track.

Parking wholly or partly on a cycle track or lane is a higher level contravention (code 49). In England, councils may use cameras to enforce parking in a mandatory cycle lane where there are also waiting or loading restrictions (yellow lines or kerb marks), and councils with moving traffic powers can use cameras to issue penalties for driving in a mandatory cycle lane (code 36).

Give way to cyclists in a cycle lane or on a cycle track when you turn across it, and remember that cyclists do not have to use cycle lanes or tracks.

Waiting restrictions - single yellow lines

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No waiting during the times shown on the sign

A single yellow line along the edge of the road means you must not wait or park there during the times shown on a nearby sign. In a Controlled Parking Zone the times are on the signs where you enter the zone instead. If the sign shows no days, the restriction applies every day, including Sundays and bank holidays. Outside those times you can park there, unless another restriction applies.

Like double yellow lines, the restriction covers the road, the pavement and the verge beside the line.

When you can stop during the restricted times

To load or unload, unless there is also a loading ban, shown by short yellow marks on the kerb: two marks mean no loading at any time, and one mark means no loading at the times on a nearby sign.
To let passengers get in or out.
With a Blue Badge, for up to 3 hours, displaying the badge and the blue parking clock set to the quarter hour when you arrived. Where the restriction lasts 3 hours or less, the badge covers all of it, without the clock. This does not apply where there is a loading ban, in car parks, or where parking would cause an obstruction or danger, and parts of central London have their own rules. See Blue Badge parking for the details.

Parking on a single yellow line during its times is a higher level contravention (code 01). The 10-minute grace period in England does not apply to yellow lines. To challenge a penalty, see how to fight a yellow line or loading penalty.

Examples of Single Yellow Line and Sign

No waiting during the times shown on the sign

Single Yellow Line

Waiting restrictions - double yellow lines

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No waiting at any time

Double yellow lines along the edge of the road mean you must not wait or park there at any time. They do not need an upright sign. Since 2016 new seasonal restrictions use a single yellow line instead, but some older double yellow lines still have a sign showing that they apply only at certain times of year.

The restriction covers the road, the pavement and the verge beside the lines, so parking with your wheels on the pavement next to double yellow lines is still parking on them.

When you can stop

To load or unload, unless there is also a loading ban. A loading ban is shown by short yellow marks on the kerb: two marks mean no loading at any time, and one mark means no loading at the times on a nearby sign. The loading has to be what you are actually doing: civil enforcement officers usually watch a vehicle for a few minutes for signs of loading before issuing a penalty.
To let passengers get in or out.
With a Blue Badge, for up to 3 hours, displaying the badge and the blue parking clock set to the quarter hour when you arrived. This does not apply where there is a loading ban, on yellow lines in car parks, or where parking would cause an obstruction or danger. You must wait at least an hour before parking in the same road again that day. Parts of central London have their own rules: the City of Westminster, the City of London, Kensington and Chelsea and part of Camden. See Blue Badge parking for all the rules.

What happens if you park on them

Parking on double yellow lines is a higher level contravention (code 01, or code 02 where loading is also banned), so it carries the higher penalty. See PCN fine amounts.

The 10-minute grace period in England does not apply to yellow lines: it only covers overstaying your time in a parking place.

To challenge a penalty, see how to fight a yellow line or loading penalty.

Urban clearways

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An urban clearway keeps a busy road clear during the morning and evening rush hours. The sign shows the days and the two time periods when it applies.

During those times you must not stop, except for as long as it takes to pick up or set down passengers. You cannot park, wait or load. The restriction covers both sides of the road, including the pavements and verges.

Urban clearways have no road markings: the signs are placed at the start of the clearway and after each side road, and a sign marks where it ends.

Blue Badge holders have no exemption: they can pick up or drop off passengers, but must not park. Outside the times shown, the normal rules for the road apply.

Other clearways are different:

A clearway sign with no times (a red cross on a blue background) means no stopping on the main road at any time, not even to pick up or set down passengers. It is used mainly on rural main roads, and you can still stop in lay-bys.
Red routes, mostly in London, use red lines and signs to ban stopping. Some red route clearways have no red lines at all.
Bus stop clearways are yellow boxes marked "BUS STOP". Apart from a few exceptions, such as a taxi briefly picking up or setting down a passenger, other vehicles must not stop in them during the times on the nearby sign, or at any time if it shows none.

Reasons and tips for challenging a PCN

2008-03-31T00:00:00Z

The legal grounds for challenging a PCN

The law sets out the grounds on which you can make formal representations against a council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), and they are printed on the Notice to Owner or postal PCN. For parking PCNs, and for bus lane and moving traffic PCNs outside London, they are the same in England and Wales:

The contravention did not happen. For example, you were loading or unloading where that is allowed, you had paid for your parking, the signs or lines were missing, worn or unclear, or your vehicle was not where the PCN says.
You were not the owner at the time. You had sold the vehicle before the date of the PCN, or bought it afterwards. Give the name and address of the buyer or seller if you know them.
The vehicle was being used without your consent, for example it had been stolen. A crime reference number helps.
You are a vehicle hire firm, the vehicle was on hire under a hire agreement, and the hirer had signed a statement accepting liability for penalties. Give the hirer's name and address.
The penalty is more than it should be, for example a higher band penalty for a lower band contravention.
Procedural impropriety: the council did not follow the rules, for example a notice was missing required information, or a charge certificate was sent before your appeal was decided.
The traffic order behind the restriction is invalid.
The PCN was posted because the officer was "prevented" from issuing it, but they were not.
The penalty had already been paid, in full, or at the discount within the discount period.

London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs

Bus lane and moving traffic PCNs from the London boroughs and Transport for London come under London's own Acts, which give fewer grounds:

Moving traffic (the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003): the contravention did not happen; you were not the owner at the time; the vehicle was being used without your consent; you are a hire firm and the hirer signed a statement accepting liability; or the penalty is more than it should be. London Tribunals counts a PCN that was never served, or was served late, under that last ground.
Bus lanes (the London Local Authorities Act 1996): there was no contravention, which London Tribunals says includes a lane that was not properly signed, a vehicle that was allowed to use it and a penalty for the wrong amount; you were not the owner at the time; the vehicle was being used without your consent; or the police are taking action against the driver for the same incident.

These PCNs have no procedural impropriety ground, no invalid traffic order ground and no compelling reasons ground.

Road charging penalties, such as for the congestion charge, the ULEZ or a clean air zone, have grounds of their own: see how to fight a road charging penalty.

Compelling reasons

Even when none of the grounds applies, you can ask the council to cancel the penalty because there are compelling reasons, such as a medical emergency or a breakdown. The council has discretion to cancel a PCN at any stage and should publish its policy on when it does. An adjudicator cannot cancel a penalty for compelling reasons alone, but can recommend that the council does. That does not apply to London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs: their adjudicators decide only whether one of the London grounds applies.

Reasons that do not work

"I wasn't driving." The owner of the vehicle, presumed to be the registered keeper, is liable whoever was driving.
"I was only there for a minute." There is no general allowance on yellow lines. The 10-minute grace period in England applies only at the end of your time in a parking place, not where waiting is banned.

Tips for challenging a PCN

Challenge early. For a PCN put on your vehicle, an informal challenge within 14 days gives the council the chance to keep the 50% discount open if it rejects your challenge; many do. See appealing against a PCN for every time limit.
Check the PCN. Look at the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code. Mistakes can be grounds for cancellation.
Use the council's form or website, and quote the PCN number and your vehicle registration.
State your case clearly and simply. Say which ground applies, or explain the compelling reasons.
Send evidence and keep the originals: photographs of the signs and lines, your parking ticket or app receipt, your Blue Badge and clock, a delivery note to show you were loading, or a statement from a witness.
Ask for the council's evidence, such as the officer's photographs and notes, if it has not been sent.
Keep copies of everything you send and receive, with dates.

Differential parking bands - higher and lower band penalty charge notices

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Since 31 March 2008, when Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 came into force, council parking penalties have had two levels. This is known as differential charging:

Higher level for more serious contraventions, where parking is not allowed at all or the space is reserved for someone else, such as parking on yellow lines, in a disabled bay without a Blue Badge, or across a dropped kerb.
Lower level for less serious ones, where you were allowed to park but broke the rules for the bay, such as overstaying your paid-for time.

The amounts for each level are on PCN fine amounts. Which contraventions are higher level is set by the 2022 regulations in England outside London, by a 2013 order in Wales, and by London Councils' code list in London. The code lists use the same levels everywhere, with one exception: not displaying a pay and display ticket (code 06) is higher level in Wales.

Higher level contraventions

On-street

Code	Contravention
01	Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours (yellow lines)
02	Parked or loading/unloading where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force
12	Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place without a valid permit, voucher or ticket, or without paying
14	Parked in an electric vehicle charging place during restricted hours without charging
16	Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid permit
18	Selling goods from a vehicle in a parking place when prohibited
20	Parked in a part of a parking place marked by a yellow line where waiting is prohibited
21	Parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space
23	Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle
25	Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading
26	Double parking: more than 50 cm from the kerb and not in a parking place
27	Parked next to a dropped kerb
28	Parked on part of the road raised to the level of the pavement, such as a raised crossing point
40	Parked in a disabled person's parking place without a valid Blue Badge displayed correctly
41	Stopped in a parking place for diplomatic vehicles
42	Parked in a parking place for police vehicles
43	Stopped on a cycle docking station parking place
45	Stopped on a taxi rank
46	Stopped where prohibited, on a red route or clearway
47	Stopped on a restricted bus stop or stand
48	Stopped on the restricted area outside a school, hospital, or fire, police or ambulance station
49	Parked wholly or partly on a cycle track or lane
55	A commercial vehicle parked in breach of an overnight waiting ban
56	Parked in breach of a commercial vehicle waiting restriction
57	Parked in breach of a bus ban
61	A heavy commercial vehicle parked on a footway, verge or land between two carriageways
62	Parked with one or more wheels on a footpath or any part of the road other than the carriageway
99	Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or its zigzag lines

Car parks (off-street)

Code	Contravention
70	Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading
71	Parked in an electric vehicle charging place during restricted hours without charging
74	Selling goods from a vehicle in a parking place when prohibited
78	Parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space
81	Parked in a restricted area in a car park or housing estate
85	Parked without a valid permit where one is required
87	Parked in a disabled person's parking place without a valid Blue Badge displayed correctly
89	Vehicle exceeds the maximum weight, height or length permitted
91	Parked in a car park or area not designated for that class of vehicle
92	Parked causing an obstruction

Lower level contraventions

On-street

Code	Contravention
04	Parked in a meter bay when penalty time is indicated
05	Parked after the expiry of paid for time
06	Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket or voucher (higher level in Wales)
07	Paid again to extend the stay beyond the time first paid for ("meter feeding")
08	Parked at an out-of-order meter during controlled hours
09	Displaying multiple pay and display tickets where prohibited
10	Not displaying two valid pay and display tickets when required
11	Parked without payment of the parking charge
19	Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place with an invalid permit, voucher or ticket, or after paid time has run out
22	Re-parked in the same parking place within the no-return time
24	Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space
30	Parked for longer than permitted
35	Parked in a disc parking place without clearly displaying a valid disc
63	Parked with engine running where prohibited

Car parks (off-street)

Code	Contravention
73	Parked without payment of the parking charge
79	Parked without registering for the free parking period (outside London)
80	Parked for longer than permitted
82	Parked after the expiry of paid for time
83	Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket, voucher or parking clock
84	Paid again to extend the stay beyond the time first paid for
86	Not parked correctly within the markings of a bay or space
90	Re-parked in the same car park within the no-return time
93	Parked in a car park when closed
94	Not displaying two valid pay and display tickets when required
95	Parked in a parking place for a purpose other than that designated
96	Parked with engine running where prohibited

Bus lanes and moving traffic

Bus lane and moving traffic contraventions, such as stopping in a yellow box junction or making a banned turn, do not use the parking levels. In England outside London and in Wales they are charged at the higher level; in London they have their own rate.

The official wording of every code is on the full list of contravention codes.

PCN fine amounts

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A council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is either a higher level or a lower level penalty, depending on how serious the contravention is: see higher and lower band PCNs. How much that is depends on where you are.

England outside London, and Wales

The government (in Wales, the Welsh Government) sets two bands. Each council chooses which band to use, and can use different bands in different parts of its area.

Band	Higher level	Lower level
Band 1	£60	£40
Band 2	£70	£50

These amounts have not changed since 31 March 2008. A council can only charge more with the Transport Secretary's permission: in August 2025 and August 2026, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council was allowed to trial London-level penalties on its seafront.

Bus lane and moving traffic penalties, where a council enforces them, are charged at the higher level.

London

London's penalties are set by the London boroughs together, through London Councils, with the Mayor of London's approval. Since 7 April 2025 they have been:

Band	Higher level	Lower level
Band A	£160	£110
Band B	£140	£90

Band A covers about 20 boroughs, parts of several others and some outer town centres; the rest of London uses Band B. Boroughs can ask to change band, so check London Councils' list or the borough's own website.

Bus lane and moving traffic penalties on borough roads are £160. On Transport for London's red routes, penalties are also £160.

Paying early or late

Stage	Amount
Paid within the discount period	Half the penalty. The period is 14 days, or 21 days for a parking PCN sent by post from camera evidence. London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs have 14 days
Paid after the discount period	The full penalty
After a charge certificate	The penalty plus 50%
After the debt is registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre	Plus an £11 court fee
If enforcement agents (bailiffs) are used	Plus their fees: £79 when the case is passed to them, and £247 more if they visit

So a £70 penalty costs £35 if paid early, £105 after a charge certificate and £116 once registered at the court. A £160 London penalty costs £80, £240 and £251. Paying a PCN explains each step.

Clamping and removal

If your vehicle is clamped or towed away, you also pay to get it back, on top of the penalty:

Charge	England outside London, and Wales	London
Release from a clamp	£40	£100
Removal (towing)	£105	£280
Storage, per day	£12	£55
Disposal	£50	£100

To find out which band your council uses, see its parking pages: find your council's parking information.

Tips on how to avoid getting a penalty charge notice (PCN)

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Read the signs, not just the lines. The times for single yellow lines and parking bays are on nearby signs, or on the signs where you enter a Controlled Parking Zone. If no days are shown, the restriction applies every day.
Buy enough time to get the shopping done or finish your meeting and get back to the car. If you pay by phone or app, check that you chose the right location code and vehicle registration, and keep the confirmation.
Display your ticket correctly, printed side up and readable through the windscreen, and check it has not moved when you close the door.
Have a back-up way to pay. Some machines take only cards or apps, and others are out of order. Don't leave the car to find change or a working machine without displaying a valid ticket.
Don't park on double yellow lines unless you are loading or unloading, or letting passengers in or out. Civil enforcement officers watch for signs of loading before issuing a penalty.
Don't park on single yellow lines during their restricted hours, except to load, unload or let passengers in or out.
Park wholly within a marked bay. Taking up more than one bay, or parking over the bay markings, can get you a penalty.
Check the bay is for you. Residents', permit, disabled, loading, car club and electric vehicle charging bays are reserved, as are bus stops and taxi ranks. Look out for suspension signs on bays, which can go up at short notice.
Don't park across a dropped kerb or on the pavement where it is banned: see dropped kerbs and parking on pavements.
Know the grace period. In England a council cannot issue a penalty if you overstay your paid or free time in a parking place by 10 minutes or less. There is no grace period on yellow lines or anywhere else parking is not allowed, and Wales has no grace period in law.
Blue Badge holders: display the badge on the dashboard with the front, showing the hologram and expiry date, facing up. When you park on yellow lines or anywhere with a time limit, also display the blue parking clock set to the quarter hour when you arrived. Don't park in bays reserved for other users unless the signs allow it. See Blue Badge parking.

Appealing against a penalty charge notice (PCN)

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You can challenge a council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) in up to three stages: with the council informally, with the council formally, and then with an independent adjudicator. Challenging and appealing cost nothing. The main risk is losing the 50% discount for paying early, so the time limits below matter.

How you start depends on how you got the PCN.

If the PCN was put on your vehicle or handed to you

Informal challenge. Write to the council, usually online, saying why the PCN should be cancelled. Do it within 14 days of the date of the PCN if you can. Many councils hold the penalty at the discounted rate while they consider a challenge made in that time, but they do not have to, so check what the council says. If they reject it, the official guidance in England and in Wales recommends that they consider offering the discount for a further 14 days.
Notice to Owner. If the penalty is not paid, the council can send a Notice to Owner to the registered keeper. It cannot be sent until the 28 days given on the PCN have passed, and not more than 6 months after the PCN. It asks for the full penalty.
Formal representations. You then have 28 days from the Notice to Owner to make formal representations to the council, on the legal grounds or compelling reasons. This is a fresh chance even if your informal challenge was rejected. The council must reply within 56 days. If it does not, your representations count as accepted and the penalty is cancelled.
Appeal to the adjudicator. If the council rejects your representations, it sends a Notice of Rejection. You then have 28 days to appeal to the independent adjudicator.

If the PCN came by post

A council sends a PCN by post when the contravention was caught on an approved camera, or when the civil enforcement officer was prevented from issuing it or the vehicle was driven away before they could finish. A postal PCN is the formal notice, so there is no informal stage and no separate Notice to Owner, except for London bus lane PCNs (below).

The council must serve a postal parking PCN within 28 days of the contravention, or within 6 months if it asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within 14 days and did not get them in time. If yours came later, say so in your representations.

Formal representations to the council within 28 days of the PCN being served.
Appeal to the adjudicator within 28 days of the Notice of Rejection, if the council rejects them.

London bus lane PCNs work differently. The PCN asks for payment within 28 days, and many councils will consider an informal challenge in that time. If it is not paid, the council sends an Enforcement Notice, and you make formal representations within 28 days of that notice. See how to fight a bus lane or bus gate penalty.

You can pay at the discounted rate within 21 days for a camera parking PCN, or within 14 days when the PCN was posted because the officer could not issue it. In London, bus lane and moving traffic PCNs have a 14-day discount period. In Wales, if the council rejects your representations against a postal PCN, it must by law offer the discount again for a further 21 days.

Time limits at a glance

Stage	Time limit
Pay at the 50% discount	Within 14 days of the PCN (21 days for a camera parking PCN sent by post)
Postal parking PCN served	Within 28 days of the contravention, or 6 months if the council is waiting for the keeper's details from the DVLA
Informal challenge (PCN on the vehicle)	Best within 14 days, so the council can keep the discount open
Notice to Owner	Not before the 28 days on the PCN have passed, and no later than 6 months after the PCN
Formal representations	Within 28 days of the Notice to Owner or postal PCN (for a London bus lane PCN, of the Enforcement Notice)
Council's decision	Within 56 days of your representations, or they count as accepted
Appeal to the adjudicator	Within 28 days of the Notice of Rejection
Charge certificate (penalty increased by 50%)	Can be sent if the penalty is still unpaid 28 days after the Notice to Owner or postal PCN (when no representations were made), the Notice of Rejection (when there was no appeal) or the adjudicator's decision

If you miss a deadline because of something outside your control, contact the council straight away: councils and adjudicators can accept late representations and appeals when there is a good reason. Ignoring a PCN leads to the steps described in paying a PCN.

Where to appeal

Always challenge the council first. Only once the council has rejected your formal representations can you appeal to the adjudicator:

London Tribunals for PCNs from London boroughs and Transport for London.
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal for PCNs from councils in England outside London and in Wales.

The process and the legal grounds are the same in England and Wales. To contact your council, see the list of council parking pages.

A Parking Charge Notice from a private car park operator is not a council penalty: these steps and tribunals do not apply to it. See appealing a private parking charge.

Appealing against a council's decision is easier than you may think

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If a council rejects your formal representations against a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), you can appeal to an independent adjudicator. Adjudicators are lawyers who are independent of the council, and their decision is binding on both sides. Appealing is free, and you can do it all online.

Who decides your appeal

Where the PCN came from	Tribunal
A London borough or Transport for London	The Environment and Traffic Adjudicators at London Tribunals
A council in England outside London, or in Wales	The Traffic Penalty Tribunal

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal also hears appeals about bus lane, moving traffic and clean air zone penalties, Oxford's zero emission zone, the Dart Charge, the Mersey Gateway bridge tolls and Durham's road user charge. London Tribunals also hears appeals about bus lanes and moving traffic in London. Its separate Road User Charging Adjudicators hear appeals about the congestion charge, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), the Low Emission Zone and the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel charges. For these road charges, see how to fight a road charging penalty.

Before you appeal

You can only appeal once the council has rejected your formal representations. Its Notice of Rejection explains how to appeal and gives you the reference you need to start an appeal online. If you only made an informal challenge, wait for the Notice to Owner and make formal representations first: see appealing against a PCN.

You have 28 days from the Notice of Rejection to appeal. The adjudicator can accept a late appeal if you explain the delay.

How your appeal is decided

Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Most appeals are decided online on the written evidence from both sides. The adjudicator can ask questions through the online system. You can ask for a telephone or video hearing instead.
London Tribunals. You can have a personal hearing by video (Microsoft Teams), or ask for the appeal to be decided in your absence on the papers (a postal decision). For a road charging appeal you can also ask for a hearing in person at the London Tribunals Hearing Centre.

The council has to send its evidence, such as the officer's notes and photographs. Send yours with the appeal: photographs of the signs and lines, your parking ticket or app receipt, a witness statement, or a delivery note if you were loading. Your own clear account of what happened counts as evidence too.

What the adjudicator can decide

Allow the appeal if one of the legal grounds applies, for example the contravention did not happen or the council did not follow the rules. The council must then cancel the penalty and refund anything paid.
Refuse the appeal. You then have to pay the full penalty, not the discounted amount. If it is still unpaid 28 days after the decision, the council can increase it by 50%.
Refuse the appeal but recommend cancellation where there are compelling reasons, such as a genuine emergency. The council must reconsider and tell you its decision within 35 days, giving reasons if it says no. If it does not reply in time, the penalty is treated as cancelled. This does not apply to London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs, or to Transport for London's road charging penalties, which have no compelling reasons ground.

Costs

You do not pay to appeal, and you will not normally have to pay the council's costs if you lose. An adjudicator can only order costs in rare cases, where one side has acted frivolously, vexatiously or wholly unreasonably, or against a council whose decision was wholly unreasonable.

After the decision

An adjudicator's decision can only be reviewed on limited grounds, such as an administrative mistake, a good reason for missing your hearing, or new evidence that could not have been provided earlier. A review is not a second appeal. Beyond that, the only challenge is a judicial review in the High Court on a point of law.

Registered keepers liability

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Council penalties

For a council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), the law makes the owner of the vehicle liable to pay, not the driver. The owner is the person who keeps the vehicle, and is presumed to be the registered keeper on the DVLA's records unless it is proved otherwise (Traffic Management Act 2004, section 92). The rule is the same in England and Wales.

So if someone else was driving, the registered keeper still has to pay or challenge the PCN. Any money owed by the driver is a matter between the keeper and the driver.

When the registered keeper is not liable

These are among the legal grounds for challenging a PCN:

You were not the owner at the time. You had sold the vehicle before the contravention, or bought it afterwards. Give the name and address of the buyer or seller if you know them. Always tell the DVLA when you sell a vehicle.
The vehicle had been stolen or was being used without your consent.
A hire firm's vehicle. If the vehicle was on hire under a hire agreement and the hirer signed a statement accepting liability for penalties, the hire firm can pass the penalty to the hirer, who is then treated as the owner.

Keep your details up to date

Councils send Notices to Owner and postal PCNs to the address the DVLA holds. If you move, update your vehicle log book (V5C) straight away, or you may not hear about a penalty until it has increased.

Private parking charges are different

A Parking Charge Notice from a private car park operator, for example at a supermarket or retail park, is not a council penalty. It is a charge claimed under the terms on the car park's signs. The operator can pursue the registered keeper instead of the driver only if it follows strict rules on the notices it sends and when, set out in Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: see when the registered keeper has to pay a private parking charge. Appeals go to the operator and then to POPLA or the Independent Appeals Service, not to the council tribunals: see appealing a private parking charge.

Transport and advice websites

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Councils: paying and challenging a PCN

Every council's parking pages, for paying or challenging a Penalty Charge Notice.
Pay a parking fine and Parking tickets on GOV.UK.

Independent adjudicators

Challenge the council first. If it rejects your formal representations, you can appeal to:

London Tribunals, for PCNs issued by London boroughs and Transport for London.
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal, for PCNs issued in England outside London and in Wales.

Guidance from government

Department for Transport
How councils in England should enforce parking: the statutory guidance councils must have regard to.
Parking, Blue Badges and road offences: the Welsh Government's guidance for councils in Wales.
The Blue Badge scheme: rights and responsibilities in England
Road safety, driving rules and penalties on GOV.UK.

Highway Code

The law

Traffic Management Act 2004: summary (guidance)
Traffic Management Act 2004 (the Act)
Part 6 of the Act: civil enforcement of traffic contraventions (the part councils use to enforce parking)

Advice and information

Citizens Advice gives free, independent and confidential advice, including on parking tickets.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) keeps the register of vehicles and their keepers. Councils send PCNs to the keeper's address on it, so keep it up to date.
National Highways manages England's motorways and major A roads.
London Councils: parking services, for parking in London.
PATROL, the joint committee of councils in England outside London and in Wales, with information about parking and traffic penalties.