Pay for or challenge a Penalty Charge Notice

You have 2 opportunities to challenge a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) depending on what stage it is at.

Make an informal challenge

If you make your challenge within 14 days of the date when your PCN was issued and your challenge is rejected, the discount period will be reset for a further period of 14 days from the date of the rejection letter.

Start an informal challenge

Make a formal representation

If you fail to pay your notice or make an informal challenge within 28 days of the PCN being issued, a Notice to Owner (NtO) will be posted out to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

If you have received a NtO, you can make a formal representation. The charge will be either £50 or £70 at this stage.

Start a formal challenge

After you have made an appeal

We will write to you with the outcome within 56 days of receiving your formal appeal. If we accept it you won't have to pay anything. If we reject it, you can appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT).

If the appeal has ended and the case remains unpaid

About 28 days after the NtO has been sent, a Charge Certificate is issued, which increases the charge by 50%. There is no further right of appeal at this stage.

We will register the charge as a debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), where a registration fee of £9 is added.

A warrant of control, as authorised by TEC, will then be passed on to one of our approved enforcement agencies. Statutory charges will be added, a compliance notice fee of £75 (and eventually an enforcement fee of £235 if the charge is not paid).

After the enforcement agency has the warrant, any queries about the charges should be made directly with the agency.

Contact details for the Enforcement Agencies

Equita Limited
42 to 44 Henry Street
Northampton NN1 4BZ
Email: info@equita.co.uk
Telephone: 01604 628360 or 01604 634460

Jacobs: 0151 650 4800
Newlyn: 0160 462 0400