Congestion Charge PCN Appeal: Payments, Discounts and Electric Vehicles (2026)
Received a Congestion Charge PCN despite paying, using Auto Pay or driving an electric vehicle? Parking Mate UK checks the journey, payment and discount that applied on that date, then prepares and submits your representation to TfL.
Start with a free Congestion Charge PCN assessment. Our £9.99 Automated Penalty Charge Appeal Service prepares and submits your representation and handles your tribunal appeal.
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1. What does a Congestion Charge PCN mean?
A Congestion Charge PCN alleges that the required charge was not paid for a vehicle driven within the charging zone during its operating hours. The assessment concerns the journey date, vehicle registration, payment and any applicable discount or exemption.
The Congestion Charge manages traffic, rather than setting a Euro emissions threshold. A petrol or diesel vehicle that meets ULEZ standards can still owe the Congestion Charge.
- Scheme
- Central London Congestion Charge; separate from ULEZ and LEZ
- Daily charge
- £18 on the day or in advance; £21 by midnight on the third day after travel
- Charging hours
- 07:00-18:00 Monday-Friday; 12:00-18:00 weekends and bank holidays. No charge from Christmas Day to the New Year's Day bank holiday inclusive.
- Electric vehicles
- On Auto Pay: electric cars receive a 25% discount (£13.50); electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles receive 50% (£9).
- PCN and discount
- £180, reduced to £90 within 14 days beginning with service
- Representation deadline
- 28 days beginning with service of the PCN
The legislation governing Congestion Charge
The Congestion Charge is imposed under the Greater London (Central Zone) Congestion Charging Order 2001, as varied, using the Greater London Authority Act 1999 charging framework. It is a separate charge from ULEZ and LEZ. The scheme's charging hours, payment requirements and registered discounts matter: paying ULEZ does not pay the Congestion Charge, and ULEZ compliance does not itself create a Congestion Charge exemption.
[6][7][8][9]2. Vehicle emissions and the Cleaner Vehicle Discount
The previous 100% Cleaner Vehicle Discount ended in December 2025. From 2 January 2026, eligible electric vehicles registered on Auto Pay receive the reduced rates shown above. An electric car is not automatically exempt.
For a disputed electric-vehicle PCN, compare the vehicle's fuel type and classification with the vehicle recorded on Auto Pay and its registration date. For an older journey, apply the discount rules in force then, rather than today's rules.
- The camera record places the identified vehicle inside the zone during charging hours.
- Your receipt or Auto Pay transaction covers that registration and travel date.
- Any discount approval, nominated vehicle and account status applied to that journey.
- A ULEZ payment is checked separately from a Congestion Charge payment.
3. Grounds for a Congestion Charge PCN appeal
Other arrangements include the registered Blue Badge discount and the 90% Residents' Discount. Evidence should show the approval and vehicle nomination applicable on the journey date. Residents still need to pay the discounted daily charge.
- The correct Congestion Charge was paid on time for the vehicle and travel date.
- No penalty was payable because the journey was outside the zone or charging hours, or a valid exemption or 100% discount applied.
- The notice was sent to the wrong liable keeper, the vehicle was used without consent, or a qualifying hire agreement transfers liability.
- The penalty exceeds the amount legally payable. Explain any payment mistake or exceptional circumstances separately, with the supporting receipt or records.
4. How to submit your Congestion Charge representation
Make formal representations to TfL within 28 days beginning with service of the PCN.
Include the journey receipt, Auto Pay transaction, vehicle registration details and any discount approval relevant to that PCN.
- Open TfL's challenge service with the PCN number and vehicle registration.
- State the ground for cancellation and upload the documents supporting it. Keep the submission confirmation and a copy of everything sent.
- For a postal representation, complete and sign the notice's representation section and send it with your evidence to Congestion Charging, PO Box 340, Darlington, DL1 9PZ. Allow time for delivery before the deadline.
- If Parking Mate UK is acting for you, provide authorisation so we can submit the representation on your behalf.
5. The 50% discount while you challenge
TfL freezes the PCN at the outstanding amount when it receives representations. A representation received while £90 remains payable preserves that amount during TfL's investigation; check the response for the next payment deadline.
[4][5]6. TfL's response and the next step
TfL may accept the representation, request more evidence or reject it. If it requests information, send the records by the deadline in that letter and keep a copy.
An acceptance closes the disputed PCN. A rejection explains the payment position and the independent appeal route. Keep it with your original representation and the supporting vehicle or payment records.
[4]7. Taking your Congestion Charge appeal to London Tribunals
After rejection, appeal within 28 days beginning with service of the rejection notice. Congestion Charge appeals go to the Road User Charging Adjudicators. The tribunal is independent of TfL and there is no appeal filing fee.
Use the appeal form or online verification details provided. Submit your representation, TfL's decision and the evidence supporting your vehicle status, payment or exemption ground. Review TfL's evidence pack and respond to the disputed points.
Parking Mate UK prepares and submits your tribunal appeal and helps respond to the evidence pack. If the tribunal refuses the appeal, follow the payment deadline in its decision.
[11][12]Congestion Charge tribunal decisions
Selected decisions about Congestion Charge are assessed against the evidence and rules applicable to each journey.
Missing Auto Pay correspondence left the driver's account unanswered
Case 9240533662 / 2025-01-15 / Adjudicator Michael Range
TfL did not produce the evidence it said showed notification of Auto Pay removal, and the adjudicator accepted the appellant's reliance on earlier correspondence.
“TfL had the opportunity to counter the Appellant’s evidence but have not done so.”
Michael Range, case 9240533662
Tower Hill
The appellant believed the vehicle was registered for Auto Pay and could not explain why the Congestion Charge had not been taken. TfL said it had removed the vehicle following a payment failure. It asserted that the appellant had been informed, but declined to supply the supporting evidence, citing GDPR.
Michael Range accepted that the vehicle had used the charging zone and that the daily charge was unpaid. The disputed question was whether TfL had led the appellant to believe payment would be collected automatically. In the absence of the notification evidence, he accepted the appellant's account of reliance on previous correspondence with TfL.
The appeal was allowed and cancellation directed. Range expressly described the circumstances as fact-specific: TfL had the opportunity to answer the appellant's evidence and did not do so. This was an adjudicated finding about the communications in this case, not a general exemption whenever an Auto Pay collection fails.
Read the case commentaryFind case 9240533662 in the official registerA third-party receipt did not prove payment to TfL
Case 9250361803 / 2025-09-11 / Adjudicator Pippa Alderson
The adjudicator found no Congestion Charge payment to TfL despite evidence of a payment to another website; the penalty itself had already been settled.
“There is no record of payment to TfL for this usage, as required by the relevant legislation.”
Pippa Alderson, case 9250361803
Baker Street
The appellant said he had paid the relevant charge on 17 May 2025. He supplied a telephone screenshot, bank statement details and a third-party website receipt for £17.50. TfL produced vehicle-use and keeper evidence but said it had received no payment for the Congestion Charge journey.
Pippa Alderson accepted TfL's evidence that the vehicle had used the Congestion Charging Zone without the required payment reaching TfL. She treated the good-faith payment to another website as mitigation, not an established ground of appeal. The question was whether TfL had been paid for the relevant use, rather than whether the appellant had spent money elsewhere.
The recorded outcome was Appeal refused. Separately, the written reasons stated that TfL had already received £90 towards the penalty and that nothing more was payable. Settlement of the penalty was not a successful appeal or a finding that the original daily charge had been paid correctly.
Read the case commentaryFind case 9250361803 in the official registerHybrid classification did not establish a Congestion Charge exemption
Case 9250007112 / 2025-02-17 / Adjudicator Herjinder Mann
The vehicle document described a hybrid, and no applicable Cleaner Vehicle Discount or exemption was established for the two journeys.
“On the dates in question, the vehicle was not registered for any discount.”
Herjinder Mann, case 9250007112
Waterloo Bridge
The driver of a leased vehicle said she had been assured that the vehicle was exempt from ULEZ and the Congestion Charge. She relied on website information about zero-emission vehicles. The V5C, however, described the vehicle as hybrid electric with an alternative-fuel taxation class. The Congestion Charge allegations concerned journeys on 29 September and 1 October 2024.
TfL said the vehicle was not eligible for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount applicable to those journeys and was not registered for it. Herjinder Mann found no evidence establishing an exemption or qualifying discount. She accepted that the driver genuinely believed the vehicle was exempt, but that belief did not establish a ground of appeal.
The appeals were refused. The reasons separately recorded that the outstanding amount had already been paid in full. The decision concerned eligibility and registration for the Congestion Charge on the journey dates; the mention of ULEZ in the driver's account did not turn it into a ULEZ decision.
Read the case commentaryFind case 9250007112 in the official register2025 RUCA results: Congestion Charge
500 of 2,202 recorded cases were allowed (22.7%).
| Recorded outcome | Cases |
|---|---|
| Allowed | 500 |
| Refused | 1,310 |
| Direction made | 392 |
| Total | 2,202 |
Sources and references
- TfL: Congestion Charge
Current daily charge, operating hours and separate ULEZ liability; checked 11 September 2026.
- TfL: changes to the Congestion Charging scheme
2026 electric-vehicle discounts and Auto Pay requirements.
- TfL: Congestion Charge discounts and exemptions
Registered discounts, including Blue Badge holders and residents.
- TfL: make a Congestion Charge representation
Grounds, service-based deadlines, frozen penalty, evidence and postal address.
- TfL: Congestion Charge penalty charges
Penalty amount and prompt-payment discount.
- Greater London Authority Act 1999
Section 295; Schedule 23 paragraphs 3, 4, 8-13 and 38. As-enacted PDF pages 209, 392-395 and 404.
- Greater London (Central Zone) Congestion Charging Order 2001: November 2025 consolidation
Scheduled scheme articles 1-9 and 12; Annexes 2-3. Article 12 is on PDF page 22.
- Congestion Charge
Current GBP 18/21 rates, payment deadline and operating hours.
- Discounts and exemptions for Congestion Charge and tunnel charges
Cleaner Vehicle Discount; Congestion Charge residents' discount.
- GOV.UK: get vehicle information from DVLA
Official vehicle enquiry service: registration, fuel type, European status, type approval and recorded weight.
- London Tribunals: road-user-charging appeals
Independent tribunal route and appeal procedure.
- Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001
As amended: representations and adjudication, including regulation 16.
About Parking Mate UK
We compare the Congestion Charge journey with your payment, Auto Pay and discount records. The representation focuses on what was due for that vehicle on that date, including the electric-vehicle rules that applied at the time.
Send us your Congestion Charge PCN for a free assessment. Our automated appeal platform prepares your documents, submits your representation, tracks deadlines and handles the tribunal appeal, with support online and on WhatsApp.
For court, Traffic Enforcement Centre and bailiff matters, we prepare documents for you to review, sign and send where required.
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