Bus Stop, Moving Traffic and Parking Penalty Charge Notices (PCN's)
You can review images and status, make a payment or challenge PCN (if available).
Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) for parking contraventions may be enforced either on-street by a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) or by CCTV enforcement.
A PCN can be served in a number of ways:
- If the contravention is seen by a CEO whilst patrolling they will place the PCN on the vehicle or hand it to the driver (or person appearing to be in charge of the vehicle).
- If a CEO begins to issue a notice on-street but is prevented from serving it (usually by the vehicle being driven away or there is a threat of violence towards the officer) then the PCN may be served by post to the registered keeper.
- If a contravention is captured by CCTV the recording will be reviewed and a PCN will be served to the registered keeper by post.
The charge associated with a PCN varies depending on the contravention. The amount due, deadlines for payment and appeal options available will be clearly advised on the notice. Examples of these are below:
| Type of Contravention | Fee | 50% discount |
| Moving Traffic Contravention | £130 | If paid within 14 days |
| Parking Contravention (served on street) | £130 for a more serious contravention such as footway parking or waiting restrictions (yellow lines). £80 for less serious contraventions such as overstaying a pay and display ticket | If paid within 14 days |
| Parking Contravention (served by post) | £130 for a more serious contravention such as footway parking or waiting restrictions. £80 for less serious contraventions such as overstaying a pay and display ticket | If paid within 14 or 21 days (this time frame is made clear within the PCN) |
| Bus Stop Contravention | £130 | If paid within 14 days |
Do not ignore PCNs
They may carry extra penalties if not paid or contested promptly. In order to qualify for a discount, payment must be received by the council within 14 days (or 21 days for CCTV PCNs) .
The PCN will show the alleged contravention, plus the date, time and location. If you feel that it was incorrectly issued you should write to us through the website as per the instructions on the PCN..
Payment of a Penalty Charge Notice is considered as acceptance of the penalty. When a PCN is paid the case is closed. Further correspondence may not be considered.
If the PCN was issued on the street by a CEO, and you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle, then the keeper will receive a Notice to Owner (NtO) demanding full payment of the penalty. Postal PCNs are automatically sent to the registered keeper so no NtO needs to be issued.
All issued PCNs will contain the following information.
- PCN number – please quote this on all correspondence
- Vehicle details – please check that the vehicle registration is correct. Information on the vehicle make and model is not mandatory but will usually appear for clarification.
- Contravention details – this will contain details of the nature of the alleged contravention, the description, the location and the date and time.
- Full amount and discounted value of the PCN – you must ensure that we receive payment within 14 days to qualify for the reduced charge.
- How to pay – when making payment please follow the instructions on the PCN.
The rear of the PCN will indicate how to challenge the alleged contravention.
Informal challenge
There are two stages of challenge – informal and formal representation for parking contraventions. An informal challenge can only be made when a PCN has been attached to your vehicle by the CEO and before we issue a ‘Notice to Owner’ letter.
Any Moving Traffic Contravention challenge will start at the formal stage.
Use our online system to make an informal challenge. You’ll need to enter the PCN number and your vehicle registration number. You’ll then be able to view the photographs taken of the vehicle and make a challenge. You should clearly state the reason you want to challenge the notice and supply any evidence you have to support you. If the challenge is received in the reduced rate period, this will be held and may be extended until after the challenge is considered.
You cannot use the informal challenge after a notice to owner has been sent or for a moving traffic notice.
Notice to Owner (NtO)
If a PCN that was issued on street by a CEO is not paid within 28 days a Notice to Owner (NtO) is sent to the keeper registered at DVLA (regardless who was driving).
The NtO provides you with an opportunity to either pay the outstanding penalty or make formal representations against the issue of the PCN within 28 days.
Representations that are made outside of the 28 days will be disregarded by us
Remember that you are responsible. If the NtO is passed to another person and is not paid or challenged then you could be liable to an increased charge and lose the opportunity to appeal.
If you wish to challenge the PCN under one or more of the statutory grounds indicated, or you have any other compelling reasons that mean the PCN should be cancelled, please make representations.
Formal representation (formal stage)
Having considered your representations we will either send you a ‘Notice of Acceptance of Formal Representations’ if we agree that you should not pay the penalty, or a ‘Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations’ if we feel that you should pay.
If you receive a ‘Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations’ you must either pay the penalty or appeal to London Tribunals within 28 days using the appeal form provided with the Notice of Rejection. Failure to do either of these things will result in continuing enforcement and additional charges.
Statutory grounds to challenge a PCN or NtO
- The alleged contravention did not occur - This will include cases where a vehicle was loading and unloading in accordance with a Traffic Management Order (TMO), where a PCN was issued too early by the CEO, or where the vehicle was displaying a valid permit, ticket badge or voucher. If you can, you should provide evidence to support your claim, for example if you are claiming that you stopped to unload goods you should send a copy of the delivery note.
- The recipient was never the owner of the vehicle in question; had ceased to be the owner before the date on which the alleged contravention occurred; or became the owner after that date. - You should submit evidence to support your claim, for example a letter from DVLA. If you are making representations under the second or third circumstances outlined, you are legally obliged to provide the name and address of the person to whom the vehicle was disposed of or acquired from if you have this information.
- The vehicle had been permitted to remain at rest in the place in question by a person who was in control of the vehicle without consent of the owner. - These covers stolen vehicles and vehicles which have not been stolen but were used without the owner’s consent. If you can, you should submit evidence to support your claim, for example a crime reference number or insurance claim.
- The recipient is a vehicle hire firm and: the vehicle in question was at the time hired from that firm under a vehicle hiring agreement; and the person hiring it had signed a signed a statement of liability acknowledging his liability in respect of any PCN served during the period of the hire agreement. - This only applies to hire companies where the hirer has signed a suitable agreement accepting liability for penalty charges.
- The penalty charge exceeded the amount applicable in the circumstances of the case. - For example you are being asked to pay the wrong amount or the PCN was not correctly issued
- The traffic order (except where it was made under Schedule 9 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984) is invalid. - This applies if the TMO is defective. Details of why you believe that the order is invalid should be provided.
- The NtO should not have been served as the penalty charge had already been paid in full or had been paid within the specified period at the reduced amount. This means that correct amount of penalty was paid during the prescribed time period before the NtO was issued. Evidence of the payment method, date and amount should be provided.
You may also make representations if there are any other compelling reasons why you believe that you should not pay the penalty charge.
Making a false statement or presenting false evidence to a council or an adjudicator when making a representation or an appeal is a criminal offence carrying a possible fine of up to £5,000.
Your right to appeal
You may only appeal to the London Tribunals - Environment and Traffic Adjudicators after your representations to the council have been rejected.
The adjudicators act as a tribunal – their decision is final (subject to an adjudicator’s review) and binding on you and us. There is no opportunity to challenge your liability to pay the PCN in court.
Make sure you read the council’s rejection letter before submitting your appeal as this will give their reasons for not cancelling the PCN. The main evidence against you is the PCN itself. There may also be CEO notes made at the time as well as photographs. If we submit new evidence we will send you details before the hearing date.
When submitting your appeal you should send in copies of any supporting evidence even if you are unsure of its relevance – the adjudicator may find it important.
You must appeal within 28 days from receipt of the ‘Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations’ or your appeal may not be considered. If you are submitting a late appeal you will need to explain why, so that the adjudicator can decide whether to accept it.
Charge certificates
We may issue a Charge Certificate 28 days after:
- a ‘Notice to Owner’ has been served and the council receives no payment or representation
- representations have been made and rejected and no payment has been received and no appeal has been made
- an appeal to the adjudicator has been refused and no payment has been made.
We may issue a Charge Certificate after 14 days where an appeal to the adjudicator has been withdrawn.
The Charge Certificate tells the vehicle owner that the penalty charge has increased by 50 per cent and that action will be taken to recover the amount due through the County Court if it is not paid within 14 days.
If you were not aware of the contravention prior to receiving the Charge Certificate, or if you received no reply to a representation or independent appeal, you must file a statutory declaration/witness statement at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), you can only file this once you have received an Order for Recovery.
Final Reminder Notice
Should the PCN remain unpaid at this stage, a final reminder notice is served advising if the PCN is not paid within 21 days the the debt is registered with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) where an additional £9 is added to the outstanding amount.
Order for recovery
If the penalty charge has not been paid 14 days after the Charge Certificate has been issued, we may apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to recover the charge as if it were payable under a county court order. Once this has been registered, the council will send you an Order for Recovery of the unpaid penalty charge and will enclose a Witness Statement form. Court costs, (£9) are added to the outstanding costs at this stage.
Witness Statement
Once the Order for Recovery has been received you will have 21 days to either pay the outstanding amount in full or send a Witness Statement to the Traffic Enforcement Centre detailing why the penalty charge should not be paid, and that the registration of the unpaid penalty charge should be revoked.
The Witness Statement can only be made on the following grounds:
- you did not receive the NtO in question
- you made formal representations to the council regarding the penalty charge but did not receive a Notice of Rejection
- you appealed to the parking adjudicator against our decision to reject your representations but had no response to your appeal
- you have paid in full the penalty charge to which the order relates.
Warrants of Control (bailiffs)
If you do not pay the penalty charge after the Order for Recovery has been issued, or you have failed to complete the Witness Statement within 21 days, we will apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre for authority to prepare a Warrant of Execution. This authorises the council to recover unpaid parking penalties using bailiffs.
