Wrong offence code used on the PCN

A penalty charge notice must state the grounds on which the council believes a penalty is payable. If the offence code printed on your ticket describes a different offence from the wording on it — or an offence that cannot happen at that place — it may not be clear what you are accused of. That can amount to a procedural impropriety, and you can ask the council to prove the correct code was used. A minor discrepancy may not amount to a procedural impropriety if the notice still states the grounds clearly.

Legal basis

The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/71), Schedule 2 paragraph 2(c), which requires a penalty charge notice given under regulation 9 to state "the grounds on which the civil enforcement officer issuing the notice believes that a penalty charge is payable", and Schedule 2 paragraph 3(1)(c), which imposes the same requirement on a penalty charge notice served under regulation 10, read with Schedule 2 paragraph 1, which prescribes the regulatory matters the notice must also contain. Regulation 20(3)(e) imposes the equivalent requirement on a notice to owner. Where the code and the stated grounds describe different conduct, or describe conduct that cannot occur at the location, the notice may not tell the recipient with certainty what is alleged; whether it does depends on the facts, and a minor discrepancy may not amount to a procedural impropriety if the notice still states the grounds clearly. The ground of representation is procedural impropriety on the part of the enforcement authority — regulation 5(4)(f) of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/576) — with "the alleged contravention did not occur" under regulation 5(4)(a) where the code describes something that did not happen.

How to identify this in your case

Look at the offence code printed on your PCN. Then check what that code officially means using the Department for Transport or London Councils code list (available online). Now compare that official meaning with what the civil enforcement officer wrote as the reason for the ticket, and where it was issued. If the code describes a different act from the one alleged, or describes something that simply could not apply at that location, this ground may apply to you.

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.

The Penalty Charge Notice states contravention code [CODE], which describes [the coded contravention], but the notice describes the contravention as [DIFFERENT]. I cannot reconcile the code with that description, so it is not clear to me what I am said to have done. I put the authority to proof that the correct contravention code was applied and that the notice accurately states the contravention alleged.

Beat It checks for this when you scan

Scan your PCN — we compare the offence code with the description printed on it. We add this argument to your letter only when the description contains the complete official wording of a clearly different offence; if they match, might overlap, or we cannot tell, we leave it out.

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Wrong offence code used on the PCN

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It checks for this when you scan

Sources

Related appeal grounds

Next steps