General guidance, not legal advice
Parking appeal tribunals compared
Checked against the official sources linked on this page on 26 October 2026. Rules change, so check the dates on your own notice.
In short: If the council turns down your formal representations, you can take a council ticket (a Penalty Charge Notice) to an independent tribunal. Which one depends on where you got it: London Tribunals, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the rest of England and Wales, the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, or the Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Each gives you 28 days from the Notice of Rejection. Private car park charges go to POPLA or the IAS instead. Those are appeals services set up for the parking industry, and they aren't tribunals.
Home > Guides > Parking appeal tribunals
Which one is yours?
Look at who sent the ticket and where.
- A London council or TfL: London Tribunals (Environment and Traffic Adjudicators).
- A council in England outside London, or in Wales: the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
- A Scottish council: the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, General Regulatory Chamber.
- The Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland: the Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
- A private car park company that's a BPA member: POPLA.
- A private car park company that's an IPC member: the IAS.
The rejection letter should name the right one. If you're not sure what kind of ticket you've got, start with which parking ticket have I got?.
The comparison
| London Tribunals | Traffic Penalty Tribunal | Scotland (First-tier Tribunal) | Northern Ireland (NITPT) | POPLA | IAS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is it a tribunal? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, an appeals service funded by the BPA | No, the IPC's appeals service |
| Covers | PCNs from London councils and TfL | Council PCNs in England outside London, and in Wales | PCNs from the Scottish councils the tribunal lists | PCNs issued by or for DfI | Private charges from BPA members | Private charges from IPC members |
| When you can go | After a Notice of Rejection | After a Notice of Rejection | After a Notice of Rejection | After a Notice of Rejection of Representations | After the company rejects your appeal | After the company rejects your appeal |
| Deadline | 28 days from the Notice of Rejection being served | 28 days from the Notice of Rejection being served | 28 days from the Notice of Rejection being served | 28 days from the date of the Notice of Rejection | 28 days from the rejection (code valid 28 days) | 28 days from the rejection |
| Late appeal? | Possible if you explain why | Possible if the adjudicator allows | Possible if you give reasons | Possible if you say why | Only in exceptional cases | Only if the company agrees, £15 |
| Cost to appeal | Free | Free | We found no fee (see below) | We found no fee (see below) | Free | Free (standard appeal) |
| Paper or hearing | Postal decision or a hearing by video call | Online, post or a phone hearing | Online, postal or video hearing; in person only in exceptional cases | Postal, phone or in person in Belfast | Online or post, on the evidence | Online, on the evidence |
| Discount if you lose | Normally gone, full penalty | Usually gone, full penalty | The tribunal doesn't say | Gone after 14 days from the ticket, so £90 | Gone once you appeal here | Gone once you appeal here |
| Who's bound | You and the council | You and the council | Win and you don't pay; lose and you pay | You and DfI | The company must accept it | The company only (late appeals bind both) |
| If you lose | 28 days to pay, then 50% more. Review within 14 days on limited grounds | Pay in full. Review only in exceptional cases | 28 days to pay. Review within 14 days, or ask permission to appeal on a point of law within 30 days | 28 days to pay, then £135. Review within 14 days on limited grounds | Pay within 28 days or the company can add charges, use debt collectors or go to court | The company can still chase you, and it can end in court |
London Tribunals
The Environment and Traffic Adjudicators hear appeals on PCNs from the London councils and Transport for London, covering parking, bus lanes, moving traffic and a few others. The adjudicators are lawyers and independent of the councils.
You can only appeal once the council has rejected your formal representations. You then have 28 days from the Notice of Rejection. Appeal online with the verification code on the notice, or by post if your council hasn't given you one. It's free. You can ask for a hearing by video call, or let the adjudicator decide on the papers.
If you lose, you get 28 days from the decision to pay, and it'll normally be the full penalty, not the reduced one. Leave it longer and a Charge Certificate can add 50%. The decision binds you and the council. You can ask for a review within 14 days, but only on narrow grounds such as an admin error or new evidence. There's no further appeal, only judicial review in the High Court.
Traffic Penalty Tribunal (England outside London, and Wales)
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal hears appeals on council PCNs everywhere in England outside London, and in Wales. Its site is now tpt.gov.uk.
Again, you need a Notice of Rejection first, and you have 28 days. You'll need the PIN and the date from that notice. Appealing is free. You can appeal fully online, by post, or ask for a phone hearing. The law in both England and Wales says it's decided without a hearing unless you or the council ask for one.
If you lose, you pay the PCN in full. The decision binds you and the council, and a review is only possible in exceptional circumstances.
First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
Council parking appeals in Scotland go to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. Only councils on the tribunal's list can be appealed there, so check yours is on it.
You need a Notice of Rejection first, which gives you a PIN for the online system. Your appeal has to reach the tribunal within 28 days of the notice being served, and a late one needs reasons. The tribunal can only look at the legal grounds. It can't consider why it happened or whether you had a good reason, so put any mitigation to the council earlier.
You can have an online decision, a postal decision or a video hearing. In-person hearings only happen in exceptional circumstances. We found no fee on the tribunal's pages or in its rules, but they don't say "free" in so many words. Win, and you don't pay. Lose, and you pay within 28 days of the decision. The tribunal doesn't say whether that's the full or reduced amount, so check your decision letter. You can ask for a review within 14 days, or ask permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law within 30 days.
Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal
In Northern Ireland, the Department for Infrastructure issues council-style PCNs, and its Parking Enforcement Processing Unit deals with challenges. Challenge it first. If you're the registered keeper and want to keep going, wait for the Notice to Owner and make representations. If those are rejected, you get a Notice of Rejection of Representations with an appeal form.
You have 28 days from the date of that notice. The adjudicator can accept a late appeal if you say why. You can choose a postal decision, a phone hearing or a hearing in person in Belfast. We found no fee mentioned. The decision binds you and DfI.
The ticket is £90, or £45 if paid within 14 days of the ticket, so the discount has gone by this stage. If you lose, you have 28 days to pay. After that, a Charge Certificate takes it to £135. You can ask for a review within 14 days of the written decision on limited grounds.
This doesn't cover tickets from council-run car parks in Northern Ireland.
POPLA and the IAS (private car parks)
If a private car park company rejects your appeal, you can go to its appeals service. These aren't tribunals or courts. POPLA is funded by the British Parking Association, and the IAS is the appeals service for members of the International Parking Community. Both are free for a standard appeal, and both give you 28 days from the company's rejection. For POPLA you'll need the 10-digit code from the rejection.
Going to either one means the early-payment discount no longer applies. While your appeal is open, the company has to pause chasing you. If you win, the company has to accept it. The IAS says its standard decisions bind only the company, not you. If you lose, pay within 28 days or the company can add charges and use debt collectors, and it can end up in court. Our private parking guide has the full process.
Should you go to a tribunal?
That depends on your grounds and the money. Going to a council tribunal is free, but the discount has usually gone by then, so losing means the full charge. An appeal can fail, and none of these bodies can cancel a ticket just because you're sympathetic. Look at the best grounds to appeal and the deadlines before you decide.
Not sure your reason's good enough? For £3 Unclamped checks your ticket against the official rules and tells you whether it's worth fighting, with your grounds and key deadlines. If it is, the appeal letter is £7 more. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Sources
- London Tribunals, Environment and Traffic Adjudicators: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat
- London Tribunals, home page: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/
- London Tribunals, Appeals process explained: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/appeals-process-explained
- London Tribunals, Online appeals: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/about/online-appeals
- London Tribunals, Costs: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/costs
- London Tribunals, Your hearing/postal decision: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/your-hearingpostal-decision
- London Tribunals, Your questions answered: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/your-questions-answered
- London Tribunals, Parking PCN enforcement process: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/understanding-enforcement-pro
- legislation.gov.uk, The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/576), reg 7 and Schedule 1: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/576
- London Tribunals, Challenging an ETA decision: www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/challenging-eta-decision
- Traffic Penalty Tribunal, Want to appeal?: www.tpt.gov.uk/want-to-appeal/
- legislation.gov.uk, The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/359): www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2013/359
- Traffic Penalty Tribunal, Parking PCN and appeal process: www.tpt.gov.uk/parking-pcn-and-appeal-process/
- First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, General Regulatory Chamber, Transport appeals: generalregulatorychamber.scot/home/transportappeals
- GRC, Before you appeal: generalregulatorychamber.scot/home/transportappeals/before-y
- GRC, Making an appeal: generalregulatorychamber.scot/home/transportappeals/making-a
- GRC, Hearing and decision: generalregulatorychamber.scot/home/transportappeals/hearing-
- legislation.gov.uk, The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland General Regulatory Chamber Parking and Bus Lane Appeals (Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/98), schedule: www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/98/schedule/made
- Department of Justice NI, Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal: www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-traffic-pena
- nidirect, Parking tickets (Penalty Charge Notices): www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/parking-tickets-penalty-charge-
- legislation.gov.uk, The Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005, article 13: www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/2005/1964/article/13
- POPLA, FAQs: www.popla.co.uk/faqs
- Independent Appeals Service, FAQs: theias.org/faqs
- BPA and IPC, The Single Code of Practice, version 1.1: www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/Sector%20Code%2
- Unclamped, Terms (prices): unclamped.co.uk/terms
Questions people ask
Does it cost anything to appeal to a parking tribunal?
London Tribunals and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal say appealing is free. We found no fee for Scotland or Northern Ireland. Costs are only awarded against people who behave unreasonably. POPLA and a standard IAS appeal are free too.
Can I go straight to the tribunal?
No. Every route needs a rejection first: a council Notice of Rejection for a PCN, or the company's rejection for a private charge.
What if I've missed the 28 days?
Send it anyway and explain why it's late. Each tribunal can allow more time, but it doesn't have to. POPLA only accepts late appeals in exceptional cases, and a late IAS appeal needs the company's agreement and £15.
Will I lose the discount if I appeal to a tribunal?
Usually, yes. If you lose in London or with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal it'll normally be the full charge. In Northern Ireland the discount only lasts 14 days from the ticket. For private charges, going to POPLA or the IAS ends the discount.
Are POPLA and the IAS tribunals?
No. They're appeals services linked to the parking industry's trade bodies. They're free and independent of the company that ticketed you, but they aren't courts or tribunals.
Can I appeal if the tribunal says no?
Only in limited ways. You can ask for a review within 14 days on narrow grounds. In London and England the only further step is judicial review. In Scotland you can ask permission to appeal on a point of law within 30 days.
Your ticket, your case
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General guidance about UK parking rules, not legal advice about your case. We only state rules we’ve checked against the official sources linked above. If your notice says something different, go by the notice and the source, and get advice if you’re unsure (Citizens Advice can help).