Traffic Penalty Tribunal appeal figures and process

How to interpret these figures

Registrations and decisions in a reporting year can concern different cases. The allowed and refused figures should not be divided by registrations to estimate your chance of success.

The report’s closure chart describes completed cases during the period, not a guaranteed timetable. The separate online authority dashboard is currently labelled as covering data only up to 2021/22.

The published case-closure percentages total 100.02% because of rounding; we retain them as published.

Useful next steps

• Official appeal instructions →
• Official authority dashboard (check its reporting year) →
• London authority statistics →

Practical help: parking and traffic penalty appeals

Check who issued the notice and what kind of notice it is before paying or challenging it. The initials PCN can appear on different kinds of demand. A council penalty, private parking charge and police fixed penalty do not use the same appeal process.

Identify the notice and stage

Keep every page of the notice, its issue date, vehicle details and any envelope. Look for the issuing authority, location, alleged contravention and payment or challenge deadline. Later notices can have different procedures from the original ticket; use the instructions for the notice you actually received.

Preserve relevant evidence

Save photographs of signs, road markings and the vehicle position, payment records, permits and correspondence. Note when photographs were taken. Explain how each item relates to the stated contravention rather than sending unrelated material.

Choose the proper appeal body

London Tribunals handles relevant London authority penalties. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal handles relevant civil penalties in England outside London and Wales. Private operators normally have their own initial challenge and an independent appeals route identified on their notice. Police penalties and criminal proceedings require different advice.

Check costs and consequences before deciding

Read what happens to any discount while a challenge is considered and what a tribunal can decide. Do not assume that all grounds, discretion or deadlines are the same across schemes. Historic allowed-appeal percentages are not a prediction for your own notice.

Official guidance and related resources

• GOV.UK: challenging a parking ticket →
• Traffic Penalty Tribunal →
• London Tribunals →
• Private parking: check the notice’s independent appeal scheme →