Council PCN discount & deadline calculator
Every council Penalty Charge Notice runs on a statutory clock — and Congestion Charge, ULEZ and Dart Charge penalties run on their own. Enter the date on yours to see exactly when the 50% discount ends and when the charge can rise by 50% — so you can challenge without losing money.
Posted PCNs must show the date they were posted.
The full amount printed on the PCN.
Rules read at legislation.gov.uk on . The dates on your notice always take precedence. Your dates never leave your browser.
How the clock works
- Discount period — 14 days beginning with the day the PCN is served (21 for a PCN posted on camera evidence). Pay half, or challenge now.
- Payment period — 28 days. After it, an unpaid PCN left on the car can be followed by a Notice to Owner sent to the registered keeper.
- Formal representations — 28 days beginning with the day the Notice to Owner (or a posted PCN) is served. This is your formal challenge.
- Charge certificate — if nothing is paid or challenged in time, the penalty increases by 50%.
- Tribunal — if your representations are rejected, appeal free to the tribunal within 28 days of the rejection.
Congestion Charge, ULEZ, tunnel and Dart Charge penalties are road user charging PCNs, not council PCNs: they are always posted, the discount is always 14 days from service, and there is no Notice to Owner — you make representations against the PCN itself within 28 days, then appeal to London Tribunals (TfL) or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (Dart Charge). See our guides to the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and Dart Charge.
Not sure your notice is from a council at all? Private companies issue “Parking Charge Notices” with a different process — check with the BPA or IPC lookup.
Where these rules come from
- Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 2 ("the applicable date")
“in the case of a penalty charge notice served by virtue of regulation 10(2)(a), the last day of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice is served; in the case of any other notice, the last day of the period of 14 days”
- SI 2022/71, Schedule 2, paragraphs 2(d) and 3(1)(d); regulation 20(1)
“that the penalty charge must be paid within the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the alleged contravention occurred”
- Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 3(2)(a)
“any such representations made outside the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the notice is served (“the payment period”) may be disregarded”
- SI 2022/71, regulation 21(2)(b) and 21(3)(a); Schedule 3, Table 1 (surcharged level)
“in any other case, the period of 28 days beginning with the specified date … where P does not make any representations …, the date on which the enforcement notice is served”
- SI 2022/576, regulation 7(2)
“An appeal under this regulation must be made within— (a) the period of 28 days beginning with the date of service of the decision notice”
- SI 2022/71, regulation 3(3)
“Service of such a notice or charge certificate contained in a letter sent by first class post … is to be taken to have been effected on the second working day after the day of posting.”
Congestion Charge, ULEZ and tunnels (TfL)
- Greater London Low Emission Zone Charging Order 2006 (ULEZ), scheme article 14(2) and (5); the Congestion Charging scheme (article 12) is worded the same
“…shall be paid within the period ("the payment period") of 28 days beginning with the date on which a penalty charge notice is served … if the penalty charge is paid before the end of the fourteenth day of the payment period, the amount shall be reduced by one half to £90.”
- Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001, regulation 13(2)
“The charging authority may disregard any such representations which are received by them after the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the penalty charge notice was served.”
- Transport for London — ULEZ enforcement process (charge certificate under SI 2001/2313 reg 17)
“If you don’t pay your PCN or make a representation within 28 calendar days, it will increase to £270.”
- SI 2001/2313, regulation 16(1) (Road User Charging Adjudicators, London Tribunals)
“…may appeal to an adjudicator … before— (a) the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date of service of that notice”
- Interpretation Act 1978, section 7 (SI 2001/2313 sets no deemed day of service)
“…unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.”
Dart Charge
- Road User Charging Schemes (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013, regulation 5(2)–(3)
“…to be paid in full within the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which a penalty charge notice is served. … If the penalty charge … is paid prior to the end of the fourteenth day of the period referred in paragraph (2) … it is reduced by one half.”
- SI 2013/1783, regulation 8(2), (9) and (10)
“…within the period of 56 days beginning with the date on which the representations were served on it … it is deemed to have accepted the representations”
- A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2013, article 8(2)(d)
“…increased by one half if not paid in full before a charge certificate … is served”
- SI 2013/1783, regulation 11(1) (Traffic Penalty Tribunal)
“(a) within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of service of the notice of rejection”
- SI 2013/1783, regulation 3(4) (as amended by SI 2026/752 from 7 September 2026)
“service of a notice or other document by first class post to an address in the United Kingdom is to be taken to have been effected on the second working day after the day on which it was posted”
Challenge it inside the discount window
AppealIQ writes a formal challenge to the council in seconds — grounded in the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the grounds that fit your ticket.
1 free letter every month, then £2.99 per extra letter — no subscription. See pricing
Frequently asked questions
- How long do I have to pay a council PCN at the discounted rate?
- 14 days beginning with the day the PCN was served — the day it was put on the car counts as day one. If the PCN was sent by post on camera evidence (a bus lane or moving-traffic camera, for example), you get 21 days instead. Paying within the window halves the charge.
- Do I lose the discount if I challenge the PCN?
- Not usually, if you challenge early. Most councils freeze the discount while they consider an informal challenge made within the discount period, and re-offer it if they reject you. A formal challenge after a Notice to Owner normally means the full amount is due if you lose.
- What happens if I ignore a council PCN?
- After 28 days the council can send a Notice to Owner to the registered keeper, which gives 28 days to pay or make formal representations. If that passes without payment or a challenge, a charge certificate can increase the penalty by 50%, and the council can then register the debt and use enforcement agents.
- Can I appeal to a tribunal if the council rejects my challenge?
- Yes. If the council rejects your formal representations, you can appeal free to London Tribunals (London boroughs) or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (elsewhere in England and Wales) within 28 days of the rejection notice being served.
- How long do I have to pay a Congestion Charge, ULEZ or Dart Charge penalty at the discount?
- 14 days beginning with the day the PCN was served, whichever way it was sent — there is no 21-day version for these. A Congestion Charge, ULEZ or Blackwall/Silvertown tunnel PCN is £180, reduced to £90, and rises to £270 after a charge certificate. A Dart Charge PCN is £70, reduced to £35, and rises to £105 — on top of the crossing charge itself. You have 28 days from service to pay in full or to make representations.
- Does this apply in Wales, Scotland or London?
- The dates are calculated under the regulations for England, which include London parking. Wales has its own regulations with similar periods, and some London moving-traffic PCNs are issued under separate London legislation. Scotland is different again. Whatever this calculator says, the dates printed on your notice take precedence.
More free tools
BPA or IPC lookupType the company on your parking charge to see whether it is a BPA or IPC member — and so whether a rejected appeal goes to POPLA (28 days) or the IAS (21 days).Notice to Keeper checkerCheck whether a private parking company’s Notice to Keeper arrived in time under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 — if it was late, the registered keeper can’t be made liable.
General information, not legal advice. See also council PCN appeal guides.