Scottish LEZ ticket issued too late

In Scotland's Low Emission Zone scheme, a penalty charge notice (PCN — the official fine notice) must be sent to you within 28 days of the date you were detected driving in the zone. There is only one exception: if the council asked the DVLA for your vehicle's registered keeper details within 14 days of detecting you, and the DVLA had not replied by the end of that 28-day window, the council gets a further 14 days from the moment the DVLA does reply. Outside these windows the council has no power to issue the ticket.

Legal basis

SSI 2021/177 reg 6(2); Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 s.7; reg 8(4)(a)

How to identify this in your case

Compare 'detection date' on PCN with 'date of issue/served date'. If served more than 28 days later and PCN does not state DVLA enquiries delayed service, the PCN is out of time.

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.

Dear [COUNCIL] LEZ Team, Re: Penalty Charge Notice [PCN_NUMBER], Vehicle [VRN], Detection Date [DETECTION_DATE] I make formal representations under reg 8(1) of SSI 2021/177 against the imposition of this penalty. Ground: reg 8(4)(a) — the alleged contravention did not occur in law because the PCN was not validly served. 1. Detection date: [DETECTION_DATE] 2. PCN served on me: [SERVED_DATE] — [N] days after detection, exceeding the 28-day period in reg 6(2). 3. The PCN does not state the council was awaiting 'relevant information' from the Secretary of State under reg 6(3); my keeper details have been correctly registered with DVLA throughout. The council had no statutory power to serve this PCN. Please cancel under reg 9(2) and confirm in writing within 14 days. If you decline I will appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (General Regulatory Chamber) under reg 10. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

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.

Scottish LEZ ticket issued too late

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

Next steps