Which parking ticket have I got?

Not all parking tickets are created equal. Some are civil penalties, some are a company's bill, and one is a fine for an offence that can end in a prosecution. Two of them even share the initials PCN.

• "Penalty Charge Notice" with a council name, Transport for London or the Department for Infrastructure: a council-type PCN.
• A two-digit contravention code (such as 01, 12 or 40) next to a description: a council-type PCN. Northern Ireland has its own code list with suffixes like 01x.
• "Parking Charge Notice" or "Notice to Keeper" with a company name, often with a BPA or IPC logo: a private parking charge.
• "Fixed Penalty Notice", with instructions about court on the back: an FPN.
• "Excess Charge Notice": an ECN, usually from a council car park.
• "Bus lane", "box junction" or another driving rule: a moving-traffic PCN, not a parking ticket.
• Congestion Charge, ULEZ, a low emission or clean air zone, or Dart Charge: a road-charging PCN, not a parking ticket.
• "Notice to Hirer": a ticket passed on to you by a hire or lease company.
• "Charge Certificate", "Order for Recovery", a bailiff, a debt collector, "Letter Before Claim" or court papers: you're past the ticket stage. Act quickly and get advice (Citizens Advice can help).

A Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is a penalty from a council for breaking a parking restriction, such as yellow lines, an expired pay-and-display ticket or a permit bay. In London it can also come from TfL for red routes. In Northern Ireland, PCNs come from the Department for Infrastructure. In England it's a civil matter: the law says nobody can be prosecuted for a parking contravention. There are no points on your licence.

Where the appeal goes depends on where you got it:

What it costs: England up to £160 in London or £70 elsewhere, and half that if you pay early. Northern Ireland is £90, rising to £135 at Charge Certificate stage. Ignore an English PCN and a Charge Certificate adds 50%, then the council can get a court order. Scotland works much the same: usually 50% more, and the council can register the debt with the court.

Step by step: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. Got a code on it? Look it up.

A Parking Charge Notice comes from a private company running a car park, such as a supermarket, retail park, airport or some hospitals. It's the company saying you broke the car park's terms and owe it money. If it arrives by post, it's usually called a Notice to Keeper.

It's not a council penalty, but don't ignore it. The company can chase it and try to recover it in court. In England and Wales it can claim from the registered keeper if it follows the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to the letter. That keeper rule applies only in England and Wales.

To challenge it, go to the company first. If it says no, appeal to POPLA if the company is in the British Parking Association, or the IAS if it's in the International Parking Community. The ticket or the company's website should say which.

The government's new Private Parking Code of Practice was laid on 20 October 2026 but isn't in force yet. Once it is, private notices mustn't be designed to look like council PCNs, and charges are capped at £100. What the new code changes · How to appeal a private parking charge · Private tickets in Scotland

A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) is a fine for an offence. In England and Wales you can get one for parking from the police, the council or the DVSA. You usually have 28 days to pay. If you don't, it goes up by 50% and you can be prosecuted, and may face a bigger fine plus court costs. Points on your licence only come with certain parking FPNs, such as leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.

To challenge one in England or Wales, you go through a magistrates' court; the back of the ticket explains how. In Scotland, police FPNs are paid to the court, you have 21 days to pay or challenge, and you challenge by filling in part 3 on the back. In Northern Ireland, follow the instructions on the notice.

Unclamped doesn't check FPNs. Because it's a criminal matter, get advice. Citizens Advice can help, and if you're going to court, a solicitor.

An Excess Charge Notice (ECN) is a council ticket, usually for breaking the rules in a council car park. gov.uk lists them alongside "standard charge notices" from councils. In Scotland, mygov.scot names Aberdeenshire, Orkney Islands and Scottish Borders councils as using them. The ticket, or the council, will tell you how to pay and how to challenge.

Unclamped doesn't check ECNs yet, because their rules vary and we haven't checked them against official sources.

These are Penalty Charge Notices too, but for how you drove, not where you parked. You can also get a PCN for an unpaid London congestion, low emission zone or Dart Charge charge. They follow different rules, and Unclamped doesn't check bus lane, box junction or other moving-traffic PCNs, or Congestion Charge, ULEZ, LEZ, clean air zone or Dart Charge penalties. Your notice will say who to challenge and how.

"Parking violation" is the American phrase. In the UK, official sites say parking ticket, parking fine or the name on the notice: Penalty Charge Notice, Parking Charge Notice, Fixed Penalty Notice or Excess Charge Notice. Use the name printed on yours, because it tells you who to deal with.

That depends on what happened and what kind of ticket it is. Whatever you decide, don't sit on it. Council PCNs in England and Scotland are usually half price if you pay within 14 days, and most get dearer the longer you leave them. Check your deadlines in parking appeal deadlines, and see which reasons the rules recognise in the best grounds to appeal a parking ticket.

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. If it is, the appeal letter is £7 more. If it isn't, we'll say so. That covers council PCNs and private parking charges in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It doesn't cover hire or lease cars (Notice to Hirer), Northern Ireland council car parks, or road-charging penalties such as the Congestion Charge, ULEZ or Dart Charge. Everything we don't cover.

1. gov.uk, Parking fines and penalty charge notices: Paying a ticket. www.gov.uk/parking-tickets
2. gov.uk, Parking fines and penalty charge notices: Challenging a ticket. www.gov.uk/parking-tickets/challenging-a-ticket
3. SI 2022/71, The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 8. www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/71/regulation/8
4. London Tribunals, Parking Penalty Charge Notice enforcement process. www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/understanding-enforcement-pro
5. Traffic Penalty Tribunal, Parking PCN and appeal process ("issued by a local authority in England (outside London) or Wales"). www.tpt.gov.uk/parking-pcn-and-appeal-process/
6. mygov.scot, Parking and bus lane fines: Penalty charge notices from the council (last updated 7 April 2026). www.mygov.scot/parking-bus-lane-fine/penalty-charge-notice
7. mygov.scot, Excess charge notices from the council (last updated 7 April 2026). www.mygov.scot/parking-bus-lane-fine/excess-charge-notice
8. mygov.scot, Getting a parking or bus lane fine (last updated 7 April 2026). www.mygov.scot/parking-bus-lane-fine
9. mygov.scot, Fixed penalty notices from the police. www.mygov.scot/parking-bus-lane-fine/fixed-penalty-notice
10. nidirect, Parking tickets (Penalty Charge Notices). www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/parking-tickets-penalty-charge-
11. Department of Justice NI, Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal. www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-traffic-pena
12. nidirect, Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) contravention codes. www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/penalty-charge-notice-pcn-contr
13. legislation.gov.uk, Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4. www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4
14. gov.uk, Private Parking Code of Practice (laid 20 October 2026). www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-parking-code-of-p
15. Consumer Scotland, response to the UK Government consultation on a statutory private parking code of practice (5 Sept 2025). consumer.scot/publications/uk-government-consultation-on-a-s