Parking Fine Appeal Letter Template

Appeal a Penalty Charge Notice from a council or a Parking Charge Notice from a private operator. Covers the most common grounds for a successful appeal.

[Your Full Name]
[Your Address Line 1]
[Town / City]
[Postcode]

[Date]

Appeals Department
[Council Name / Parking Operator Name]
[Address as shown on the notice]

Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Appeal Against [Penalty Charge Notice / Parking Charge Notice] - Reference [PCN/PCN Reference Number]
Vehicle Registration: [XX00 XXX]
Date of Alleged Contravention: [Date on Notice]
Location: [Location as stated on Notice]

I am writing to formally appeal against the above notice issued to my vehicle on [date].

Grounds for appeal

[Select and complete the relevant ground(s) below, or write your own:]

[OPTION A - Incorrect signage]
The signage at the location was inadequate and did not clearly indicate the parking restriction. [Describe the signage failure, e.g. the sign was obscured by foliage / missing / not at the entrance to the zone.] Parking restrictions must be clearly communicated to drivers, and without adequate signage the contravention did not occur.

[OPTION B - Mitigating circumstances]
I was unable to comply with the restriction due to circumstances beyond my control. [Describe the circumstances, e.g. I was delayed attending a medical emergency / the pay-and-display machine was out of order.] I have enclosed evidence of this.

[OPTION C - Procedural error]
The notice was not served in accordance with the relevant legislation [e.g. the Traffic Management Act 2004 for council PCNs]. [Describe the error, e.g. the notice was not affixed to the vehicle / was issued after I had returned to the vehicle.]

[OPTION D - Not the registered keeper at the time]
I was not the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged contravention. [Provide details of who was.]

I therefore respectfully request that this [Penalty Charge Notice / Parking Charge Notice] be cancelled in full.

I have enclosed [photographs of the location / evidence of machine failure / evidence of the mitigating circumstances]. Please confirm receipt of this appeal in writing.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Signature]

[Your Full Name]
[Your Contact Telephone Number]
[Your Email Address]

Enc: [List of enclosed documents]