How to Challenge a Code 78 PCN: Suspended Car-Park Bays

What a Code 78 PCN Alleges

Code 78 alleges parking wholly or partly in a suspended off-street bay or space. The important questions are whether the suspension covered the exact position and time, whether it was properly put into effect, and what information was available when the vehicle was parked.

Council Car-Park PCNs: Informal Challenge or Formal Representations?

These steps concern statutory council parking enforcement. Check the issuing authority and legislation on the notice: a privately enforced Parking Charge Notice follows a different process, even where the car park or estate is associated with a council.

• PCN fixed to the vehicle or handed to the driver: send an informal challenge to the issuing authority. Explain the particular car-park condition, ground and evidence while the PCN is current.
• Notice to Owner: if the PCN remains unresolved and this notice is served, the owner makes formal representations. An earlier informal challenge does not replace the response to the Notice to Owner.
• Postal parking PCN: make formal representations against that notice rather than waiting for a Notice to Owner. In England, regulation 10 permits approved-device postal enforcement for off-street parking, as well as defined prevented-service or drive-away cases. Check the actual basis of postal service.
• Notice of Rejection: an independent appeal goes to the tribunal named in the rejection. For London civil parking it is London Tribunals; relevant cases elsewhere in England and Wales go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The off-street parking order establishes the local parking conditions; the enforcement regulations govern the notice and challenge procedure. Read the scheme and jurisdiction together. The English 2022 regulations should not be applied as though they govern every Welsh or other UK notice.

Car-Park PCN Deadlines and the Authority's Response

A PCN served on the vehicle or driver normally offers a 14-day discount. Send an informal challenge promptly and check whether the authority promises to re-offer the discount after rejection. A machine complaint or request for photographs is not necessarily registered as a challenge.

• A Notice to Owner normally requires formal representations within 28 days beginning with service. Reply to it even if the earlier PCN was disputed.
• For an English postal PCN under the 2022 scheme, formal representations are normally due within 28 days beginning with service. The initial discount is 21 days for an approved-device postal PCN, but normally 14 days for a prevented-service or qualifying drive-away postal PCN.
• For qualifying formal parking representations in England, the authority must serve its decision within the statutory 56-day period. This is not an automatic cancellation rule for an unanswered informal challenge.
• After a formal Notice of Rejection, the normal tribunal appeal period is 28 days beginning with service. Retain the notice, the evidence submitted and the acknowledgement.

London borough parking penalties are set at higher and lower levels: Band A is £160 or £110, and Band B is £140 or £90, before any applicable discount. The code and location determine the level. These are penalties, not parking tariffs; check the actual authority's amount and effective date. Welsh and other schemes require their own deadline and charging check.

Suspension Signs, Bay Plans and Arrival Records

• The complete suspension notice, including dates, times, location and bay numbers.
• Wide photographs showing the sign in relation to the parked vehicle.
• The installation log, suspension authorisation and any record of vehicles already present.
• Arrival records, travel evidence or written permission relevant to the vehicle.

Payment for parking does not automatically invalidate a later suspension PCN. Equally, the authority should identify the actual suspended area rather than rely on a vague assertion that the whole car park was affected.

Did the Suspension Cover This Bay and Time?

• The bay was outside the suspension's extent. Compare the sign, bay numbers, plan and vehicle position; a sign somewhere in a large car park does not identify every space automatically.
• The suspension had not started or had ended. Read all dates and daily hours and compare them with the PCN timestamp.
• The suspension was not adequately communicated. Photograph the approach and bay, and ask for the installation record and notice wording applying at the relevant time.
• The vehicle was present before the suspension was introduced, or a specific permission covered it. Provide arrival evidence and request the authority's vehicle log, relevant policy and authorisation record. Earlier presence is a fact to assess, not a universal exemption.

A season ticket, Blue Badge or ordinary permit does not necessarily authorise parking during a suspension. Emergency work can also affect notice arrangements. Identify the actual suspension power, conditions and any exceptional permission instead of assuming a fixed advance-warning period applies everywhere.

What to Include in a Code 78 Challenge

Mark the vehicle and suspended bays on a plan, state the parking and suspension times, and identify the disputed condition. If you parked before signs were installed, provide the chronology and ask the council to consider its installation and vehicle records.

Send the Car-Park Challenge to the Issuing Authority

Use the council's online challenge form or postal address on the current notice. Include the PCN reference, registration, car park, disputed condition and the evidence supporting that point. Keep a copy of the completed explanation, every attachment and the dated submission confirmation.

For a Notice to Owner or postal PCN, use the formal-representation stage and applicable statutory ground. If the vehicle was sold, hired or used without consent in circumstances covered by a ground, provide the relevant documents. Saying another person drove the vehicle does not automatically remove the owner's liability for a council PCN.

If the Council Rejects the Car-Park Challenge

An informal rejection can be followed by formal representations when a Notice to Owner is served. A formal Notice of Rejection enables a tribunal appeal. Compare the council's reasons with the parking order, payment or permit records and photographs, and explain the issue still in dispute.

An allowed appeal cancels the penalty. If refused, follow the adjudicator's payment instructions. Missing the payment or appeal deadline can lead to a Charge Certificate increasing the penalty by 50%, followed by debt registration and an Order for Recovery. Those later documents have specific procedural remedies; they are not simply another ordinary appeal against the parking allegation.