Notice to Owner Not Served on Registered Keeper Within 6 Months

The council must serve the Notice to Owner on the registered keeper within 6 months of the date of the PCN. Failure to do so within this period means the council loses its right to pursue payment from the keeper (as opposed to the driver). A Notice to Owner served outside this period can be challenged on the basis that the council is out of time.

Legal basis

Traffic Management Act 2004 sch.7 para.1(1); Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Provisions Regulations 2007 reg.4

How to identify this in your case

Check the date of the original PCN and compare to the date of the Notice to Owner. If more than 6 months has elapsed between them, the NtO is out of time and liability as keeper cannot be established.

Sample appeal wording

Dear Representations Team, Re: PCN [NUMBER] — Notice to Owner [REF] I formally challenge the validity of this Notice to Owner. The Traffic Management Act 2004, Schedule 7, paragraph 1(1) requires the Notice to Owner to be served within 6 months of the date of the Penalty Charge Notice. The PCN was issued on [DATE]. The Notice to Owner was not served until [DATE] — a period of [X months and Y days]. This is outside the 6-month statutory window. The council has therefore lost its statutory right to pursue the registered keeper for this penalty. I require immediate cancellation of this notice. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.

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Sources

Traffic Management Act 2004 sch.7 para.1(1)