Challenge a Penalty Charge Notice (parking ticket) 

Important - this information is for guidance only and is not legal advice.

If you do not agree with a Penalty Charge Notice we have issued you can make an informal challenge to us. 

Deadlines for making a challenge

You must make your challenge or pay within 28 days of getting the notice. 

If we do not get your challenge within 14 days, you lose the chance to pay the reduced rate.

Before you challenge a Penalty Charge Notice 

1. Check that the notice says that it is from Cheshire East Council - if it is from a different organisation, see POPLA for advice about appealing parking charges issued on private land and in private car parks.
2. Read the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) carefully.
3. Check the list of contraventions to understand why the PCN was issued.
4. Check the grounds for appealing a parking penalty and the mitigating circumstances we may accept. Make sure you can give accurate and relevant reasons to support your claim.  

How to challenge a Penalty Charge Notice

Stage 1- informal challenge

The easiest way to make an informal challenge is to use our online form. The form will take 15 minutes to complete.

To complete the form you will need:

• the PCN number
• evidence of your appeal (if applicable)
• the mitigating circumstance code, which can be found on the Mitigating Circumstances page.

The civil enforcement officer will have taken photographs of the offence and will have made notes of any conversation that took place. We will review this information, along with your appeal and evidence before making a decision.

To ensure that you have valid grounds to challenge a Penalty Charge Notice you should read the following information:

• Mitigating Circumstances

Appeal a Cheshire East car parking PCN

You can also write to us at:

Cheshire East Borough Council
Parking Services
Municipal Buildings
Earle Street
Crewe
CW1 2BJ

Include the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number, your address, and the car registration number shown on the PCN in all correspondence.

After we get your challenge

When we get your challenge we will consider your reasons. 

If we accept your challenge, we will write to you saying we have cancelled the notice and you do not have to pay.

If we reject your challenge, we will tell you why and give you 28 days to pay. During this time you can start a second informal challenge if you have new evidence.

If we do not get payment within 28 days of you getting the letter saying we have rejected your challenge, we will issue a Notice to Owner (NtO) letter requiring payment of the full amount. The letter explains how to make a formal appeal to us if you still do not think you should pay. 

You then have 28 days from the date of the Notice to Owner to pay or make a formal appeal. You lose your right to appeal if you do not pay within 28 days and the amount you owe will go up by 50% (a total of £105 for a £70 penalty or £75 for a £50 penalty).

Stage 2 - formal appeal/ make representations to us

Follow the guidelines in the Notice to Owner letter to make a formal appeal to us (also called make representations).

If we accept your appeal, we will write to you saying we have cancelled the notice and you do not have to pay.

If we reject your appeal, we will send you a Notice of Rejection (NoR) letter. This gives you 28 days from the day the letter is delivered to either pay or appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. 

Stage 3 - appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal

If you do not agree with our decision, you can use your NoR letter to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. You do not need to tell us if you appeal to the Tribunal - they will let us know. 

Unpaid parking penalties

We take action through the courts when people do not pay parking penalties. See what happens if you do not pay a parking penalty.  

Contact Us