About Penalty Charge Notices (PCN)
What is a PCN?
The Council enforces parking in accordance with its Parking Enforcement and Cancellation Protocol
(pdf, 243KB).
A Penalty Charge Notice is a legal document notifying you that your vehicle has been observed allegedly contravening a parking or traffic restriction.
The Council monitors parking and traffic in two ways
- Patrolling Civil Enforcement Officers, who issue Penalty Charge Notices at the time of the alleged contravention. If the vehicle leaves before the Penalty Charge Notice has been issued, or the Officer is prevented from issuing the notice then the Council will contact the DVLA for the vehicle keeper details and post a Penalty Charge Notice to the person the Council believes to be the keeper of the vehicle.
- Using fixed CCTV cameras which record the alleged contravention. The footage is reviewed and if an alleged contravention is confirmed the Council will contact the DVLA for the vehicle keeper details and post a Penalty Charge Notice to the person the Council believes to be the keeper of the vehicle.
Information on the PCN
Below is a sample PCN as issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer on street or in a car park. Postal PCNs include similar details. The information and guidance included on any recovery document issued by the Council is determined by the legislation quoted on the notice.
- Notice Number - This is a unique 10 digit reference number starting 'RT' and must be quoted on all correspondence and when telephoning.
- Notice Served On - The date the notice was fixed to the vehicle or handed to the driver
- Civil Enforcement Officer - The unique reference of the officer who observed the alleged contravention and issued the PCN. Officers were previously known as 'Parking Attendants' and are known locally as Community Enforcement Officers
- Signed - The signature of the Civil Enforcement Offier
- Contravention - The reference number and a brief description of the contravention believed to have been committed by the vehicle. See the Contravention Codes page for more information.
- Date and Time of Contravention - The actual date and time at which the alleged contravention was recorded on the Civil Enforcement Officer's handheld computer, which corresponds to when the Officer has confirmed the notice was printed correctly
- Vehicle observed from - Some contraventions have a period where the Civil Enforcement Officer may observe the vehicle before the vehicle is considered to be in contravention and a PCN can be issued. If there was no observation period then this date and time will be the same as the Date and Time of Contravention
- Location - The road or location where the alleged contravention occurred
- Vehicle Registration - The unique registration number of the vehicle, without spaces
- Make and Colour - The vehicle make and colour as believed by the Civil Enforcement Officer. An incorrect colour does not invalidate a PCN due to the possibility of poor lighting or ambiguous vehicle colours
- Tax Disc Number and Expiry - The number and expiry date of the vehicle license as displayed in the windscreen
- Penalty Charge - The full penalty charge
- Reduced Penalty Charge - This is the reduced penalty charge which you can pay if payment is received by the Council within 14 days starting on the date of issue.
Further information will also be noted by the Civil Enforcement Officer through the use of a camera and pocketbook in support of the issue of the PCN.
How do I pay?
Paying your Penalty Charge can be done online, by telephone, or by post. More about paying.