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

PCN appealsLaw checked 22 October 2026

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

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.

This page was checked against the law in England and Wales on 22 October 2026. It is general guidance, not legal advice: see the legal disclaimer.