Notice to Owner: what it means and how to respond

Why you received it

For PCNs fixed to the windscreen or handed to the driver, the council waits 28 days and then serves the Notice to Owner on whoever the DVLA says was the registered keeper on the date of the contravention. If you sold the car and the DVLA was not told in time, the notice comes to you; if you were driving a hire car, it goes to the hire company, who will usually transfer liability to you. For PCNs issued by post from camera footage (bus lane, moving traffic, some parking) the PCN itself does the job of the Notice to Owner and there is no separate notice.

The statutory grounds for representations

The regulations list the grounds the council must consider. You can rely on more than one:

• The contravention did not occur. The broadest ground, covering deficient signs and lines, loading exemptions, grace periods, valid permits and Blue Badges, faulty machines and anything else that means no contravention actually happened.
• You were not the owner of the vehicle at the time, because you had sold it, bought it later, or never owned it.
• The vehicle was taken without consent, for example stolen.
• You are a hire firm and the hirer signed an agreement accepting liability.
• The penalty exceeded the amount applicable in the circumstances.
• There has been a procedural impropriety by the council: a notice served late, out of order, or missing required information.
• The traffic order was invalid or the restriction was not lawfully made.
• The penalty has already been paid, in full or at the discounted rate within the discount period.

Mitigating circumstances such as a medical emergency or a breakdown are not on the list, but the council has discretion to cancel on compassionate grounds and adjudicators can recommend that it does. State them clearly and provide evidence, alongside any statutory ground.

How to respond

1. Use the form that came with the notice or the council's online portal, quoting the PCN number and registration.
2. Tick or state the ground(s) you rely on and explain the facts in a few short paragraphs.
3. Attach evidence: photographs, receipts, the V5C or bill of sale, a hire agreement, a crime reference, a permit or Blue Badge, screenshots of a failed payment.
4. Keep proof of when you sent it. Representations made within 28 days must be considered; if the council does not reply within 56 days the PCN is treated as cancelled.

The council must reply with a Notice of Acceptance, which cancels the PCN, or a Notice of Rejection, which gives you 28 days to appeal to London Tribunals or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. AppealGo can prepare and file the representations for you and will tell you honestly if it cannot find a ground.