No Fixed Charge Notice = Case Must Be Dropped
Before taking you to court for a fixed charge offence, the authority must first have sent you a Fixed Charge Notice (FCN). If you end up facing court proceedings without ever having received an FCN — for example because it was posted to an old address, came back undelivered, or was never sent at all — the case against you cannot lawfully go ahead. This is not a technicality you have to raise yourself: the requirement to serve an FCN before prosecuting is a hard rule, and you are entitled to ask the authority to prove they actually served one on you.
Legal basis
Road Traffic Act 2010 s.35(2) (no prosecution without prior FCN service); s.35 (methods of service: personally or by post to the address on the vehicle register).
How to identify this in your case
You received a court summons but no FCN, or the FCN was sent to the wrong address (e.g. you moved and notified NDLS), or the council can't produce a posting receipt or Track & Trace record.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at.
Section 35(2) of the Road Traffic Act 2010 expressly bars prosecution of a fixed-charge offence in the absence of prior service of a fixed charge notice on the alleged offender. I request that the prosecuting authority produce proof of service of the FCN at my correct registered keeper address. In its absence the proceedings cannot lawfully continue.
Beat It writes this argument automatically
Scan your PCN — our AI checks if this ground applies to your specific ticket, drafts a properly-cited appeal letter, and sends it for you where the council takes email — guiding you through their own online form where they use one, so you press submit. The win fee is only charged if you win.
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