Appealing to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal or London Tribunals after a council says no

Which tribunal hears my appeal?

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal hears appeals against penalties from councils in England outside London and in Wales. That covers parking, bus lanes, moving traffic and clean air zones, plus road user charging schemes.

London Tribunals hears appeals against penalties from London councils and Transport for London. That includes parking, bus lanes and moving traffic, and the Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone and ULEZ.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own tribunals.

What must happen before I can appeal?

You can only appeal once you have challenged the penalty with the council or authority that issued it, by making formal representations, and it has sent you a Notice of Rejection. That letter gives you the code you need to appeal online.

You have 28 days from the Notice of Rejection to pay or appeal. If you are late, appeal anyway and explain why: the adjudicator can allow a late appeal.

By this stage the reduced amount has usually gone. If you lose, you normally pay the full penalty.

How does the tribunal work?

Both tribunals take appeals online or by post. You explain what happened and send your evidence: photos, documents, screenshots or video. The council sends its evidence too.

At the Traffic Penalty Tribunal most appeals are decided online on the evidence. You or the adjudicator can ask for a telephone or video hearing, which lasts around 15 minutes. At London Tribunals you choose a postal decision or a personal hearing by video call.

The appeal is free. Costs are only awarded in rare cases where one side has acted wholly unreasonably.

What does the adjudicator decide?

The adjudicator is an independent lawyer who looks at both sides and decides whether one of the legal grounds is made out. If it is, the appeal is allowed and the penalty cancelled.

The adjudicator cannot cancel a penalty just because the circumstances were hard. For a parking penalty, if there are compelling reasons, they can recommend that the council cancels it. The council must reconsider and reply within 35 days, but it can say no.

The adjudicator will not gather evidence for you, so send everything you want considered. Tell the truth: knowingly or recklessly making a false statement in an appeal is a criminal offence.

Which grounds work?

The adjudicator decides on the legal grounds. For a council parking 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 happens after the decision?

If you win, the penalty is cancelled and there is nothing more to do. If you lose, pay the full penalty within 28 days of the decision. After that the council can send a charge certificate, which increases it.

The decision binds you and the council. There is no automatic right of appeal. A decision can only be reviewed on narrow grounds, such as an administrative error or new evidence that could not have been known before. Disagreeing with it is not enough.

Past decisions are published. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal's key cases are on the Traff-iCase website, and London Tribunals keeps a register of appeals and a key cases database.