LEZ camera or entry sign not up to standard
To prove you broke a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) rule, the council must use an approved camera that is working properly — including a valid calibration certificate. The council must also display the correct LEZ entry signs and keep them in good condition. If the camera was not meeting its approval conditions on the day, or if the entry signs were missing, obscured, or not up to the required standard, the offence cannot be proved and your penalty charge notice (PCN) should not stand.
Legal basis
Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 sections 7, 21 and 22; Low Emission Zones (Emission Standards, Exemptions and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (S.S.I. 2021/177) regulation 8(1) (written representations) and regulation 8(4)(a) — the specified ground "that the alleged contravention did not occur" — and regulation 6(5)(n), under which a penalty charge notice must state that the recipient may request, free of charge, "a copy of the record of the contravention produced by the approved device pursuant to which the penalty charge notice was served"; Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (as applied in Scotland) for the prescribed low emission zone signs.
How to identify this in your case
Photograph signs at entry point — missing, faded, vandalised, obscured. Or request type-approval/calibration certificate via FOI/EIR.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.
Dear [COUNCIL] LEZ Team, Re: PCN [PCN_NUMBER] Representation under the Low Emission Zones (Emission Standards, Exemptions and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 regulation 8(1), on the ground in regulation 8(4)(a) — that the alleged contravention did not occur. Under section 7(1) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 an LEZ contravention can only be proved by evidence from a record produced by an approved device. Section 21 requires that device to be approved by the Scottish Ministers, and section 22 requires compliant signs. 1. Signage. Photographs taken on [PHOTO_DATE] (enclosed) show that the entry sign at [LOCATION] was [missing / obscured / damaged / not of the prescribed type at diagram 880.1 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016]. A driver could not have known they were entering a low emission zone. 2. The approved device. Under the 2021 Regulations regulation 6(5)(n) I request a copy of the record of the contravention produced by the approved device, free of charge. Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 I also request (a) the certificate approving that device under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 section 21; (b) the most recent calibration and maintenance certificate for site [SITE_REF]; and (c) confirmation that the device was operating within its approval conditions on [DETECTION_DATE]. Until that evidence is produced the contravention is not established. Please cancel the penalty charge notice. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
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