Boston Code 30 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Boston Code 30 mean?

Code 30 alleges staying longer than the parking place permits. It commonly concerns a maximum-stay condition, including free limited-waiting spaces. The central evidence is when permitted parking began and ended and whether the same stay continued beyond that limit. A no-return allegation and an expired paid session are related but distinct issues.

Contravention

Code 30 alleges staying longer than the parking place permits

Category

On-Street Parking PCNs

Issuing authority

Boston Borough Council

Formal representation deadline

28 days beginning with service of the Notice to Owner or postal parking PCN.

Penalty and discount

Use the charge and discount printed on your PCN; the applicable amount depends on the notice and contravention date.

Initial discount

The initial 50% discount applies for 14 days beginning with PCN service, or 21 days for an approved-device postal parking PCN. An early challenge may lead to a renewed discount if rejected; check the council's policy and the amount and deadline in its reply.

Appeal route

Boston, then Traffic Penalty Tribunal after a formal Notice of Rejection.

2. What must Boston establish?

Read the maximum stay and operating hours together. A free limited-waiting bay can have a maximum stay even though no payment is required.

Record any no-return period separately. It controls a later visit; it does not change the evidence needed to establish this continuous overstay.

• The parking-place order must set a maximum stay covering this space and time, with the limit adequately shown to drivers.
• The observations must establish that the same vehicle's continuous stay exceeded that limit. Two visits separated by a departure are not automatically one overstay.
• The permitted period must be calculated using the operating hours and any applicable concession, not simply the time the officer arrived.
• In a qualifying English designated parking place, the statutory ten-minute protection after lawful permitted parking ends must be respected. It does not cure parking that was prohibited from the outset.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Boston Code 30 appeal

The statutory ground must match what happened. These code-specific points explain how to establish it.

A necessary stop caused by a breakdown or other exceptional circumstance needs a clear timeline and supporting evidence. England's statutory ten-minute protection concerns qualifying paid or free permitted parking; it is not a universal extra ten minutes for yellow lines, loading bans, no-stopping areas or every invalid permit. Check the jurisdiction before applying it.

• The council's times do not establish an overstay. Check the first and final observations against the signed maximum stay and operating hours, including whether the restriction started after the vehicle arrived.
• The vehicle left and returned, but the council treated two visits as one stay. Provide evidence of the intervening departure. Check any separate no-return condition rather than assuming that every return is allowed.
• The PCN was issued within ten minutes after qualifying permitted parking ended in an English designated parking place. Establish the valid original stay and exact expiry; this protection does not authorise parking where it was prohibited from the outset.
• A valid concession, waiver or authorisation changed the ordinary time limit. Show the applicable conditions, not just possession of a badge or permit. A signed time limit on a particular disabled space may still need to be observed.
• The alleged parking contravention did not happen, including where a relevant exemption applied or the restriction was not adequately signed.
• You were not the owner at the relevant time: you never owned the vehicle, sold it before the event or acquired it afterwards.
• The vehicle was under someone else's control without the owner's consent at the time of the alleged contravention.
• You are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was hired under a qualifying agreement with a signed statement accepting PCN liability. Supply the hirer's name and address.
• The authority is demanding more than the penalty legally applicable to this case.
• The authority failed to comply with a statutory requirement in imposing or recovering the penalty: a procedural impropriety.
• The traffic order relied on is invalid, except an order subject to Part 6 of Schedule 9 to the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
• For a postal PCN relying on prevented service or a qualifying drive-away under regulation 10(2)(b) or (c), nobody prevented the officer from attaching or handing over the PCN. This is not the ground for an approved-device postal PCN.
• The enforcement notice should not have been served because the penalty was already paid in full, or at the valid discounted amount by the applicable deadline. Paying a parking tariff is different from paying the penalty.

4. How to make a formal representation to Boston

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Boston. Formal representations are made against the Notice to Owner, or directly against a postal parking PCN, within 28 days beginning with service. Respond to the formal notice even if an earlier informal challenge is unanswered.

The initial 50% discount applies for 14 days beginning with PCN service, or 21 days for an approved-device postal parking PCN. An early challenge may lead to a renewed discount if rejected; check the council's policy and the amount and deadline in its reply.

• The full maximum-stay sign, operating hours and any no-return condition.
• The officer's first and final observations and supporting photographs.
• Evidence of a departure between visits or the correct time permitted parking began.
• Concession conditions, authorisation or records explaining an unavoidable delay.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Boston's official parking information, not a verified submission form.
2. Check the issuing authority, PCN reference and vehicle registration on your current notice before choosing a challenge route.
3. Use the submission method and deadline stated on your current notice. Check that any online form is for the notice type and stage you have.
4. Keep a copy of your submission and attachments, and retain any acknowledgement or postal delivery record.
5. Explain which part of the Code 30 allegation you dispute. Include the PCN reference, vehicle registration, your address and copies of photographs or records supporting each point.
6. Save the full submission, attachments and dated acknowledgement.

5. How long does Boston have to respond?

Boston must serve its decision within 56 days beginning with receipt of qualifying formal representations. If it fails to comply, those representations are deemed accepted. This statutory period applies to formal representations, not an informal challenge or a request for photographs.

6. If Boston rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Boston's decision and how to appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal. You have 28 days beginning with service of that notice to pay or register your tribunal appeal.

Compare the reply with the Code 30 grounds and evidence you submitted. Identify any unanswered point, missing evidence or inconsistency between the restriction and the recorded event. Keep the rejection notice and the appeal details supplied with it.

An informal rejection is different: formal representations can be made if a Notice to Owner follows.

7. Taking your Boston appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Boston. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 30 contravention or liability is disputed.

There is no fee to register the appeal. If it is refused, the full penalty is normally payable; an earlier discount does not automatically continue. If registering late, explain the delay so the adjudicator can decide whether to accept the appeal.

Read Boston's evidence pack and respond to the points relevant to your case. Keep to the tribunal's directions and evidence deadlines.

2025 London Tribunals results: shared context

24 of 85 recorded cases were allowed (28.2%).

Full Code 30 PCN Appeal Guide

Read the detailed legislation, signage requirements, exemptions and case analysis for this contravention.