Stoke-on-Trent City Code 23 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Stoke-on-Trent City Code 23 mean?

Code 23 alleges that a vehicle was parked in a place or area not designated for its class. The full description and any suffix help identify the reserved use, but the sign and parking order establish the actual condition. A bay reserved for goods vehicles raises a different question from a motorcycle-only or coach-only space.

Contravention

Code 23 alleges that a vehicle was parked in a place or area not designated for its class

Category

On-Street Parking PCNs

Issuing authority

Stoke-on-Trent City 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

Stoke-on-Trent City, then Traffic Penalty Tribunal after a formal Notice of Rejection.

2. What must Stoke-on-Trent City establish?

Record the actual vehicle wording or symbol: goods vehicles, motorcycles, coaches and other reserved classes are not interchangeable. Include every relevant time panel.

Where loading is also required, read that condition alongside the vehicle-class restriction. A vehicle can satisfy one requirement and fail the other.

• The parking order must reserve the occupied place or area to a defined vehicle class during the period alleged.
• The sign must convey that reserved use and its extent, including any hours or arrows distinguishing adjoining spaces.
• Compare the vehicle's relevant construction, adaptation or capacity with the order's definition, not solely its appearance or everyday description.
• Class eligibility and loading are separate conditions in a goods-vehicle loading bay. Carrying goods, paying or displaying a badge does not itself establish the required vehicle class.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Stoke-on-Trent City Code 23 appeal

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

Specific authorisation or necessary activity is relevant only if the order permits it in that class-reserved place. A Blue Badge, resident permit or parking payment does not by itself change vehicle class. In a goods-vehicle loading bay, satisfying the vehicle definition and carrying out permitted loading are separate requirements.

• The vehicle fell within the class permitted by the order. Provide its relevant construction, adaptation or capacity details and compare them with the actual definition, not merely the everyday name used for the vehicle.
• The officer mistook the vehicle's class or overlooked relevant features. Supply registration and vehicle photographs explaining the distinction; carrying a parcel alone does not necessarily turn a passenger car into a goods vehicle.
• The vehicle-class restriction did not operate at the PCN time or did not cover that part of the parking place. Show the full time panels, arrows and bay boundaries.
• The restriction was unclear or the council has not explained which class was prohibited. Ask for the complete allegation, sign evidence and order definition, and identify the resulting factual problem rather than relying on a suffix error alone.
• 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 Stoke-on-Trent City

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Stoke-on-Trent City. 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 complete sign and vehicle position within the class-reserved area.
• Registration information and photographs showing relevant vehicle construction or adaptation.
• The parking order's class definition and any written authorisation.
• The council's full PCN description, suffix, photographs and explanation of the alleged mismatch.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Stoke-on-Trent City'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 23 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 Stoke-on-Trent City have to respond?

Stoke-on-Trent City 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 Stoke-on-Trent City rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Stoke-on-Trent City'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 23 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 Stoke-on-Trent City appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Stoke-on-Trent City. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 23 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 Stoke-on-Trent City'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

42 of 163 recorded cases were allowed (25.8%).

Full Code 23 PCN Appeal Guide

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