How to write a PCN appeal letter

What should I do before I write?

Check who issued the notice and what stage it is at. A council Penalty Charge Notice and a private Parking Charge Notice follow different rules. The notice tells you how to challenge it and by when.

If the issuer has an online form, or says which form to use, use it. What goes in is the same whatever the format.

Do not pay while you are appealing. Paying is usually treated as accepting the ticket.

What should the letter include?

• The notice number, the vehicle registration and the date of the ticket.
• Your name and address, and whether you are writing as the driver or as the registered keeper.
• The ground you rely on, in one or two sentences near the top. For example: you had paid, the signs were unclear, or you were not the keeper on that date.
• The facts in order, with dates and times: when you arrived, what the signs said, what you did, when you left.
• A list of the evidence you are sending.
• A clear request that the notice is cancelled.

Which grounds work?

Build the letter on a ground the rules recognise. For a council ticket the common ones are:

• The contravention did not happen: you had paid, held a valid permit, or were loading or dropping off where that is allowed.
• The signs or road markings were missing, hidden, faded or contradictory.
• The notice is wrong or incomplete: the wrong vehicle, location or date, or required information is missing.
• You were not the owner when it happened, or the vehicle had been taken without your consent.
• The ticket was issued during the ten-minute grace period that applies after paid or free parking runs out in a council-run space in England.
• The council did not follow the proper process or missed its own deadlines.

Not sure which of these fit your notice? Check it free. You see the verdict and the deadline before you pay.

What evidence backs up the letter?

Send copies and keep the originals. At POPLA you cannot add new evidence after you submit, so put everything in at the start.

• Photos of the signs and markings where you parked, and of anything that hid them.
• A payment receipt, parking app record or permit.
• A repair note or breakdown record if the car broke down.
• A short statement from someone who was with you, headed Witness statement.
• A sale receipt or similar proof if you were not the keeper on the date.

What should I leave out?

• Anything you cannot stand behind. Only put in what is true and what you can show. For a council ticket, knowingly or recklessly making a false statement in representations or an appeal is a criminal offence.
• Guesses written as facts. If you are not sure of a time, say so.
• Anger, sarcasm or threats. Keep it calm and factual. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal says abusive language towards its staff or councils will not be tolerated.
• The driver's name, if you are the keeper and do not want to give it. For a private charge you do not have to say who was driving.
• Anything that does not bear on whether the ticket was right.

What if no ground fits?

A council must consider representations that there are compelling reasons to cancel, even when none of the legal grounds applies. Explain what happened plainly, with evidence, and ask it to use its discretion. It is a request, not a right.

Private companies must consider mitigating circumstances under the industry code, such as a sudden illness or a breakdown. POPLA and the IAS will not allow an appeal on mitigating circumstances alone, so set them out to the company first.

How do I send it?

Send it by the route the notice gives, before its deadline. If you post it, use a signed-for service so you can prove it arrived. If you use an online form, save the confirmation.

Each ticket needs its own appeal. POPLA and the IAS will not combine several charges into one.