You had sold the car or declared it off-road before the charge

If you sold the vehicle before the date of the alleged charge, you are not responsible for that Clean Air Zone penalty — provided you kept the yellow V5C/2 slip that DVLA gave you when you told them about the sale. You are also not liable if you had already declared the vehicle off the road (a SORN) before that same date.

Legal basis

Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994; Transport Act 2000

How to identify this in your case

Keeper has DVLA V5C/2 disposal slip dated before contravention; or SORN reference predating contravention.

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.

To: Birmingham CAZ Team Re: PCN [PCN_NUMBER] — Vehicle [VRM] I [sold this vehicle on [DATE]] / [filed a SORN on [DATE]] before the contravention date of [DATE]. Evidence enclosed: [V5C/2 disposal slip / SORN confirmation]. I am not the keeper at the date of event. Please cancel and direct enquiries to the actual keeper at DVLA. Yours faithfully, [Former Keeper Name]

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You had sold the car or declared it off-road before the charge

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

Next steps