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You may be able to appeal to an independent tribunal against a penalty charge notice (PCN) if you think it’s wrong.

This includes any PCN issued in England or Wales for:

• parking
• breaking traffic rules while moving (‘moving traffic contraventions’), for example driving in a bus lane when you should not
• not paying the Dartford Crossing, London congestion or low emissions zone charge on time

Before you can appeal, you must make a formal challenge (called a ‘representation’).

When to appeal

You must wait to find out the outcome of your formal challenge. If it’s rejected, you’ll get a ‘notice of rejection’ in the post.  

After you’ve received the notice, you have 28 days to make an appeal.

How to appeal

Find out how to appeal to:

• if your PCN was issued in London
• the if your PCN was issued outside London, in England or Wales - this includes PCNs from Dart Charge

If your appeal is successful the PCN will be cancelled and you will not have to pay anything.

You’ll have 28 days to pay the penalty charge notice (PCN) if your appeal is refused.

If you do not pay within 28 days

You’ll get a ‘charge certificate’ and you’ll have to pay 50% more within 14 days.

For example, if you get a charge certificate for a £60 PCN, you must pay £90.

You’ll have 21 days to pay the penalty charge notice (PCN) or challenge a court order demanding payment (known as an ‘order of recovery’).

When you can challenge

You can challenge an order of recovery if you:

• did not get a ‘notice to owner’ telling you how to make a formal challenge
• made a formal challenge on time but did not get a ‘notice of rejection’
• appealed to an independent tribunal on time but did not get a response
• have proof you’ve paid the penalty charge, such as a credit card statement

How to challenge

If you want to challenge an order of recovery, you must fill in and send the correct form. 

Fill in form TE9 if you have either:

• a parking PCN
• broken a traffic rule while moving (a ‘moving traffic contravention’) outside of London if your fine was issued on or after 1 June 2022

Fill in form TE9 Dart Charge, Mersey Gateway, clean air zones if you have a Dart Charge, Mersey Gateway or clean air zones PCN.

You’ll need to fill in a PE3 form if you have one of the following types of PCN:

• a low emission zone PCN
• a ‘moving traffic contravention’ in a London borough
• a moving traffic contravention outside of London if your fine was issued before 1 June 2022

Before you send the form, you should read the notes to check if you need a witness or have to pay a fee.

Send it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre by email or post within 21 days.

If your challenge is successful

The order of recovery will be withdrawn and bailiffs will not be able to seize your property.

The council or authority that issued the PCN will then do one of the following:

• cancel the PCN, for example because you paid it in full
• issue a new notice to owner - you’ll have 28 days to pay the ticket or challenge the ticket
• refer your case to an independent tribunal

You can ask for more time to challenge a court order (‘order of recovery’) if you:

• were contacted about a penalty charge notice (PCN) you did not know about
• were contacted about a paid or cancelled PCN
• did not get a response to your formal challenge (‘representation’) or appeal

Do this by making an ‘out of time’ challenge to the order of recovery.

Making an ‘out of time’ challenge

If you want to explain why you’re making a late challenge, you must fill in and send the correct ‘out of time’ form. 

Fill in form TE7 if you have either:

• a parking PCN
• broken a traffic rule while moving (a ‘moving traffic contravention’) outside of London if your fine was issued on or after 1 June 2022

Fill in form TE7 Dart Charge, Mersey Gateway, clean air zones if you have a Dart Charge, Mersey Gateway or clean air zones PCN.

You’ll need to fill in a PE2 form if you have either: 

• a low emission zone PCN
• broken a traffic rule while moving (a ‘moving traffic contravention’) outside of London if your fine was issued before 1 June 2022

You’ll need to fill in a PE3 form for a ‘moving traffic contravention’ in a London borough.

What happens next

Bailiffs will be told to stop any action while your ‘out of time’ challenge is considered by the council or authority that issued the PCN.

If your ‘out of time’ challenge is accepted

Bailiffs will have to return any property they seized and the council or authority will decide what happens next if your challenge is successful.

If your ‘out of time’ challenge is refused

The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) will review your ‘out of time’ challenge if it’s refused by the council or authority. You’ll get a letter to tell you if your challenge is successful or not.

If it’s not, you can ask a judge to review the TEC’s decision.

Getting a judge to review the TEC’s decision

Send application notice N244 to the TEC with your fee within 14 days of the date the decision was made.

Read the N244 guidelines for help filling in the application.

Fee

How much you pay depends on whether you want to attend a hearing to present your case.

How you want your case to be decided	Fee
With hearing at your local county court	£313
Without hearing by a district judge	£123

If you’re on a low income, or you’re on certain benefits and do not have much in savings, you might be able to get money off the fee.