Parking tickets

Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)

A parking ticket is also known as a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) or parking fine. You’ll get a parking ticket if you do not follow the rules of the car park or road.

PCNs could be issued for parking:

  • on single or double yellow lines
  • without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket or parking disc
  • without a valid resident or visitor permit within a controlled parking zone
  • longer than permitted
  • in a disabled bay without a valid Blue Badge

Charges

If the PCN is paid within 14 days of issue, you’ll only need to pay half the amount.

There are two levels of fine:

  1. Higher band - £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days).
  2. Lower band - £50 (reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days).

If no payment is received 35 days after the issue of the Notice to Owner, a ‘Charge Certificate’ will be issued to the registered keeper increasing the fine by 50% to:

  •   £105 for the higher band
  •   £75 for the lower band

You’ll then have 14 days to pay the increased fine or an Order of Recovery will be issued which will increase the PCN by £9.

How to pay

Online

The quickest and easiest way to pay is via our website.

You’ll need:

  • a debit or credit card
  • the notice number from the PCN (starting with ‘AZ’ or ‘AR’ followed by 8 digits)

Make a payment

By phone

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45am to 5:15pm

Wednesdays from 11am to 5:15pm

Fridays from 8:45am to 4:45pm

Phone 01903 737655

You’ll need:

  • a debit or credit card
  • the notice number from the PCN (starting with ‘AZ’ or ‘AR’ followed by 8 digits)

Lost PCN

If you have lost your PCN:

We’ll reply with the details of your PCN and how to pay or challenge it.

How to view evidence and challenge the PCN

In most cases, our civil enforcement officers will take photos of your car and the parking offence. You can view these photos online 24 hours after your PCN was issued.

To do this you’ll need your:

  • PCN number (starting with 'AZ' or 'AR' followed by 8 digits)
  • vehicle registration number

If after reviewing the evidence you still think you should not have been issued with a PCN, you can challenge it.

The registered keeper may not have been the driver at the time of the offence but is legally liable for the PCN.

There are three stages to the challenge process:

  1. Informal challenge
  2. Formal representation
  3. Appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal

If we receive your challenge within 14 days of the PCN being issued, the charge will be held at the reduced rate while we consider your challenge.

Do not pay the PCN if you are challenging it. 

View evidence and make informal challenge

To view the evidence and make an informal challenge online you’ll need your:

  • PCN number (starting with 'AZ' or 'AR' followed by eight digits)
  • vehicle registration number

View evidence and make an informal challenge online

Informal challenge decision

If your informal challenge is successful you’ll not have to pay anything and the PCN will be cancelled. You will receive a Letter of Acceptance confirming this.

If your informal challenge is unsuccessful you’ll be sent a Letter of Rejection detailing why your challenge was unsuccessful.

 

Making formal representation

If you are not happy with our decision you can make a formal representation. You can only do this once you have received the ‘Notice to Owner’.

If the PCN is not responded to within 28 days a Notice to Owner will be sent.

Make a formal representation online

Formal challenge decision

We’ll investigate the points raised in your formal challenge and will make a decision. If you’re successful, you’ll receive a Letter of Acceptance of Representations and the PCN will be cancelled.

If you’re unsuccessful, you’ll get a Letter of Rejection of Representations detailing why your representation was unsuccessful.

You’ll need to pay the full balance within 28 days or if you disagree with our decision, you can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal which is a free independent adjudicator.

 

Appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal

You can only appeal to the tribunal once we have issued you with a Notice of Rejection of Representation. The notice explains how to appeal.

You can choose to attend a hearing either by telephone, by video call or have the appeal dealt with based on the evidence provided.

The adjudicator’s decision is final and binding upon both you and us.

If you’re successful the PCN will be cancelled.

If you’re unsuccessful you’ll have 14 days to pay the full balance. If you do not pay, we’ll commence legal proceedings against you to recover the balance.

If you do not pay a PCN

If after 28 days you have not paid, you’ll be issued with a Charge Certificate demanding you pay the original PCN fine plus 50% more.

Once a Charge Certificate has been issued you can no longer challenge your PCN. 

County Court

If the balance still has not been paid after 14 days, you’ll be sent a document known as an ‘Order of Recovery’ demanding payment.

The debt will be registered at the Northampton County Court Traffic Enforcement Centre (the registration fee of £9 will be added to your debt) and you’ll have 21 days to pay the debt or make a witness statement if you believe you have grounds to do so. 

Enforcement Agents

The debt will then be passed to our enforcement agents to recover on our behalf which will make you liable for further costs.

Our Civil Enforcement Officers (Traffic Wardens)

In October 2024 we will be working with our parking enforcement contractor to deploy a body worn video camera system. Our contractor, NSL/Marston Holdings, will be the data controller for the footage captured. Please see their privacy notice for details of how they will manage the data.

Our officers receive a basic wage and there are no targets for issuing PCNs. Their job is simply to get drivers to obey the parking control measures and issue a PCN where a parking offence has taken place.

Once a PCN has been issued it cannot be withdrawn by the civil enforcement officer. If the owner of the vehicle disagrees with the issue of the ticket they must make an informal challenge.

We want clearer, safer streets, reduced congestion and roads to be kept clear of obstructions for emergency vehicles.

We administer civil parking enforcement on behalf of West Sussex County Council. More detailed information about the process can be found at Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) - West Sussex County Council

Parking Orders

Both the West Sussex County Council and our own Parking Orders can be found on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal website here: Traffic Penalty Tribunal TRO Library - Traffic Regulation Orders. Please select ‘Arun’ on the left hand side. 

We are part of the PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London) joint committee and more information can be found on the PATROL website.

Where the money from PCNs goes

Any income from PCNs is ring-fenced by law, which means it must be spent firstly to support the parking scheme and then improve transport and parking facilities locally.