I drove through the zone but it was outside the hours, why am I charged?

The Congestion Charge only applies 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 weekends and bank holidays. If your ANPR image is time-stamped outside those hours, the PCN cannot stand. Look closely at the time on the image, not just the date. Send TfL the relevant image with your representation and ask them to cancel under the GLA Road Traffic (Congestion Charging Provisions) Order 2003. If they refuse, London Tribunals will cancel without hesitation.

Does the Congestion Charge apply to electric vehicles?

Until 25 December 2025 there was a Cleaner Vehicle Discount that exempted fully electric cars. From that date the discount ended. Electric vehicles now pay the full daily charge of £15 unless they qualify under another exemption such as disabled tax class. Check your V5C and TfL's current rules for the date of travel, because the rules at the time of the journey are what matter, not the rules today. If your journey was before 25 December 2025 in an eligible EV that was registered for the discount, the PCN should be cancelled.

What if my number plate was misread by the camera?

ANPR misreads happen, particularly with characters that look alike such as 0 and O, 1 and I, or B and 8. If the image on the PCN does not show your vehicle, request the full ANPR image from TfL and compare the make, colour and model to your own. If they do not match, this is a strong ground to cancel. London Tribunals adjudicators routinely cancel on misread cases when the evidence shows the vehicle in the image is plainly not yours.

How does the Congestion Charge interact with ULEZ?

They run on separate legal frameworks but use the same TfL ANPR infrastructure. A non-compliant car driving through central London on a weekday pays both, totalling £27.50 per day. The PCNs are also separate, so if you miss both you can receive two PCNs for the same journey. You can challenge each separately on the relevant statutory grounds. Auto-pay covers both charges for vehicles registered against the account, which removes the day-to-day risk of forgetting.

Can I appeal because the signage was unclear?

Sign clarity is not normally a winning ground because the zone has been signed since 2003 and is widely known. However, if signage at a specific entry point was missing, obscured or contradictory on the date of your journey, you may have a defence. Take dated photographs of the signage in question and include them with your representation. London Tribunals will consider sign-quality defences but they are easier to win for newer zones such as ULEZ than for the long-established Congestion Charge.

Will an unpaid Congestion Charge PCN affect my credit?

Not directly. A civil PCN does not appear on a credit file. If it escalates beyond the charge certificate to a county court order at the Traffic Enforcement Centre in Northampton and you do not respond, the resulting judgment can appear on your credit record for six years. To prevent that you can file a TE9 witness statement (if you never received the PCN) or a TE7 application for more time. Both are free from gov.uk and do not require a solicitor.

Congestion Charge PCN Appeal: Grounds + Letter | AppealAFine

The London Congestion Charge has been in place since February 2003 and now operates 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays. The zone covers most of central London inside the Inner Ring Road. The daily charge is £15 if paid by midnight on the day or by midnight the day after, slightly more if paid the following day. Auto-pay accounts pay a discounted £13.50. If you do not pay, Transport for London issues a Penalty Charge Notice. The PCN is £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days, and rises to £240 once a charge certificate is issued. Legal basis is the GLA Road Traffic (Congestion Charging Provisions) Order 2003, the GLA Road Traffic Order 2003 and Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. You can challenge first informally to TfL, then formally after the Notice to Owner, then to London Tribunals.

Grounds that work for Congestion Charge pcns

The charge was paid in time

If you paid the daily charge on or before midnight the day of travel, or by midnight the day after at the £17.50 late rate, the PCN cannot stand. TfL system mismatches are common when the registration is mistyped, when an auto-pay account is associated with the wrong vehicle, or when a previous keeper has a stale entry. Send TfL the bank statement or auto-pay confirmation with the transaction reference, the registration exactly as it appears on the V5C, and ask them to reconcile against the ANPR record for the date in question. London Tribunals will cancel on documentary evidence of timely payment.

Vehicle exempt or had a valid discount

Exemptions under the GLA Road Traffic (Congestion Charging Provisions) Order 2003 include two-wheeled motorcycles, mopeds, vehicles in the disabled or disabled-passenger tax class, NHS staff within scope of the reimbursement scheme, and licensed London taxis. Resident discount of 90 percent is available if you live inside the zone and are registered. If your V5C shows the disabled tax class on the date of travel, send TfL the DVLA extract and ask for cancellation. If you were entitled to the resident discount but had not yet registered, you can apply retrospectively in some cases.

Hire or lease vehicle and proper transfer of liability

Under regulation 14 of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2022 a hire firm can transfer liability to the named hirer by serving the hire agreement and a statement of liability. The agreement must cover the date of travel. If you are the hirer and TfL has billed you direct, ask the hire firm for the transfer paperwork. If the chain is incomplete the PCN against you fails. If you sold the vehicle before the journey, send TfL the V5C/2 sale slip dated before the journey and ask them to reissue to the actual new keeper.

Vehicle did not enter the zone

The Congestion Charge applies to vehicles that enter the marked zone. ANPR misreads are rare but happen, particularly with personalised or non-standard plates. If your vehicle was nowhere near central London on the date stamped on the PCN, gather corroborating evidence: dashcam footage, fuel receipts in a different part of the country, work logbook entries, or telematics data from your insurance black box. Send these with your representation. TfL will request the full ANPR image, which often shows a plate similar but not identical to yours, leading to cancellation. London Tribunals takes alibi evidence seriously when properly documented.

PCN served late or defective in content

Schedule 1 of the 2022 Regulations requires TfL to serve the PCN within six months of the contravention and the Notice to Owner within six months of the PCN. Regulation 9 sets out the required PCN content. Late service or missing details are statutory grounds for cancellation. Check the PCN for: correct date and time of contravention against the ANPR image, registration correctly stated, location described accurately, penalty and discount amounts shown, and instructions for representations included. Any defect supports an appeal, particularly when raised early in the informal challenge.

Got a Congestion Charge pcn?

Our tool checks your specific notice details and tells you in 60 seconds whether you have grounds to appeal.

Check my fine free

Local detail: Congestion Charge

The Congestion Charge zone covers most of central London inside the Inner Ring Road, from Vauxhall to King's Cross and from Park Lane to Aldgate.
Hours are 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 weekends and bank holidays.
Daily charge is £15 (£13.50 on auto-pay).
Residents inside the zone get a 90 percent discount if registered.
Two-wheeled vehicles, taxis and most NHS patients within scope are exempt.
The Congestion Charge runs alongside the ULEZ, so non-compliant vehicles pay both.
Appeals are heard by Environment and Traffic Adjudicators at London Tribunals.

Got a pcn in Congestion Charge?

How to appeal a London Congestion Charge PCN

Quick facts