Disclaimer

That short version appears at the foot of every page on this site. What follows is the same thing said properly, because the short version leaves out why it matters.

This is information, not legal advice

Legal advice means someone qualified applying the law to your facts and telling you what to do. Nothing here does that. These pages describe what a document is, what the published rules say about it, and what options generally exist — for a typical reader, not for you.

Reading this site creates no adviser–client relationship, and it gives you no professional duty of care to rely on. Two people holding what looks like the same letter can be in entirely different positions because of a date, a certificate, a change of keeper or which nation they live in. A general page cannot see any of that.

The official source always outranks this site

Every page names the official pages its figures came from and links them at the foot. That is not decoration. If an official source and this site disagree, the official source is right and this page is wrong or out of date. Please treat it that way, and please tell me so it can be fixed.

Above all: the letter in your hand outranks everything. It carries your reference, your dates and your deadline. Where a page here gives a general period and your letter gives a specific date, use the date on your letter.

Figures change, and they change often

The amounts on this site are not permanent. Some of the things that shifted in the two years before this page was written:

• The TV licence fee changes each April.
• NHS prescription and dental charges are reset annually.
• Dartford Crossing charges changed on 1 September 2025.
• The London Congestion Charge rose on 2 January 2026.
• The statutory private parking code was laid in 2022, withdrawn months later, consulted on again in 2025, and is still not in force.
• Clean Air Zones can be introduced, altered or ended by individual cities.

This is why every page carries a review date. A figure with no date attached is a figure you cannot judge. If the date on a page is old and the amount matters to you, check the linked source before relying on it.

Where this site deliberately says less

Some pages here stop short of answering a question that other sites answer confidently. That is on purpose. Where a claim could not be confirmed against a current official source, this site says so and points you at your own letter rather than filling the gap.

A confidently wrong number does real harm to someone who is already worried — it can cost a discount window, or build a challenge on a ground that was never going to work. Saying "the deadline is on your letter" is less satisfying and considerably safer.

Nation and jurisdiction

The United Kingdom does not have one set of rules for these letters. NHS prescription charges apply in England but not in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Parking appeals go to different bodies in London, in the rest of England and Wales, and in Scotland. Where a page applies to one nation only, it says so near the top — but check that it matches where your letter came from before relying on any figure.

Independence

Check My Letter is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the DVLA, TV Licensing, the BBC, the NHS Business Services Authority, National Highways, Transport for London, any local authority, any tribunal, or any government department. It cannot act for you, contact an authority on your behalf, or access your case.

Advertising, where it appears, has no influence over what these pages say and is not endorsed by this site.

Where to get actual advice

The authority named on your letter holds your file and is the fastest route to a factual answer. Citizens Advice is free and independent. A qualified solicitor or adviser is worth it where the sum involved justifies the cost. Any of those three can do something this site cannot: look at your situation and tell you what to do about it.

See also the terms of use, which include the limits on liability, and the about page, which sets out exactly how each figure here is checked.