Private parking ticket or council ticket? How to tell the difference

Signs it's a council ticket

• It says 'Penalty Charge Notice'.
• It's from a council, a borough or Transport for London.
• It mentions the Traffic Management Act 2004 (or other road traffic legislation), a 'contravention code', a 'Civil Enforcement Officer' or a 'Notice to Owner'.
• It refers to an independent adjudicator such as the Traffic Penalty Tribunal or London Tribunals.

Signs it's a private ticket

• It says 'Parking Charge Notice' (sometimes 'Parking Charge').
• It's from a company (ending 'Ltd' or 'Limited') at a supermarket, retail park, hospital, station, gym or private car park.
• It mentions the British Parking Association (BPA) or International Parking Community (IPC), and appeals to POPLA or the IAS.
• It may mention the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Why the difference matters

Council penalties can be enforced without the council going to court first. If unpaid, they can eventually be registered as a debt and passed to enforcement agents (bailiffs). So deadlines matter even more. You challenge the council first, then can appeal to the independent tribunal.

Private companies have to take you to court to force payment. They also have their own rules to follow (such as the 14-day rule), which gives you different possible grounds of appeal.

We can check both

Upload either kind of ticket to our free check. We'll work out which it is and check it against the right rules. For council tickets in England and Wales we can also write the right letter for your stage: an informal challenge, formal representations, or a tribunal appeal statement.