Out of Time — Reopen at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC)

When a council penalty has escalated past the appeal stage — a Charge Certificate, then an Order for Recovery, then enforcement agents — the ordinary challenge routes are closed and the only way back is the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton. It can set aside the registration and with it the bailiff fees. Which form you need depends on WHERE the penalty was issued, not on what kind of contravention it was, and getting that wrong is fatal because the window is 21 days from the Order for Recovery. Outside the London boroughs, every type of council penalty — parking, bus lane, moving traffic — uses form TE9, the witness statement, with form TE7 if you need more time. Inside a London borough it splits: parking still uses TE9 and TE7, but a non-parking penalty such as a bus lane or moving traffic contravention uses PE3, the statutory declaration, with PE2 for more time. A statutory declaration must be witnessed; a witness statement need not be. The Dart Charge, Mersey Gateway and clean air zones have their own versions of TE7 and TE9. Send it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (tec@justice.gov.uk), not to the council — the council cannot act on it.

Legal basis

Civil Procedure Rules Part 75 and Practice Direction 75 govern the enforcement of road traffic penalty debts registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, Northampton. The forms and their scope are as published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service: form TE9 is "Challenge a traffic enforcement order outside London boroughs or a parking charge in a London borough" and form TE7 is the corresponding application for more time; forms PE3 and PE2 are the statutory declaration and out-of-time application used for non-parking penalty charges in the London boroughs, which are enforced under the London Local Authorities Acts. The distinction is therefore territorial first and only then by contravention type. Form TE9's own guidance states that a court order (order for recovery) is challenged within 21 days. Statutory declarations (PE2/PE3) must be witnessed; witness statements (TE7/TE9) need not be. Separate TE7 and TE9 variants exist for the Dart Charge, Mersey Gateway and clean air zones. The grounds on which the statement may be made are set out exhaustively in regulation 23(2) of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/71), which requires the statement to state "one and only one" of them: that P did not receive the enforcement notice; that P made representations under regulation 5 of the 2022 Appeals Regulations but did not receive a notice of rejection in accordance with regulation 6; that P appealed to an adjudicator and did not receive a response, or the appeal had not been determined by the time the charge certificate was served, or it was determined in P's favour; or that P has paid the penalty charge. Regulation 23(1)(c)(i) requires service on the county court within 21 days of notice of the order, and regulation 23(4) allows a district judge to extend that period. Non-receipt of the charge certificate is not among the permitted grounds.

How to identify this in your case

The ticket or correspondence mentions a Charge Certificate, an Order for Recovery, a warrant of control, or contact from enforcement agents/bailiffs. At any of these stages the council PCN debt has been (or is about to be) registered at the TEC and only the out-of-time route remains.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

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.

I am filing this statement at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, Northampton, in respect of PCN [PCN REFERENCE] issued by [AUTHORITY], vehicle [VEHICLE REGISTRATION]. Regulation 23(2) requires this statement to state ONE AND ONLY ONE of the permitted grounds. I make it on this ground: [CHOOSE EXACTLY ONE: · I did not receive the enforcement notice. · I made representations to the enforcement authority under regulation 5 of the 2022 Appeals Regulations but did not receive a notice of rejection in accordance with regulation 6. · I appealed to an adjudicator against the rejection of my representations and [I did not receive a response to the appeal / the appeal had not been determined by the time the charge certificate was served / the appeal was determined in my favour]. · I have paid the penalty charge to which the charge certificate relates.] Note: not receiving the CHARGE CERTIFICATE is not one of the permitted grounds. If that is what happened, the ground to consider is non-receipt of the enforcement notice, if that is also true of your case. The facts stated are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I ask that the registration of this debt and any enforcement agent's fees be cancelled.

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.

Scan my ticket

Sources

Form TE9 — Challenge a traffic enforcement order outside London boroughs or a parking charge in a London borough (HMCTS):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/challenge-a-traffic-enforcement-order-outside-london-boroughs-or-a-parking-charge-in-a-london-borough-form-te9
Form TE7 — Apply for more time to challenge a traffic enforcement order outside London boroughs or a parking charge in a London borough (HMCTS):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-more-time-to-challenge-a-traffic-enforcement-order-outside-london-boroughs-or-a-parking-charge-in-a-london-borough-form-te7
Form PE3 — Challenge an unpaid penalty charge notice (HMCTS):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pe3-challenge-an-unpaid-penalty-charge-notice
Form PE2 — Application to file a statutory declaration out of time (HMCTS):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pe2-application-to-file-a-statutory-declaration-out-of-time