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Traffic · United Kingdom

Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) — a civil parking or traffic penalty, not a criminal fine

A PCN is a civil penalty from a council or Transport for London for a parking or traffic contravention — wrong parking, a bus lane, the congestion charge, a yellow box. It is not from the police. Paying early usually reduces it; ignoring it increases it by half and ends in a court order.

How serious: needs actionAlso called: PCN, Parking ticket, Council parking fine, TfL PCN, Bus lane / congestion charge PCN

A PCN is a civil penalty for a parking or traffic contravention. It is issued by a council or TfL, not the police, and enforced through a civil process, not as a criminal fine. It arrives fixed to the windscreen or by post.

The amounts move with time. Paying early usually reduces the charge; after 28 days unpaid a charge certificate adds 50%; after that a court order follows.

A 'Parking Charge Notice' from a private company — a supermarket car park, for example — looks similar but is a private demand under contract law, not this civil regime. The words on the ticket tell them apart.

Who sends it

A local council or Transport for London (TfL), or another charging authority. These are civil enforcement bodies for parking, bus lane, congestion and similar traffic contraventions — not the police.

A document headed 'Penalty Charge Notice' with a PCN number, a contravention code and location, the charge amount, and wording about a reduced amount for payment within 14 days. Council or TfL branding. A 'Parking Charge Notice' from a private company looks similar but is a private demand under contract law.

The deadline

'You usually have 28 days to pay' or challenge; a reduced amount applies for early payment — gov.uk: 'In some cases, the fine is reduced if you pay within 14 days.' gov.uk states the 50% figure in the informal-challenge context: 'If you do it within 14 days and your challenge is rejected, you may only have to pay 50% of the fine.' Formal representations: 'You have 28 days to make a formal challenge (called a "representation") after you get a notice to owner'; a notice of rejection gives '28 days to pay or appeal to an independent tribunal'.

'You usually have 28 days to pay' or challenge, running from the date the PCN was served on the windscreen or the date of the postal notice or notice to owner. A reduced amount applies for early payment — gov.uk: 'In some cases, the fine is reduced if you pay within 14 days.' For an informal challenge: 'If you do it within 14 days and your challenge is rejected, you may only have to pay 50% of the fine.' Formal representations: 'You have 28 days to make a formal challenge (called a "representation") after you get a notice to owner'; a notice of rejection gives '28 days to pay or appeal to an independent tribunal'.

If you do nothing

After 28 days unpaid: 'you'll get a "charge certificate" and you'll have 14 days to pay the original fine plus 50% more.' If still unpaid 14 days after the charge certificate: 'You'll get a court order demanding payment', registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, after which enforcement follows and the low early-payment amount is long gone.

How it escalates

  1. 01Day 29: a charge certificate — the original penalty plus 50%.
  2. 0214 days after the charge certificate: a court order demanding payment (order for recovery).
  3. 03Continued non-payment leads to enforcement of the registered debt; enforcement agents are the commonly described next step.

Your options, procedurally

  • Payment within 14 days where the PCN offers a reduced amount — typically half; gov.uk puts it as 'in some cases, the fine is reduced if you pay within 14 days'.
  • An informal challenge can be made to the council within 28 days for windscreen PCNs — 'If you do it within 14 days and your challenge is rejected, you may only have to pay 50% of the fine'.
  • Formal representations can be made within 28 days of the notice to owner, with evidence.
  • After a notice of rejection: payment within 28 days, or an appeal to the independent tribunal within 28 days.
  • For a private 'Parking Charge Notice' the civil PCN process does not apply — the ticket itself states its deadlines and the operator's appeal route.

Common questions

Is a PCN a criminal fine?

No. It is a civil penalty issued by a council or TfL and enforced through a civil process, not by the police.

How long do I have?

Usually 28 days to pay or challenge. In some cases the amount is reduced for payment within 14 days.

What happens after 28 days?

A charge certificate adds 50% to the original penalty, with 14 days to pay. After that a court order demanding payment is issued.

My ticket says 'Parking Charge Notice' from a company. Is that the same?

No. That is a private demand under contract law from a private operator, not a council or TfL penalty. The ticket itself states its own deadlines and appeal route.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.