17 grounds explained
Reasons to appeal a parking ticket
Most people pay because they do not know they have an argument. Find the one that matches your situation, see why it works, and what evidence to send with it.
Applies to any parking ticket
These arguments work whether the notice came from a council or a private company.
- The signs were not clearA driver must be given a fair chance to read and understand the terms before they park. Signs that are too high, too small, faded, unlit, obscured by foliage or positioned where nobody would look do not achieve that.
- The notice arrived too lateSchedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 sets strict windows for serving a Notice to Keeper. Miss them and the operator cannot hold the registered keeper liable, whatever the driver did.
- You paid but mistyped your registrationThis is a de minimis point. The charge is meant to protect the landowner's interest in managing the site and recovering tariff revenue. Where the money was paid, neither is affected.
- Your vehicle was never at that locationIf you were not there, this is a complete answer. It is also the one situation where adding other arguments actively harms you.
- The payment machine was not workingWhere the only means of payment was unavailable, the operator frustrated its own mechanism. That is their failure, not yours.
- You had a Blue BadgeBlue Badge concessions apply on most council land and at many private sites. Operators also owe duties to disabled users under the Equality Act 2010.
- You were at a hospitalTime at a hospital is rarely within a patient's control. Appointments overrun, treatment takes as long as it takes, and a driver cannot leave in the middle of it to feed a machine.
- It is a hire, lease or company vehicleWhere a vehicle is on hire under a written agreement, liability may pass to the hirer provided the required documents are supplied. Where it is a company vehicle, the registered keeper is not automatically the driver.
- The vehicle was sold or taken without your consentBoth of these are complete answers. For council PCNs, a vehicle taken without consent is one of the statutory grounds for representations.
- You held a valid permitThis is stronger than it sounds. You are not asking for leniency, you are saying the contravention did not happen.
Private parking charges
A private Parking Charge Notice is an invoice for an alleged breach of contract, not a fine. That opens arguments a council PCN does not.
- You were not the driverLiability only passes to the keeper where every condition in Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 has been strictly complied with. If any condition fails, the charge cannot be enforced against you.
- You were only a few minutes overA short overrun is expected to be tolerated. A charge issued inside the grace period should not have been issued at all.
Council penalty charge notices
Council PCNs are decided against statutory grounds under the Traffic Management Act 2004.
- You were loading or unloadingThe question is whether the enforcement officer observed the vehicle for long enough, and what they recorded. Their notes are frequently thinner than the penalty implies.
- You were caught in a bus laneA driver must have a fair opportunity to see the restriction and leave the lane safely. Advance signing that is hidden, faded or too late does not achieve that.
- You stopped in a box junctionYou may enter a box junction if your exit is clear. You may also wait in the box when turning right if you are prevented from turning only by oncoming traffic or other right-turning vehicles.
- You got a ULEZ or clean air zone penaltyCompliance depends on the vehicle's emissions standard, not its age. Misclassification is routine where the DVLA record does not carry a Euro standard.
- Your vehicle was towedRemoval is a serious step reserved for vehicles causing obstruction, danger or persistent contravention. It should not follow automatically from an alleged parking contravention.
Not sure which applies to you?
Answer a few questions and Voidly works out the strongest grounds for your case automatically, discarding any that contradict each other.
Start my appealLook up a contravention code·Read the guides
General information about grounds of appeal. Not legal advice, and every case turns on its own facts.