How to Challenge a Code 33 PCN: Bus Gates and Restricted Vehicles

What a Code 33 PCN Alleges

Code 33 concerns using a passage restricted to specified vehicles. It is commonly used at bus gates, where the sign may permit buses, cycles or other listed classes. Read the symbols and wording together. A blue bus-and-cycle sign and a red no-motor-vehicles sign do not describe the same restriction.

Challenge the Postal Moving-Traffic PCN

A moving-traffic PCN normally arrives by post with access to the camera evidence. Read the contravention description and legislation together: the code identifies the allegation, but does not by itself identify every procedural rule.

• London, under the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003: make formal representations to the issuing authority against the PCN. Do not wait for a Notice to Owner or a bus-lane Enforcement Notice.
• England outside London, under the 2022 civil-enforcement regulations: the postal PCN invites formal representations directly. Request the recording promptly and submit your representations within the applicable period even if an evidence request is still outstanding.
• Wales: use the Welsh legislation and representation instructions on the postal PCN. The English 2022 regulations should not be quoted as though they govern a Welsh notice.
• If the authority accepts the representations, it cancels the penalty. A Notice of Rejection explains how to appeal to the independent tribunal; an informal email exchange is not a substitute for that formal decision.

London Tribunals explains the 2003 Act procedure; the Traffic Penalty Tribunal explains the process outside London. A separate guide covers code 34 bus-lane notices, including London's additional Enforcement Notice stage.

Moving-Traffic Representation and Decision Deadlines

For a London 2003 Act PCN, the representation period is 28 days beginning with service of the notice. Its payment period runs from the date of the notice, and the initial discount period is 14 days from that date. These are different starting points; calculate the deadline for the action you are taking.

• England outside London: representations under the 2022 regulations must normally be made within 28 days beginning with service. An approved-device postal PCN has a 21-day discount period beginning with service. Check the notice and any express re-offer of the discount.
• The DfT's statutory guidance for England outside London requires the authority to serve its decision on qualifying representations within 56 days of receiving them. That is not a universal deadline for every email or every UK traffic scheme.
• For London moving-traffic representations, London Tribunals says the authority should normally respond within three months. Do not import the English 2022 statutory 56-day test into a 2003 Act case.
• After a Notice of Rejection, the normal tribunal appeal period is 28 days beginning with service. Keep the notice and submission confirmation so the relevant dates can be established.

Do not assume that asking for CCTV freezes a deadline or that making representations guarantees another discount offer. Use the current notice and any written confirmation from the authority. Welsh notices must be checked against their own regulations and stated dates.

Bus-Gate Evidence: Permission, Time and Approach

• The full recording showing the vehicle crossing the restriction.
• The bus-gate sign with all vehicle symbols, hours and supplementary wording.
• Permit confirmation or exemption correspondence covering this registration and date.
• Licensing records or booking details where the permitted vehicle class is disputed.

Do not use a parking-payment receipt as the main answer to a prohibited-entry allegation. In London, code 33 must also be distinguished from code 34: the ordinary 2003 Act moving-traffic PCN invites representations without a later bus-lane Enforcement Notice.

Was Your Vehicle Permitted Through This Bus Gate?

• Your vehicle was in an admitted class. Provide the relevant licensing or vehicle records and match them to the actual sign. A private-hire licence does not necessarily qualify as the taxi exception.
• The restriction was not operating at the camera time. Compare the full time plate and day with the recorded passage; do not assume a school-related restriction automatically ends during every holiday.
• A site-specific permit or exemption covered the vehicle. Check the registration, validity date and streets covered, including whether registration with the council was required.
• The entry was not established or the approach was inadequately signed. Show the crossing point, the approach used and the visibility of the sign before the vehicle passed it.

A delivery, nearby address, Blue Badge or resident permit does not automatically admit a vehicle through every bus gate. Identify the relevant permission and prove its conditions. A council's local access policy must not be treated as a nationwide exemption.

What to Include in a Code 33 Representation

Say which permitted class, time exception or authorisation applies and attach its proof. If you dispute the signs, describe the actual approach and decision point. Ask the council to reconcile the registration with its exemption records where a valid permission was missed.

Send the Representations to the Issuing Authority

Use the representation portal or postal address printed on the PCN. Include the reference, vehicle registration, your explanation and the evidence supporting the particular ground. Save the completed text, attachments and dated acknowledgement; a request to view footage is not necessarily registered as representations.

The notice is normally addressed to the person pursued as owner. If you were not the owner at the relevant time, or the vehicle was hired under an agreement that permits liability to be transferred, use the corresponding statutory ground and supporting documents. Simply identifying another driver does not automatically transfer a council PCN.

Appeal a Moving-Traffic Notice of Rejection

Read the authority's reasons alongside the footage and your representations. An appeal goes to London Tribunals for the London scheme, or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the relevant English or Welsh scheme. Address the disputed movement, restriction or exemption rather than submitting a different generic appeal.

An allowed appeal cancels the penalty. If it is refused, follow the decision's payment instructions. Ignoring a rejection or decision can lead to a Charge Certificate increasing the penalty by 50%, followed by debt registration and an Order for Recovery. An Order for Recovery has specific procedural remedies; it is not simply another opportunity to repeat the original traffic argument.