How to Appeal a Notice of Rejection

A Notice of Rejection of Representations is the authority's formal decision after considering representations against a Notice to Owner, postal Penalty Charge Notice or another statutory enforcement notice. It should explain why the representations were not accepted, state the amount now due and provide the information needed to appeal to the independent tribunal.

The rejection does not prove that the contravention occurred or that the authority followed every statutory requirement. It records the authority's position. An independent adjudicator can then consider the Penalty Charge Notice, the representations, the rejection reasons and the evidence from both parties.

Read the complete notice, not only the first page. The tribunal name, appeal code or verification code, payment amount and deadline may appear on a later page. Keep the envelope or delivery email because the appeal period normally runs from service of the Notice of Rejection, not simply the date printed on it.

The Notice of Rejection should identify the tribunal and provide the details needed to start the appeal. The two main adjudication services for civil Penalty Charge Notices in England and Wales are:

• London Tribunals: for Penalty Charge Notices issued by London boroughs and Transport for London. An appeal can be submitted online using the verification code supplied with the Notice of Rejection. A paper appeal can be sent to the address shown on the appeal form; London Tribunals currently lists PO Box 460, Hartlepool, TS24 4JE.
• Traffic Penalty Tribunal: for most Penalty Charge Notices issued by local authorities and charging authorities outside London in England and Wales. The online appeal begins with the PIN code printed on the Notice of Rejection, the vehicle registration and the PCN number.

Do not send the tribunal appeal back to the issuing authority. The authority has already made its formal decision. The next submission is made to the independent tribunal named in the Notice of Rejection.

Private Parking Charge Notices do not use either of these tribunals. A rejection from a private parking company may instead lead to POPLA or the Independent Appeals Service. Check the heading, issuer and legislation before treating any rejection letter as a council Penalty Charge Notice.

The normal appeal period is 28 days beginning with the date the Notice of Rejection is served. GOV.UK, London Tribunals and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal all identify this as the period for submitting the tribunal appeal. The notice should also explain what happens if neither payment nor an appeal is made.

Record four dates immediately:

• the date printed on the Notice of Rejection;
• the date it was posted, emailed or made available;
• the date it was received; and
• the final day for the tribunal appeal.

Do not delay registration while waiting for every item of evidence. London Tribunals advises submitting the appeal in time and stating that further evidence will follow. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal also allows evidence to be added to the online case after registration.

A late appeal can still be submitted, but it must explain why it was not made within 28 days. The adjudicator decides whether to accept it. Missing the deadline without a good explanation risks a Charge Certificate, which increases the Penalty Charge by 50%.

A tribunal appeal should answer the decision that was actually made. Begin by comparing each paragraph of the Notice of Rejection with the Formal Representations and evidence previously sent to the authority.

Look for specific problems:

• a factual statement that conflicts with photographs, video or documents;
• evidence that was submitted but not addressed;
• a statutory ground that was misunderstood or applied incorrectly;
• a restriction, exemption or traffic order that was not considered;
• a response that uses standard wording without dealing with the material facts; or
• a notice, deadline or amount that does not comply with the applicable enforcement legislation.

The appeal should not merely repeat the original representations. It should preserve the original grounds, identify what the authority rejected and explain why its conclusion is wrong on the facts, evidence or law.

Evidence for a Tribunal Appeal

The adjudicator decides the appeal from the material submitted by the motorist and the authority. The tribunal does not investigate the case or collect evidence for either party. Evidence must therefore be selected to prove the exact ground relied upon.

The core appeal record usually includes:

• the Penalty Charge Notice and Notice to Owner or postal enforcement notice;
• the complete Formal Representations and submission confirmation;
• the Notice of Rejection and its envelope or delivery record;
• the authority's photographs, video and correspondence;
• a dated account of what happened; and
• documents supporting the statutory ground or exemption.

The additional evidence changes with the contravention. Parking cases may require payment records, permits, Blue Badge evidence, loading documents, breakdown records, photographs of signs and lines or evidence of vehicle ownership. Bus lane and moving traffic cases may require the complete video, approach photographs, traffic signs, road layout and the relevant traffic order. Road-user charging cases may require payment confirmations, account records, vehicle classification documents or proof of an exemption.

Use a short chronology and label each file. An adjudicator should be able to see which document supports each disputed fact without searching through an unstructured bundle.

The available statutory grounds depend on the type of Penalty Charge Notice. A parking PCN, bus lane PCN, moving traffic PCN and road-user charging PCN do not all use an identical list. The appeal form and tribunal guidance for the actual contravention must be used.

For parking Penalty Charge Notices, common statutory grounds include:

• the alleged contravention did not occur;
• the recipient was not the owner at the material time;
• the vehicle was taken without the owner's consent;
• a qualifying hire company has transferred liability to the hirer;
• the penalty exceeded the amount applicable in the circumstances;
• the traffic order was invalid;
• the authority committed a procedural impropriety;
• the PCN had already been paid; or
• the specific postal-PCN ground concerning prevention of service by a civil enforcement officer applies.

Bus lane, moving traffic and road-user charging appeals have their own grounds and legislation. For example, whether the contravention occurred may depend on camera footage, signage, the traffic order, vehicle identity, an exemption or the timing and wording of the statutory notices.

Mitigation is different from a statutory ground. An adjudicator does not have a general power to cancel every correctly issued PCN because the circumstances were difficult. For parking cases governed by the Traffic Management Act 2004, compelling circumstances may be referred back to the authority for reconsideration even where the adjudicator does not allow the appeal on a statutory ground.

The tribunal appeal should connect the legal ground, facts and evidence in a single argument. A clear submission normally contains:

1. the authority, PCN number, vehicle registration and contravention;
2. the statutory ground or grounds relied upon;
3. a concise chronology from the PCN to the Notice of Rejection;
4. a point-by-point response to the rejection reasons;
5. references to the supporting documents, photographs or video; and
6. a request for the adjudicator to allow the appeal and direct cancellation of the Penalty Charge Notice.

The strongest tribunal appeal is specific. If the authority says a sign was adequate, identify the sign, approach direction, visibility problem and supporting image. If it says no payment was found, provide the transaction time, registration entered and payment reference. If it did not consider a representation, identify the submission acknowledgement and the material point left unanswered.

Legal authorities and previous tribunal decisions should only be used where the facts and issue genuinely match. A long list of case names does not replace evidence proving what happened in the present appeal.

For London Tribunals, use the online appeal service and the verification code supplied by the authority, or send the Notice of Appeal form to the postal address stated on the form. The online submission should include the appeal grounds and available evidence. Save the registration confirmation and tribunal case number.

For the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, use the PIN code from the Notice of Rejection to open the online appeal. The tribunal asks for the Notice of Rejection details, PCN number, vehicle registration, explanation and evidence. More than one PCN can be added only where the tribunal's conditions for the same authority, vehicle and supporting Notices of Rejection are met.

If the Notice of Rejection does not include the required form, verification code or PIN, contact the authority or tribunal immediately and keep the request. If this causes a late submission, include the correspondence and explain the delay when asking the adjudicator to accept the appeal.

The authority may decide not to contest the appeal after reviewing the registered case. Otherwise, an adjudicator considers the evidence and issues a written decision.

The main outcomes are:

• Appeal allowed: the Penalty Charge Notice is cancelled and nothing is payable.
• Appeal refused: the Penalty Charge remains payable, normally at the full amount, by the deadline stated in the decision.
• Adjournment: the adjudicator requires further evidence or submissions before deciding the case.
• Recommendation: in some Traffic Management Act parking cases, the adjudicator may ask the authority to reconsider compelling circumstances even though a statutory ground was not established.

Ignoring a refused appeal can lead to a Charge Certificate and a 50% increase. Read the decision immediately and comply with the payment deadline unless a recognised review ground applies.

There is no automatic second appeal simply because a party disagrees with the adjudicator. London Tribunals permits review only in limited circumstances, including an administrative error, a good reason for non-attendance, genuinely new evidence that could not reasonably have been known earlier, or where the interests of justice require review.

After the tribunal registers the appeal, it notifies the enforcement authority. The authority can contest the case and provide an evidence pack. At London Tribunals, both parties receive the evidence and representations submitted by the other side. The pack commonly contains the PCN, statutory notices, photographs or video, case history, traffic order extracts and the authority's case summary.

Read the evidence pack against the original appeal. Check whether it answers the disputed points, whether the documents are complete and whether dates, images and descriptions are consistent. Submit a focused reply where the pack introduces new evidence or fails to resolve a material issue.

London Tribunals offers personal hearings and decisions on the papers. It advises sending evidence so that it arrives no later than six days before a hearing and states that the authority's evidence should normally be received at least three days before it. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal manages appeals online and may decide the case through its digital process or arrange a hearing where required.

There is no fee for submitting a tribunal appeal. The adjudicator is independent of the enforcement authority and decides whether the Penalty Charge Notice remains payable under the applicable legislation and evidence.