PCN contravention code 30: parked for longer than permitted
Updated 20 September 2026 · By the AppealGo team
Short answer
Contravention code 30 on a council PCN means "parked for longer than permitted". Lower-level contravention: £110 or £90 in London depending on the charging band, and £50 in most of the rest of England (£40 in a few areas). Halved if paid within the discount period. The challenges that most often succeed are: you were within the 10-minute grace period; the officer's observation was too short or wrong; the no-return period was not clearly signed.
| Code | 30 |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Parked for longer than permitted |
| Penalty | Lower-level contravention: £110 or £90 in London depending on the charging band, and £50 in most of the rest of England (£40 in a few areas). Halved if paid within the discount period. |
| Challenge route | Informal challenge (windscreen PCNs), formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, then a free tribunal appeal within 28 days of a rejection |
Code 30 means you exceeded the maximum stay in a bay: a one-hour free bay, a two-hour limited-waiting bay, or a paid bay where your time ran out. It is a lower-level contravention, and it is also the one most affected by the statutory grace period that many councils apply inconsistently.
Lower-level contravention: £110 or £90 in London depending on the charging band, and £50 in most of the rest of England (£40 in a few areas). Halved if paid within the discount period.
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Check my noticeGrounds for challenging a code 30 PCN
- You were within the 10-minute grace period. In England, councils must allow 10 minutes after the permitted or paid time expires in on-street bays and council car parks before issuing a PCN. Compare the expiry time and the PCN time.
- The officer's observation was too short or wrong. Code 30 usually needs the vehicle observed at the start and end of the period. If the times on the PCN do not support a stay beyond the limit, say so.
- The no-return period was not clearly signed, or you had left and returned after the permitted interval.
- You extended your session by phone or app and the extension covered the time on the PCN.
- The bay's time limit was not clearly signed or the sign was obscured.
- The PCN details are wrong.
How to challenge it
Council PCNs follow the statutory process: an informal challenge within the 14-day discount period for windscreen and hand-served notices, formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, and a free appeal to London Tribunals or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days of any rejection. The full route is in our council PCN guide.
Whatever the ground, photographs of the location, the signs and the road markings taken from the driver's viewpoint are the evidence that wins. AppealGo reads the PCN, checks the code against the details, and drafts and files the challenge for you.
Common questions
Does the 10-minute grace period apply to every parking bay?
In England it applies to paid-for and free limited-time on-street bays and council car parks where parking is permitted, not to yellow lines, loading bays or bays where parking is prohibited. It applies to council enforcement, not to private operators, who have a separate 10-minute grace requirement under their code of practice.
I left for 20 minutes and came back. Can I be ticketed for overstaying?
Most limited-waiting bays have a no-return period, often one or two hours, shown on the sign. If you returned within it, the council treats the two stays as one. If the no-return period was not on the sign, that is a ground to challenge.
Sources
- London Councils: parking and traffic PCN levels from 7 April 2025
- SI 2022/71 Schedule 3: penalty charge levels outside London
- Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022, SI 2022/576
- SI 2022/71 regulation 5: the 10-minute grace period
- London Tribunals (Environment and Traffic Adjudicators)
- Traffic Penalty Tribunal
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Check my noticeRelated guides
This guide is general information about UK motoring penalties, not legal advice. Deadlines, amounts and procedures are set by the issuer and the regulations in force, and the notice you were sent is always the authoritative source for your own dates. See our disclaimer.
