Code 50 PCN Appeal: How to Challenge a Prohibited Turn PCN

1. What does contravention Code 50 mean?

Code 50 means performing a prohibited turn. The authority alleges that your vehicle made a turning movement which was banned at that location: 50L identifies a prohibited left turn, 50R a prohibited right turn and 50U a prohibited U-turn. Read the full description on the PCN, not just the number.

The important question is not simply whether your vehicle turned. It is whether the movement shown in the evidence was the movement prohibited by the restriction. Turning into a nearby driveway, turning around inside a side road and turning at the named junction are not automatically the same manoeuvre.

A green traffic light does not override a prohibited-turn sign. Following a satnav, completing the turn safely or finding the road empty does not, by itself, answer the allegation.

Contravention

Code 50: performing a prohibited turn

Variants

50L left turn; 50R right turn; 50U U-turn

Category

Moving-traffic contravention

Evidence

The recorded turn, approach signs and applicable restriction

Challenge deadline

London and England's 2022 scheme: within 28 days of service. For Wales, follow the notice and Welsh procedure.

Appeal route

Formal representations to the issuing authority. After rejection: London Tribunals in London, or TPT under the relevant schemes elsewhere in England and Wales.

2. Which signs apply to a prohibited turn?

Match the sign to the turn alleged on your PCN. The prescribed circular signs show a black turning arrow crossed by a red diagonal bar: diagram 613 for no left turn, diagram 612 for no right turn and diagram 614 for no U-turns. Read any permitted supplementary plate with the sign: it can identify the operating times, an exception or, for a U-turn restriction, the length of road covered.

An ahead-only arrow is a different instruction. Do not substitute an ahead-only allegation for the prohibited turn on your notice, or assume that every nearby directional arrow proves the restriction being enforced.

3. What must the authority establish?

For a Code 50 PCN, the restriction, its signing and the evidence of your turn need to fit together. A sign photographed somewhere near the junction is not the whole case.

Same approach, different visibility. These illustrations explain the issue; your appeal needs evidence from the actual junction.

4. Grounds for appealing a Code 50 PCN

Connect each argument to a ground available under the legislation on your PCN. For a disputed turn or inadequate signing, the central ground is usually that the alleged contravention did not occur.

• Wrong manoeuvre or location: the evidence does not show the prohibited turn alleged, or shows a different access point outside the restriction.
• Inadequate signs: the restriction was not adequately conveyed on your approach. Identify the particular obstruction, position or inconsistency and support it with photographs.
• Restriction not operating: the recorded time falls outside the turn ban, or the order did not cover that direction or was not in force on the relevant date.
• Applicable exception: the vehicle or use fell within an exception in the governing instrument. Identify the exact provision and supporting record.
• Owner or hire liability: you were not the liable owner at the material time, the vehicle was used without consent, or the statutory hire provisions apply. Use documents that address liability, not merely the identity of another driver.
• Penalty or procedural defect: explain the specific statutory failure. Procedural impropriety is an express ground under the English 2022 scheme; it is not a separately listed ground under the London 2003 Act. Frame a London argument under its applicable grounds rather than copying a parking template.

5. Which exemptions can apply?

There is no general exemption allowing a prohibited turn simply because a driver lives nearby, holds a Blue Badge, is delivering goods or was following navigation instructions. Read the exception for this turn, not a permission relating only to entry into the surrounding area.

• A signed vehicle exception, such as qualifying buses, taxis or cycles: check the order's definition and whether your vehicle or journey qualifies.
• An express access or authorised-vehicle exception: establish that it applies to the turn itself, and supply the relevant authorisation.
• Emergency use or an authorised traffic direction: identify the applicable legal provision and evidence of what actually happened. For London 2003 Act enforcement, section 4(12) addresses use for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes; it is not a general exemption for any urgent journey.

Where the circumstances are mitigation rather than a legal exemption, explain them to the authority and ask it to exercise discretion. Do not present a request for sympathy as proof that the contravention did not occur.

6. How to make a formal representation

Submit your Code 50 formal representations to the issuing authority using the form or address on the PCN. For a London notice, the authority must receive them within 28 days of service of the PCN.

1. Identify the PCN, vehicle registration, location and alleged left turn, right turn or U-turn. State the statutory ground you rely on.
2. Describe the actual manoeuvre. Point to the relevant footage timestamps and, where needed, an annotated junction plan.
3. Explain the particular defect or exemption. For signing, show the driver's approach and the sign's position. For an order issue, identify the road, direction, operating hours or exception which does not match the allegation.
4. Attach your evidence and make targeted requests for missing material: the recording, contemporaneous approach photographs and the operative order provisions are more useful than a generic demand for every council document.
5. Ask the authority to cancel the PCN. Save your submitted text, attachments and dated acknowledgement. An evidence request or a council complaint is not necessarily registered as formal representations.

Outside London, use the deadline and submission instructions on the notice under the applicable English or Welsh scheme.

7. How long does the authority have to respond?

The response rule depends on the legal scheme, not on the number 50 alone.

8. What should a Code 50 Notice of Rejection address?

A Notice of Rejection is the authority's formal decision on your representations. Read it alongside your actual argument. If you disputed a no-right-turn sign on one approach, a general explanation of why the authority enforces moving traffic does not answer that particular point.

• The authority must consider the representations and supporting evidence. Check whether its reasons address the turn, restriction, sign visibility, hours or exemption you raised.
• The notice must give the applicable payment and tribunal-appeal information, including the time limit and how to appeal. For the London 2003 Act scheme, Schedule 1 also prescribes the warning about a Charge Certificate and information concerning an adjudicator's power to award costs.
• Where evidence is disputed, identify what remains missing and why it matters. For example: which photograph shows the sign facing your approach on the relevant date, and which order provision prohibits the turn shown?

Do not assume the law requires every requested document to accompany the rejection, or that an unanswered request automatically cancels the PCN. At tribunal, the authority must disclose the evidence it relies on through the applicable process. Preserve the missing-evidence point, but lodge the appeal in time rather than waiting indefinitely for a reply.

9. Taking a prohibited-turn appeal to the tribunal

You normally appeal after receiving a Notice of Rejection, within 28 days beginning with its service. The tribunal depends on the issuing authority and legal scheme; it is not a choice between two appeal providers.

Explain the evidence, not just the conclusion: show the movement, the relevant sign or order provision and the defect in the authority's answer. Previous decisions can illustrate an argument, but the adjudicator decides your own evidence and circumstances. If you are late, explain why and request permission; do not assume it will be granted.

11. How did prohibited-turn appeals turn out in 2025?

Our 2025 prohibited-turn records contain 1,535 decisions: 443 appeals allowed and 1,092 refused. That is 28.9% allowed.

London Tribunals prohibited-turn decisions recorded in the 2025 portion of our two-sided archive. Counts use the workbook's decision/outcome date and one unique case reference per record, not the number of PCNs issued by authorities or the year an appeal was first lodged. Allowed outcomes include cases the authority did not contest. These are not a Parking Mate success rate or a prediction for an individual PCN.