How to fight a banned turn, no entry or School Street penalty
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
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:
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.
This page was checked against the law in England and Wales on 25 October 2026. It is general guidance, not legal advice: see the legal disclaimer.