Original penalty notice was never properly served
Before you can be prosecuted for a fixed-penalty offence, the authority must first have served the original penalty notice on you and given you the chance to pay it. If that notice was never properly delivered — for example, it was not placed on your windscreen, was posted to a wrong address, or was never sent at all — that essential first step is missing and the prosecution should not go ahead. There is a rule that posting a notice to your registered address is assumed to count as valid service, but you can challenge that assumption. You can do this by showing evidence — such as proof that your vehicle's registered address was different from where they sent it, or that no notice ever appeared on your windscreen.
Legal basis
Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act 1975 s.3(2A) and s.3(9) (as substituted by s.12 RTA 2002).
How to identify this in your case
Check whether the very first thing you received was a reminder letter or a court summons rather than the original penalty notice itself. Also check whether any posted notice was sent to an old or incorrect address — compare it against the address your vehicle was registered to on the date of the alleged offence. If the authority skipped straight to chasing you or taking you to court without you ever receiving that first notice, this ground may apply. Keep any evidence that confirms your correct registered address at the time of the alleged offence, as you will need it to push back against the assumption that service was valid.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at.
No notice under s.3 was served; under s.3(2A) prosecution is barred and the demand should be withdrawn.
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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