How to Challenge a Code 38 PCN: Keep-Left and Keep-Right Signs

What a Code 38 PCN Alleges

Code 38 concerns passing on the wrong side of a sign requiring traffic to keep left or right. It commonly arises at a traffic island. The relevant object is the sign and the side it requires you to use, not simply whether your vehicle crossed a centre line somewhere on the road.

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.

Evidence of the Island, Arrow and Passage

• Full footage showing the vehicle before and after the traffic island.
• Photographs of the sign face from the approach used.
• A sketch marking the permitted side and the path recorded.
• Evidence of a temporary closure, traffic direction or obstruction at the time.

Do not rely on the fact that no vehicle was approaching or that the manoeuvre seemed safe. Those facts do not replace the sign's instruction. Conversely, a still taken before the vehicle reaches the island may not establish which side it ultimately passed.

Did the Vehicle Pass the Wrong Side of the Sign?

• The recording does not show the vehicle passing the prohibited side. Follow the entire manoeuvre past the sign, including the return to the normal lane.
• The arrow or sign position does not support the allegation. Identify the face visible from your approach and distinguish a keep-left sign from a sign allowing either side.
• The direction could not be adequately seen. Show an obstruction, damage or orientation problem from the driver's approach, with its date and location.
• An authorised temporary direction required a different passage. Supply evidence of the traffic control or police instruction rather than assuming any obstacle permits going around either side.

A queue, parked vehicle or wish to overtake does not automatically excuse passing the wrong side. Where danger or a blockage affected the manoeuvre, explain the available options and actual necessity, keeping mitigation separate from an established legal exception.

What to Include in a Code 38 Representation

Identify the sign, required side and movement shown. State the specific factual error or exception, and attach a marked image of the passage. Explain a temporary direction with dates and evidence rather than a general account of roadworks nearby.

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.