What is the difference between a PCN and a Parking Charge Notice?

A Penalty Charge Notice is a civil penalty from a council or TfL under the Traffic Management Act 2004, with a free appeal to an independent adjudicator. A Parking Charge Notice is an invoice from a private company under contract law — it is not a penalty, and the company has no power to fine anyone. The names are close enough to be genuinely confusing, so check the issuer rather than the wording.

What does PCN stand for on a parking ticket?

Penalty Charge Notice, if it came from a council or Transport for London. Private companies use “Parking Charge Notice” and sometimes abbreviate it the same way, which is why the abbreviation on its own does not tell you which regime you are in. The issuer’s name and whether the notice cites the Traffic Management Act will.

Is an LLP the same as an Out of Court Settlement?

No. A Late Licensing Penalty is £80, reduced to £40 within 33 days, for a vehicle that was untaxed with no SORN in force. An Out of Court Settlement is offered instead of prosecution for actually using an untaxed vehicle on a public road, and is £30 plus 1.5 or 2 times the outstanding tax depending on whether a SORN was in force.

What is a Notice to Owner, and how is it different from a Notice to Keeper?

A Notice to Owner is the council document that starts the 28-day window for formal representations on an unpaid PCN. A Notice to Keeper is a private parking document, governed by the strict POFA 2012 timing rules, and it is the operator’s only route to holding the registered keeper liable. Similar names, different regimes.

UK penalty letter jargon, in plain English

The short answer

Official letters use terms that sound interchangeable and are not. Here is what each one means, and which letter it belongs to.

Adjudicator

The independent person who decides a parking or traffic penalty appeal after the authority has rejected your representations. They do not work for the council, appealing costs nothing, and losing adds no costs.

Charge Certificate

Follows an unpaid council PCN, Dart Charge PCN or London PCN once the earlier windows have closed, adding 50% to the amount owed. After it, the debt can be registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre.

Civil vs criminal penalty

A civil penalty is a charge: no criminal record, no licence points, and an appeal to an independent adjudicator. A criminal penalty is a prosecution. Almost everything here is civil; TV licence evasion is the exception.

Clean Air Zone (CAZ)

An area where some vehicles are charged for driving in, based on emissions. The classes are cumulative: B covers buses, coaches, taxis, private hire and HGVs; C adds vans and minibuses; D adds cars. A compliant vehicle pays nothing in any class, and each city sets its own charges.

Continuous Insurance Enforcement

A separate DVLA scheme about registered vehicles kept without insurance, not about tax. £100 fixed penalty, court maximum £1,000. Here only because its letters get mistaken for tax ones.

Discount period

The window in which a penalty can be paid at a reduced rate, usually about half. It runs from the date the notice was issued, not the date it arrived. For a council PCN it is normally 14 days, and challenging inside it usually preserves the discount even if the challenge fails.

Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)

Issued by the police, and some councils, as an alternative to prosecution — paying it disposes of the matter without a conviction. There is no appeal: to dispute one you decline to pay and elect to be heard in the Magistrates’ Court, where losing can mean a conviction and costs.

Formal representations

The written stage after a Notice to Owner, setting out why the penalty should be cancelled. You have 28 days; the authority generally responds within 56. A rejection comes with 28 days to appeal to the adjudicator.

Informal challenge

The optional early stage, before a Notice to Owner, asking the authority to cancel the PCN. It has no statutory grounds, so it can be a plain explanation — and doing it inside the discount period normally protects the discount.

Keeper vs driver

The keeper is whoever DVLA’s record names; the driver is whoever was behind the wheel. For a council PCN the keeper is liable by design, so “I wasn’t the driver” is generally not a defence. For a private parking charge the driver holds the contract and the keeper is only reachable through POFA 2012 — so naming the driver has real effect there and none against a council.

Late Licensing Penalty (LLP)

The DVLA penalty for a vehicle untaxed with no SORN in force: £80, reduced to £40 within 33 days. Civil rather than criminal, and referred to a debt collection agency if unpaid.

London Tribunals

The independent appeal body for parking and traffic penalties issued in London, including ULEZ and Congestion Charge PCNs. Outside London and in Wales, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Notice to Keeper (NtK)

A private parking term, not a council one, and the operator’s route to holding the keeper liable. POFA 2012 times it strictly: 28 to 56 days after a windscreen ticket, or within 14 days of the parking period ending where there was none. Outside those windows the route is not available.

Notice to Owner (NtO)

The council equivalent, and a different thing from a Notice to Keeper despite the name. It is sent to the keeper of a vehicle with an unpaid PCN and starts the 28-day clock for formal representations.

Out of Court Settlement (OCS)

A DVLA offer made instead of prosecuting you for using an untaxed vehicle on a public road: £30 plus 1.5 times the outstanding tax with no SORN in force, or £30 plus 2 times with one. Not the same thing as a Late Licensing Penalty.

Parking Charge Notice — private

Issued by a private company on private land. Despite the name it is not a penalty: the company has no power to fine anyone, and this is an invoice under contract law. The £100 cap, £60 within 14 days, comes from the BPA and IPC trade-body code, not statute. Appeals go to POPLA or the IAS.

Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) — council

A civil penalty from a council or Transport for London under the Traffic Management Act 2004. The keeper is liable, there are 28 days to pay with a 50% discount inside 14, and a formal appeal to an independent adjudicator. No criminal record, no licence points. Constantly confused with the private Parking Charge Notice, which is a different thing entirely.

POFA 2012

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Schedule 4 is the only route by which a private parking operator can hold the keeper liable, and it depends on strict timing, compliant signage, and the operator not already knowing the driver. Miss any of it and the route falls away.

Registered keeper

Whoever DVLA’s record names as responsible for a vehicle — not necessarily the owner, and not necessarily the driver. Most letters on this site go to the keeper because that is who a number plate identifies.

Single Justice Procedure

A written Magistrates’ Court process, with no hearing in open court, used for minor criminal offences including TV licence evasion. If you were convicted without knowing, you have 21 days from finding out to apply for a statutory declaration to reopen the case.

SORN

A Statutory Off Road Notification: a declaration that a vehicle is not used or kept on a public road, so no tax is due. What catches people out is that “kept on a public road” includes being parked on one. A SORN vehicle has to be on private land, and a SORN cannot be backdated.

Traffic Enforcement Centre

Where an unpaid council or road-charging penalty is registered as a debt after a Charge Certificate. It is where the matter leaves what this site covers and becomes an enforcement question; Citizens Advice is the right place from there.

Traffic Management Act 2004

The statute under which councils and Transport for London issue Penalty Charge Notices. Seeing it cited is one of the quickest ways to tell a council PCN from a private parking invoice, which has no statute behind it.

Traffic Penalty Tribunal

The independent appeal body for parking and traffic penalties in England outside London, and in Wales; it also handles Dart Charge appeals. London Tribunals covers London, and Scotland runs a separate system.

ULEZ

The Ultra Low Emission Zone, run by Transport for London. Not a Clean Air Zone, despite the reasonable assumption, and its figures are its own: £12.50 a day, PCN £180 reduced to £90 within 14 days, £270 on a Charge Certificate.

Common questions

What is the difference between a PCN and a Parking Charge Notice?: A Penalty Charge Notice is a civil penalty from a council or TfL under the Traffic Management Act 2004, with a free appeal to an independent adjudicator. A Parking Charge Notice is an invoice from a private company under contract law — it is not a penalty, and the company has no power to fine anyone. The names are close enough to be genuinely confusing, so check the issuer rather than the wording.
What does PCN stand for on a parking ticket?: Penalty Charge Notice, if it came from a council or Transport for London. Private companies use “Parking Charge Notice” and sometimes abbreviate it the same way, which is why the abbreviation on its own does not tell you which regime you are in. The issuer’s name and whether the notice cites the Traffic Management Act will.
Is an LLP the same as an Out of Court Settlement?: No. A Late Licensing Penalty is £80, reduced to £40 within 33 days, for a vehicle that was untaxed with no SORN in force. An Out of Court Settlement is offered instead of prosecution for actually using an untaxed vehicle on a public road, and is £30 plus 1.5 or 2 times the outstanding tax depending on whether a SORN was in force.
What is a Notice to Owner, and how is it different from a Notice to Keeper?: A Notice to Owner is the council document that starts the 28-day window for formal representations on an unpaid PCN. A Notice to Keeper is a private parking document, governed by the strict POFA 2012 timing rules, and it is the operator’s only route to holding the registered keeper liable. Similar names, different regimes.

Official sources and review date

Every figure on this page was checked against these pages. If anything here disagrees with them, they are right and this page is out of date.

Last reviewed: 31 August 2026
Applies to: England and Wales, with notes on the rest of the UK

This site provides general information about UK penalty and enforcement letters. It is not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact the issuing authority, Citizens Advice, or a qualified adviser. Always check the official GOV.UK guidance linked on this page.

FPN or PCN — which have I got?Police, councils and TfL
Parking ticket — “I wasn’t the driver”Councils, TfL and private parking companies
What happens if you don’t respond?All seven letter types compared