Parking · rights · charges

Penalty Charge Notice

The council track: the charge bands inside and outside London, the discount period, every stage that follows if you do not pay, and which tribunal hears your appeal.

UK-specific guidanceSources shown on every guideReviewed 7 September 2026

A Penalty Charge Notice — a PCN — is issued by a council under civil enforcement powers. It is not a criminal matter and it puts no points on your licence, but it escalates on a fixed timetable whether or not you engage with it — and that timetable is the reason most people end up paying more than they needed to.

Traffic Management Act 2004 (outside London); the London Local Authorities Acts in London
The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022

Not every council PCN is about parking

The same councils, under the same Act and with the same tribunal, also issue penalty charge notices to drivers who were moving at the time — for driving in a bus lane, stopping in a yellow box junction, making a banned turn or going past a no-entry sign.

Everything on this page applies to those notices too: the bands, the escalation and the appeal route are the same. Two things are not. They are served by post from camera evidence, so the discount period is the longer one, and for moving traffic contraventions a first offence at a new camera site should get a warning rather than a charge — a protection that does not extend to bus lanes.

If your notice says bus lane, box junction or banned turn, read one of these instead.
Bus lanes and bus gates →
Box junctions, banned turns and no entry →

What it costs

Higher level charges apply to the contraventions treated as more serious — parking on yellow lines, or causing an obstruction. Lower level charges apply to the rest, such as overstaying in a bay.

England outside London

BandHigher levelLower levelIf paid early
Band 1 £60 £40 £30 / £20
Band 2 £70 £50 £35 / £25

London

BandHigher levelLower levelIf paid early
Band A £160 £110 £80 / £55
Band B £140 £90 £70 / £45

London runs its own scale, and it is far higher. The cheapest London band at the lower level costs more than the most expensive band anywhere else in England.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has no bands and no council-by-council variation. One charge applies across the whole jurisdiction, and it is the Department for Infrastructure rather than a council that issues and enforces it.

ChargeIf paid within 14 daysAfter a charge certificate
£90 £45 £135

Issued and enforced by the Department for Infrastructure, through its Parking Enforcement Processing Unit.

Scotland

Scotland has no single national figure either. Each council sets its own level under its decriminalised parking enforcement order, so the amount on your notice is a local one. The pavement, double parking and dropped footway prohibitions are the exception: those carry one penalty set nationally.

The discount is the whole game

Pay within 14 days and the charge is reduced by 50 per cent. Where the notice was posted to you after a camera observation rather than left on the vehicle, the period is 21 days. The discount period runs from the day the notice is served. Where the notice is posted after a CCTV observation, the period is longer.

This creates the decision that catches people out. Challenging the notice takes longer than the discount period, and if you lose you pay the full amount. Some councils extend the discount if they reject an early informal challenge — many do not, and none have to. Decide early whether your grounds are strong enough to be worth the difference, because that is what you are actually choosing between.

What happens if you do nothing

StageWhat happens
Discount period Pay within 14 days and the charge is reduced by 50 per cent.
Full charge You have 28 days from service to pay in full.
Charge certificate If nothing is paid, the charge is increased by 50 per cent. The council must then wait 14 days from service of the certificate before it can go further.
Order for recovery The debt is registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre and a county court order follows.
Warrant Enforcement agents may be instructed, and their fees are added to the debt.

None of this requires anyone to decide to pursue you. It runs on its own, and enforcement agents' fees are added on top of a charge that has already grown by half.

Appealing

  1. Informal challenge. An informal challenge to the council, made before a Notice to Owner is issued. If it succeeds the notice is cancelled.
  2. Formal representations. Formal representations to the council after the Notice to Owner. The council must consider them and give reasons if it refuses.
  3. Tribunal. In London, London Tribunals. Elsewhere in England and Wales, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The two are not interchangeable. Which one hears your case depends on where the contravention happened, not on which you would prefer. Both tribunals are free to use, and you do not need a solicitor.

Car clamped or removed instead of ticketed? That is a separate process with its own fees: towing and clamping.

If your notice came from a private company instead →

Common questions

I got a PCN for a bus lane, not for parking — is this the right page?
Partly. A bus lane, box junction or banned-turn notice is a council penalty charge notice under the same Act, with the same bands, the same escalation and the same tribunal as everything on this page. What differs is the discount period, which is the longer camera one, and the warning that applies to a first moving traffic contravention at a new camera site but not to bus lanes. Those two pages set it out in full.
How much is a council parking ticket?
Outside London it is £60 or £70 at the higher level and £40 or £50 at the lower level, depending on which band the council uses. In London it is £160 or £140 at the higher level and £110 or £90 at the lower level. Paying within the discount period reduces all of these by 50 per cent.
Do I lose the discount if I challenge the notice?
Possibly. The discount period is short, and a challenge usually takes longer to resolve. Some councils reinstate the discount if they reject an early informal challenge, but they are not obliged to and many do not. Weigh how strong your grounds are against the difference in price before you decide.
What happens if I just ignore it?
The charge rises by 50 per cent at the charge certificate stage, then the debt is registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre and a court order follows. After that enforcement agents may be instructed, and their fees are added on top. None of it requires a person to decide to chase you — it runs automatically.
Do I get points on my licence?
No. A council Penalty Charge Notice is a civil matter and carries no penalty points. Points come from criminal offences dealt with by the police, which is a different process entirely.
Which tribunal hears my appeal?
It depends on where the contravention happened. London Tribunals handles London; the Traffic Penalty Tribunal handles the rest of England and Wales. You cannot pick between them. Both are free and neither requires a solicitor.

Sources

Figures last checked 8 September 2026