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Challenge your penalty charge notice (PCN)

How to challenge a penalty charge notice (PCN) or parking fine

If you do not pay your penalty charge notice (PCN) within 28 days, you will receive either:

  • a 'Notice to Owner' (for parking penalties) 
  • an 'Enforcement Notice' (for bus lane penalties)

When you receive either of those notices, or a CCTV penalty charge notice (for either parking or moving traffic penalties), then you have 28 days to:

  • make a representation to us
  • pay the full amount of your parking ticket

If your representation fails, you can go to an independent parking adjudicator. We’ll write to you about this if your representation to us fails.

Challenge a parking ticket or fine

Charge certificates

If you still do not pay, you will receive a charge certificate and your penalty will increase by a further 50%. You must pay the increased amount within 14 days. For more information, read more about the enforcement process.

Notice of registration of unpaid penalty charge

If the charge is not paid within 14 days, it may become a debt recoverable as if it were a county court debt. This means that additional court fees will now apply. 

You will receive an 'Order for recovery of unpaid penalty charge' and must either:

  • pay within 21 days
  • or complete a witness statement or statutory declaration with an order for recovery

For further information, read more about the enforcement process.

Court action: Warrants of Control and Enforcement Agents

If you take no action and 37 days have passed since the issue of the order for recovery, we may return to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to ask for a warrant of control. An enforcement agent will charge an extra fee to collect the debt. 

Read more about the Traffic Enforcement Centre.