How to appeal a West Sussex parking ticket (PCN)

Updated 23 October 2026 · By the AppealGo team

Short answer

A West Sussex parking ticket is a civil Penalty Charge Notice under the Traffic Management Act 2004, not a fine. Parking PCNs are £70 (£60 in a few areas) (higher) or £50 (£40 in a few areas) (lower), halved if paid within 14 days. Challenge a windscreen PCN informally within 14 days to keep the discount, make formal representations within 28 days of the Notice to Owner or a posted camera PCN, and appeal free to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days of a rejection. Challenge through West Sussex's online parking service.

Key facts
Parking PCN	£70 (higher level) or £50 (lower level) in most council areas (£60 / £40 in a few); the notice states the amount
Bus lane and moving traffic PCN	£70 in most council areas
Discount	50% if paid within 14 days (21 days for most PCNs sent by post from camera evidence)
Where to appeal	Online through West Sussex's parking services; the notice gives the address
Informal challenge	Within 14 days of a windscreen or hand-served PCN keeps the discount if it is rejected
Formal representations	Within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, or of a posted camera PCN
Independent appeal	Traffic Penalty Tribunal, within 28 days of a rejection; free

West Sussex County Council is the civil enforcement authority for West Sussex, where on-street parking is enforced across the county, from Worthing and Chichester to Crawley and Horsham. Seafront, town-centre and station parking produce most of its PCNs. A West Sussex parking ticket is a Penalty Charge Notice: a civil penalty, not a criminal fine, and nothing to do with your driving licence.

Parking PCNs here are a higher-level £70 or a lower-level £50 in most council areas (a few use £60 and £40), with bus lane and moving-traffic PCNs at the higher level, each halved if paid within the discount period. Appeals that West Sussex rejects go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, which is free and independent. Checking whether a West Sussex PCN is worth challenging costs nothing — the grounds below are the ones that actually get these cancelled.

Got one of these? Check it for free.

Snap a photo of the notice. We read it, tell you the grounds we found, and only charge £7.99 if you ask us to file the appeal.

Check my notice

Where West Sussex PCNs go wrong

Worthing seafront and Chichester city-centre pay-and-display confusion, where seasonal and controlled restrictions change.
Station and commuter-town parking errors around Crawley and Horsham, including machine faults.
Bus lanes, bus gates and moving-traffic cameras (yellow boxes and banned turns) where the signing was inadequate, the hours were easy to misread, or you were forced across the line by traffic ahead.
Signs and road markings that do not comply. Faded lines, missing or contradictory signs, a zone entry plate that is obscured, or restriction hours that differ between the sign and the bay. The Traffic Regulation Order must be properly made and signed.
Pay-by-phone and pay-and-display errors. Paying for the wrong zone code, mistyping the registration, a part-paid session, or an out-of-order machine or card reader. Keep the confirmation or a photo of the machine fault.
Camera PCNs posted to the keeper that merge two events, read the plate wrongly, or arrive after the time the regulations allow. Check the contravention date against the date of the notice.

How to appeal a West Sussex PCN

PCN served — on the windscreen or by hand for parking, or by post for camera-enforced contraventions. You have 28 days to pay or challenge, with a 50% discount for the first 14 days (21 days for most postal camera PCNs).
Informal challenge (windscreen and hand-served PCNs only). Challenge through West Sussex's online parking service (search the council's website for "challenge a PCN"), quoting the PCN number and registration, before the 14 days run out. If West Sussex rejects an in-time informal challenge, the discount is normally re-offered for 14 days.
Notice to Owner after 28 days, then 28 days to make formal representations on the statutory grounds. A posted camera PCN is itself the formal stage, so you make representations straight away.
Appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days of a Notice of Rejection. It is free, independent and handled online or by phone.
If ignored: a Charge Certificate (+50%), registration at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, then enforcement agents. A TE9 witness statement can reset the process if the statutory notices never reached you.

Your PCN number and registration let you view the civil enforcement officer's photographs or the camera footage on the council's website. Always look at the evidence before deciding how to respond.

Common questions

Will West Sussex re-offer the 50% discount if my challenge is rejected?

For an informal challenge made within the discount period, West Sussex, like most authorities, re-offers the discount for 14 days from the rejection. After a Notice to Owner the discount has usually gone, though the council keeps a discretion to re-offer it and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal can direct it in some circumstances.

Can I see the evidence West Sussex has against me?

Yes. Enter the PCN number and registration on the council's PCN portal to see the officer's photographs or the camera footage. If it does not show a contravention, say so in your challenge and describe exactly what it does show.

Is a West Sussex parking ticket a fine I will get points for?

No. A West Sussex PCN is a civil penalty, not a criminal fine, so it carries no licence points and does not appear on the DVLA record. Only the police issue fixed penalties that carry points.

Sources

Got one of these? Check it for free.

Snap a photo of the notice. We read it, tell you the grounds we found, and only charge £7.99 if you ask us to file the appeal.

Check my notice

Related 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.