Maidstone Code 40 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Maidstone Code 40 mean?

Code 40 alleges use of a designated disabled parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge in the required manner. The assessment starts with the bay's legal designation and sign, then the badge and any clock condition. Disability-related entitlement and correct display are connected but distinct issues.

Contravention

Code 40 alleges use of a designated disabled parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge in the required manner

Category

On-Street Parking PCNs

Issuing authority

Maidstone 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

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

2. What must Maidstone establish?

Read the disabled-parking sign, operating times and any permit identifier together. A space reserved for a particular permit is not interchangeable with a general Blue Badge bay.

Show the sign and full bay in one location record. A missing painted word alone does not decide whether the reservation was adequately conveyed.

• The vehicle must occupy a legally designated disabled parking place while its reservation applies, with that reservation adequately conveyed.
• The sign and designation must distinguish a general Blue Badge bay from a space requiring a particular disabled permit.
• The badge must be valid, used for an eligible journey and displayed as required. The photographs should identify the alleged display or validity failure.
• Any clock requirement must be checked against the bay's time limit and applicable conditions. A badge does not remove a signed maximum stay.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Maidstone Code 40 appeal

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

A Blue Badge must be used for the holder's eligible journey and not lent to someone parking for their own purposes. Observe any signed maximum stay and clock requirement. Central-London concessions and individually reserved bays need their own check; an ordinary permit or payment does not automatically authorise the disabled space.

• A valid Blue Badge was correctly displayed for an eligible journey. Compare its details and position with the officer's photographs, including any required clock.
• The space required a specific local disabled permit and you held it, or the council wrongly treated a general Blue Badge bay as reserved to one holder. Use the sign and permit identifier to establish which arrangement applied.
• The bay was not the designated disabled space alleged or the restriction was not adequately conveyed. Locate the vehicle, markings and sign together; do not rely only on a missing word where other lawful signing may establish the restriction.
• A valid badge was displaced or obscured, or disability-related circumstances affected compliance. Provide the relevant evidence and ask for discretion or appropriate consideration without claiming that eligibility always satisfies the display rule.
• 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 Maidstone

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Maidstone. 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 badge validity and relevant identifying details, with unnecessary personal information excluded.
• The officer's photographs of the display and any parking clock.
• The bay sign, wheelchair marking and any specific permit number.
• A proportionate explanation and supporting record for an obscured badge, assistance need or other exceptional circumstance.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Maidstone'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 40 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 Maidstone have to respond?

Maidstone 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 Maidstone rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Maidstone'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 40 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 Maidstone appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Maidstone. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 40 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 Maidstone'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

57 of 225 recorded cases were allowed (25.3%).

Full Code 40 PCN Appeal Guide

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