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legalUK · England & WalesDifficulty: hard

Penalty charge issued outside the zone's legal boundaries or hours

Every clean air zone, low emission zone, or ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) is created by a legal document called a Charging Order. That Order sets out exactly which roads are covered, and on which days and at which times charges apply. If your penalty charge notice (PCN) says you were in the zone on a road, stretch of road, day, or at a time that the Charging Order does not actually cover, the PCN has no legal basis and should not have been issued.

Legal basis

Transport Act 2000 ss 162-178; Transport (Scotland) Act 2019; Greater London LEZ Charging Order; specific local Charging Orders

How to identify this in your case

Detailed analysis of the local Charging Order vs PCN — e.g. road or stretch claimed in PCN was not within the designated zone, or hours-of-operation claim is outside Order.

Sample appeal wording

To: [Council/TfL] CAZ/ULEZ Team Re: PCN [PCN_NUMBER] I request a copy of the [specific Charging Order]. On review, the location/time of alleged contravention is outside the scope of the Order in respect of [specify]. The PCN is ultra vires the underlying statutory authority. Please cancel. Yours faithfully, [Driver Name]

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

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Sources

  • Transport Act 2000 ss 162-178
  • Transport (Scotland) Act 2019

Related appeal grounds

Next steps

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