Got a parking ticket?
Don’t just pay it.

Thousands of UK parking and traffic fines are issued unfairly: bad signage, faulty machines, paperwork errors. Check your rights and send a proper appeal in minutes. Completely free.

Write my appeal letter → Read the guides

Free forever · no account · nothing you type leaves your browser

50%discount on most council PCNs if you act within 14 days, and it’s usually re-offered after an early challenge
28 daysyour standard window to challenge a PCN, and never ignore the deadline printed on your notice
£0the cost of appealing, at every stage, from first challenge to the independent tribunal
How it works

Fight your fine in three steps

No jargon, no account, no fees. Just the process the councils and parking companies already have to follow.

1

Identify your ticket

Council PCN, private parking charge, bus lane, ULEZ: they look similar but have completely different rules. We tell you which one you’ve got and what your rights are.

2

Pick your grounds

Unclear signage, faulty machine, you were loading, the paperwork is wrong. Choose the grounds that match what actually happened. We explain each one in plain English.

3

Send your appeal letter

Our free tool turns your answers into a properly-worded appeal letter, built in your browser. Copy it, send it, and keep an eye on the deadline.

AI assistant

Not sure? Just ask Sorty

Sorty is our free AI assistant. Describe your ticket in your own words and Sorty works out what you’ve got, which grounds might apply, and sends you straight to the right guide or the free letter tool.

sorty AI-powered, and always free

Understands plain English · points to the exact page · no account, and nothing you type is used to identify you.

What kind of ticket did you get?

Pick your ticket type for a step-by-step guide: deadlines, grounds, and exactly where to send your appeal.

Council

Council parking ticket (PCN)

Yellow ticket on your windscreen or a letter from the council. A statutory penalty, with a formal, free appeals route ending at an independent tribunal.

How to appeal → Private

Private parking charge

From ParkingEye, Euro Car Parks, APCOA and similar. Not a fine at all, an invoice. You have more rights than the scary letters suggest.

Know your rights → Council / TfL

Bus lane fine

Caught on camera in a bus lane. Often beatable when signs or road markings were unclear, or you were forced in by roadworks or an emergency vehicle.

How to appeal → TfL

ULEZ & Congestion Charge

A PCN from Transport for London. Compliant vehicle, payment glitches, Auto Pay confusion: there are several solid grounds to challenge.

How to appeal → Police

Speeding letter (NIP)

A Notice of Intended Prosecution is different: it’s criminal law, with strict rules. Know the 14-day rule and your options before you respond.

What to do → Free tool

Appeal letter generator

Answer a few questions and get a properly-worded appeal letter for your exact situation, ready to copy and send.

Start now →

Got a ticket from one of these companies?

ParkingEye Euro Car Parks APCOA Smart Parking NCP UKPC Civil Enforcement Excel Parking MET Parking Premier Park All companies →

Look up the code on your ticket

Every council PCN carries a two-digit contravention code. It tells you exactly what they say you did, and what they have to prove. Find yours:

01 · Parked on a yellow line while the restriction was running 02 · Parked or loading where a loading ban applies 05 · Stayed past the time you paid for 06 · No valid ticket on display 12 · In a residents’ bay without a valid permit 14 · In an EV charging bay without charging 16 · In a permit bay without a valid permit 19 · Permit or ticket present, but not valid 21 · In a bay that was suspended 23 · Wrong class of vehicle for the bay 24 · Over the bay markings 25 · In a loading bay without loading 26 · More than 50cm from the kerb 27 · Across a dropped kerb 30 · Overstayed the maximum time 40 · In a disabled bay without a valid badge displayed 46 · Stopped on a red route or clearway 47 · Stopped in a bus stop cage 62 · Parked on the pavement 99 · Stopped on a crossing or its zigzags 04 · Overstayed at a meter showing penalty time 07 · Paid again to stay past the maximum time 08 · Parked at a meter that was out of order 09 · More than one ticket displayed where banned 10 · Only one ticket where two were required 11 · No payment made for the parking 20 · On the yellow line inside a parking bay 22 · Came back too soon after leaving the bay 35 · No valid parking disc on display 29 · Drove the wrong way along a one-way street 31 · Stopped inside a yellow box junction 32 · Went against a blue mandatory arrow 33 · Drove through a bus gate or restricted route 34 · Drove or waited in a bus lane 36 · Drove or stopped in a mandatory cycle lane 37 · Did not give way at a priority narrowing 38 · Wrong side of a keep left or keep right sign 50 · Made a banned turn 51 · Went past a no entry sign 52 · Drove where your type of vehicle is banned 53 · Entered a pedestrian zone 54 · Waited in a pedestrian zone 81 · In a restricted area of a car park or estate 89 · Vehicle too big for the car park 92 · Parked so as to cause an obstruction 93 · Left in the car park after it closed 95 · Used the parking place for the wrong purpose 28 · On a raised part of the carriageway 41 · In a diplomatic bay 42 · In a police bay 43 · On a cycle hire docking station 45 · Stopped on a taxi rank 48 · On the keep clear zigzags outside a school 49 · Parked on a cycle track or lane 55 · Lorry left overnight where that is banned 56 · Commercial vehicle where they may not wait 57 · Bus or coach parked where banned 63 · Engine left running where that is banned 18 · Trading or selling from the vehicle 61 · Lorry parked on a footway or verge 58 · Lorry on a controlled street without a permit 59 · Lorry permit conditions breached 67 · HGV without a safety permit 68 · HGV safety permit conditions breached All codes explained →

Rights they’d rather you didn’t know

The rules protect drivers more than most people realise. A few worth knowing before you pay anything:

Signs must be adequate. If the restriction wasn’t clearly signed where you parked, the ticket can be cancelled, and this is one of the most common winning grounds.

Appealing is free at every stage. Councils and tribunals charge you nothing, and the independent tribunal is genuinely independent of the council.

Private “fines” are just invoices. A private operator must prove you agreed to a contract via clear signage, and strict rules decide whether the keeper can be held liable at all.

Paperwork errors kill tickets. Notices have to follow strict legal requirements: wrong dates, missing wording or late service can make a PCN unenforceable.

An early challenge usually protects your discount. Challenge a council PCN in the first 14 days and the 50% rate is normally re-offered even if you lose.

Mitigating circumstances count. Breakdowns, medical emergencies and genuine mistakes are all worth putting in writing, because councils have discretion to cancel.

Parking fine questions, answered

The things every driver asks after finding a ticket on the windscreen.

Do parking fine appeals actually work?

Yes, a significant share of appeals succeed, because tickets are often issued with poor signage, unclear road markings or procedural mistakes. Councils cancel many PCNs at the first (informal) challenge stage, and independent tribunals rule in the driver's favour in a large share of the cases that get that far. You lose nothing by trying: appealing is free at every stage.

Will I lose the 50% discount if I appeal?

For a council PCN, if you make an informal challenge within 14 days and it is rejected, the council will normally re-offer the 50% discount for a further 14 days from the rejection, because statutory guidance tells them to. So an early challenge usually costs you nothing. Check the dates on your own notice, and never let a deadline pass while you wait for a reply.

Is a private parking ticket a real fine?

No. A "Parking Charge Notice" from a private company (ParkingEye, Euro Car Parks, APCOA and similar) is not a fine, it is an invoice claiming you broke a parking contract. Only councils, the police and official bodies can issue true penalties. Private charges can still end up in a county court if ignored, so the smart move is to appeal, not to ignore it.

Should I just ignore a private parking charge?

Ignoring is risky advice from an older era. Private operators do issue county court claims, and losing by default can affect your credit file. The better route: appeal to the operator (it's free), then escalate to the independent appeals service (POPLA or the IAS) if rejected. Many charges collapse because the operator can't show compliant signage or paperwork.

What's the difference between a PCN from the council and one from a private company?

Confusingly, both use the letters "PCN". A council Penalty Charge Notice is a statutory penalty with a formal appeals process ending at an independent tribunal. A private Parking Charge Notice is a contractual invoice with a separate appeals route (operator first, then POPLA or IAS). Our guides cover both, and the letter tool writes the right kind of appeal for each.

Is this legal advice?

No. fightthefine.co.uk provides general information and template letters to help you make your own appeal. It is not legal advice and we are not a law firm. For complex cases (court claims, bailiffs, large sums) consider Citizens Advice or a solicitor.

Two minutes now could save you the whole fine

Answer a few questions and get a properly-worded appeal letter for your exact ticket: free, private, and ready to send.

Write my appeal letter →