Westminster Code 85 PCN Appeal (2026)

1. What does Westminster Code 85 mean?

Code 85 concerns parking without a valid virtual permit or without clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required. A permit for a neighbouring street, another car park or a different vehicle may not qualify. The challenge should identify the exact entitlement that covered this space.

Contravention

Code 85 concerns parking without a valid virtual permit or without clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required

Category

Council Car Park PCNs

Issuing authority

Westminster 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

Westminster, then London Tribunals after a formal Notice of Rejection.

2. What must Westminster establish?

Match the permit-only notice and any space or zone identifier to the permit terms. Check whether the restriction operates throughout the day or only during specified hours.

Read physical-display instructions separately from the virtual-permit arrangements. A valid digital entitlement should be checked against the scheme's records, not judged solely from an empty windscreen.

• The permit requirement must apply to the occupied space and time under the parking scheme, identifying which permit types or allocations qualify.
• The permit must cover the vehicle, location and effective dates. A payment or pending renewal is not necessarily an active parking entitlement.
• The council must distinguish a virtual permit checked electronically from a physical permit that must be displayed, and assess the form accepted by this scheme.
• The evidence must address the alleged missing, invalid or unreadable permit, including any approved vehicle change or temporary permission effective before the PCN.

3. Grounds and exemptions for a Westminster Code 85 appeal

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

Visitor, staff, resident and season-ticket permissions can have different conditions. A general Blue Badge concession may not apply to permit-only spaces. Where a genuine permit was obscured or an administrative mistake occurred, explain it and identify any applicable discretion policy.

• A valid virtual permit covered the vehicle. Supply the confirmation, registration and effective dates, and ask the council to reconcile its permit database with the officer's check.
• A physical permit was valid and displayed as required. Refer to its details and position in the council's photographs.
• The bay or time did not require the permit alleged. Compare the permit-only hours and space allocation with the PCN location and time.
• An authorised vehicle change, renewal or temporary permission was not reflected in the enforcement record. Show when it became effective. An application awaiting approval is not necessarily a valid permit.
• 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 Westminster

For a parking PCN attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, send an informal challenge to Westminster. 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.

Westminster's published parking-challenge principles require individual consideration, proportionality and assessment of relevant evidence. They allow discretion for sufficiently strong mitigation, including genuine mistakes or circumstances beyond the motorist's reasonable control; cancellation depends on the particular case.

• Permit confirmation showing the registration, location, start date and expiry.
• The original physical permit and photographs of its display position, if relevant.
• The permit-only sign and any space or zone identifier.
• Renewal, vehicle-change or temporary-authorisation correspondence with timestamps.

1. Open Westminster's PCN service below. Enter the PCN reference and vehicle registration to find the notice and evidence.
2. Enter the full PCN reference and vehicle registration. Westminster's portal accepts notices beginning WE, WM or WS. The council says photographs can take up to 24 hours after issue to appear.
3. Use the challenge portal or send a written challenge to parkingappeals@westminster.gov.uk with the PCN number and vehicle registration. Do not use the general parking enquiry form to challenge a PCN.
4. Westminster says the case remains on hold pending its response and an applicable discount is still offered after an unsuccessful challenge submitted during that discount period. Avoid repeat correspondence unless supplying additional information or evidence.
5. Explain which part of the Code 85 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 Westminster have to respond?

Westminster 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 Westminster rejects your representation

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

Compare the reply with the Code 85 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 Westminster appeal to London Tribunals

London Tribunals is independent of Westminster. Use the registration instructions and verification details in the Notice of Rejection, upload your evidence and explain why the alleged Code 85 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 Westminster'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

891 of 3,337 recorded cases were allowed (26.7%).

Full Code 85 PCN Appeal Guide

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