Sunderland City Code 10 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Sunderland City Code 10 mean?

Code 10 concerns failing to clearly display the required number of valid pay-and-display tickets. The historic description commonly refers to two tickets, but the alleged requirement must match the actual parking arrangement. It is not the same as displaying several tickets where that is prohibited, and paying a larger amount does not necessarily satisfy a separate display condition.

Contravention

Code 10 concerns failing to clearly display the required number of valid pay-and-display tickets

Category

On-Street Parking PCNs

Issuing authority

Sunderland 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

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

2. What must Sunderland City establish?

Record the ticket-count requirement and any accepted alternative in the bay, tariff and machine instructions. Do not import a two-ticket rule from an unrelated car park.

Photograph all relevant tickets and their display positions. Code 10 concerns missing required tickets, unlike Code 09's prohibited multiple display.

• The parking order and applicable instructions must establish the number of valid tickets required for this on-street stay.
• The alleged shortfall must concern the required valid, clearly displayed tickets, not simply the total number of papers visible on the dashboard.
• Check whether the scheme accepted one combined ticket or a cashless record instead of several paper tickets.
• Payment, vehicle class and bay position remain separate conditions. Buying extra tickets does not by itself authorise a large vehicle to occupy several spaces.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Sunderland City Code 10 appeal

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

Some permits or badge concessions remove a ticket purchase requirement, but only for the bay and use covered by the concession. Do not assume that a large vehicle may occupy several on-street spaces merely by buying extra tickets: vehicle class, bay position and obstruction are separate questions.

• The bay did not require the number of tickets stated in the allegation. Compare the PCN with the tariff, machine instructions and applicable parking order.
• All required tickets were valid and clearly displayed. Match their serial numbers, location, date and expiry with the council's photographs and identify any display position the officer missed.
• The parking system issued a single ticket or cashless record that covered the required payment and was accepted instead of multiple paper tickets. Provide the actual instructions and transaction details establishing that arrangement.
• A genuine purchase produced fewer tickets because of a documented machine problem, or a valid ticket became obscured. Explain the sequence and seek the applicable correction or discretion; payment alone does not prove compliance with every display requirement.
• 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 Sunderland City

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Sunderland 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 PCN's exact description and the number of tickets alleged to be missing.
• The machine and tariff instructions explaining the required number or permitted alternative.
• All valid tickets or the accepted cashless session, with readable validity details.
• The officer's photographs and any receipt or fault report explaining what the machine issued.

1. Follow the submission instructions on your current notice. The link below is Sunderland 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 10 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 Sunderland City have to respond?

Sunderland 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 Sunderland City rejects your representation

A formal Notice of Rejection explains Sunderland 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 10 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 Sunderland City appeal to Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of Sunderland City. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 10 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 Sunderland 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

4,151 of 13,391 recorded cases were allowed (31.0%).

Full Code 10 PCN Appeal Guide

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