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Council parking PCN Deadlines and stages
For council parking Penalty Charge Notices in England. Not for private parking charges, or for bus-lane or moving-traffic penalties. Write your own dates in the last column, from the notices you have received.
The dates on your notices come first. The rules count "beginning with" the day of service, so that day is day 1. Post is normally treated as served on the second working day after it was sent. Councils often print a date one day later. Work to the earlier date.
| Stage | What starts the clock | Time limit | My date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discount | Ticket served | 14 days (21 for a camera ticket by post) | |
| Pay in full | Ticket served | 28 days | |
| Formal representations | Notice to Owner, or postal ticket, served | 28 days | |
| Council's decision | Council receives your representations | 56 days, or treated as accepted | |
| Tribunal appeal | Notice of Rejection served | 28 days | |
| Charge certificate | 28 days with no payment or challenge | Penalty plus 50%; then 14 days | |
| Order for Recovery | Order served | 21 days to pay or file form TE13 |
01Straight away
- Check who issued it. A council or TfL "Penalty Charge Notice" follows these stages. A private company's "Parking Charge Notice" does not.
- Write down the date of the contravention and the date on the notice.
- Photograph the signs, lines, meter or bay and your car's position, if you can, and keep any receipt or permit.
02Informal challenge (ticket on the windscreen)
- Sent early, ideally inside the 14-day discount period, through the council's website or in writing.
- One clear reason, with the evidence attached.
- Proof of sending kept (screenshot or receipt).
- If rejected: noted whether the council re-offered the discount, and for how long.
03Notice to Owner, or a ticket that came by post
- Formal representations sent within 28 days, beginning with the day of service.
- Each ground I rely on named: contravention did not occur; not the owner; vehicle taken without consent; hire firm; penalty exceeds the amount due; procedural impropriety; invalid traffic order; officer not prevented from serving (postal ticket); already paid.
- Any compelling reasons (such as a breakdown or a medical emergency) set out separately.
- Date the council received them noted, and 56 days counted on.
04Notice of Rejection
- Appeal to the tribunal, or payment, within 28 days of service. Appealing is free.
- Right tribunal: Traffic Penalty Tribunal (England outside London, and Wales) or London Tribunals (London).
- I know that if the appeal is refused, the full penalty is due, not the discount.
05Charge certificate and Order for Recovery
- At the charge certificate stage there is no further representation or appeal.
- Order for Recovery: within 21 days, pay or send a witness statement on form TE13 to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (not the council), ticking one reason only: no Notice to Owner received; representations made, no rejection received; appeal made, no response or decided in my favour; already paid in full.
- Late, or need more time: form TE14, sent with the completed TE13.
- TE13 has a statement of truth. A false statement can lead to proceedings for contempt of court.
06Keep
- Every notice, with its envelope (the postmark matters).
- Copies of everything sent, with proof of the date sent.
- Photos, receipts, permits and a dated note of every call.
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