PCN Contravention Code 62 Appeal Guide

What Code 62 Actually Means

A yellow box junction is painted on the road under the Road Markings Regulations. You must not enter the box unless your exit is clear. The only exception is when you are turning right and are prevented from completing the turn solely by oncoming traffic or vehicles waiting to turn right from the opposite direction.

Code 62 PCNs are issued under the Traffic Management Act 2004 and are a civil matter enforced by the council, not the police. In London, box junction enforcement is carried out almost exclusively by CCTV; outside London some councils also use CCTV-equipped vehicles or static cameras. Because CCTV is involved, the discount period for payment is 21 days rather than 14 days from the date the notice is served.

Deadlines You Must Not Miss

For a CCTV-issued code 62 PCN, the reduced penalty (50% of the full charge) is available if you pay within 21 days of service. If you intend to appeal instead of paying, submit your informal challenge within that same 21-day window so that the discount is suspended while the council considers your representations.

If the council rejects your informal challenge, it will issue a Notice to Owner (or, in London, a Penalty Charge Notice by post if you were not the driver at the time). You then have 28 days to make formal representations. If those are also rejected, you have a further 28 days to appeal to an independent adjudicator: London Tribunals if the PCN was issued in Greater London, or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if it was issued elsewhere in England and Wales. Missing these deadlines leads to a Charge Certificate, which increases the outstanding amount by 50%, followed by an Order for Recovery and, ultimately, enforcement action.

Common Grounds for Appealing Code 62

Several grounds regularly succeed at the informal challenge or adjudicator stage. You do not need all of them; a single strong ground is enough.

Exit was clear on entry: if your exit road was clear when you entered the box but became blocked due to unexpected circumstances beyond your control, such as a pedestrian stepping out or a vehicle ahead stalling, this can be a valid defence. The key test is whether the exit was clear at the point of entry.

Right-turn exception: if you were waiting to turn right and were held up only by oncoming traffic or oncoming vehicles also waiting to turn right, stopping in the box is lawful. Strong CCTV footage showing this clearly can get the PCN cancelled.

Defective or obscured box markings: if the yellow box was faded, partially obscured by road resurfacing, or not fully painted to the required standard, the contravention may not be established. Request the council's inspection records if you suspect this.

Procedural errors: the notice must comply with statutory requirements including the correct contravention code, the vehicle registration, the time and date, and the issuing authority's details. Errors on the face of the notice, or evidence that was recorded outside the council's permitted CCTV enforcement hours, can be grounds for cancellation.

Mitigating circumstances: genuine emergencies, such as a medical episode, can sometimes lead to discretionary cancellation even if the contravention technically occurred.

Evidence to Gather Before You Appeal

Your appeal will be much stronger with supporting evidence. Under the Freedom of Information Act and data protection legislation you can request the CCTV footage from the council; many councils provide a link to view it automatically with the PCN or on request.

Watch the footage carefully and note the exact moment your vehicle entered the box, the state of the exit road at that point, and whether any event after entry caused the blockage. Take photographs of the junction if the box markings appear faded or non-standard. If you have a dashcam recording of the incident, preserve it immediately as these can be submitted to an adjudicator.

• ▸CCTV footage from the council (request if not provided)
• ▸Dashcam footage from your vehicle
• ▸Photographs of the box junction markings
• ▸Witness statements if another driver or passenger can confirm the circumstances
• ▸Any documentation supporting a medical or emergency defence

How to Submit Your Appeal

Start with an informal challenge to the issuing council, submitted in writing or via the council's online portal. State the contravention code, your grounds clearly and concisely, and attach your evidence. Keep copies of everything.

If the council rejects your informal challenge and issues a Notice to Owner, you make formal representations using the form attached to that notice. If formal representations are rejected, the council issues a Notice of Rejection, at which point you may appeal to the independent adjudicator. The appeal is free to you and the adjudicator is not connected to the council. Adjudicators regularly cancel code 62 PCNs where the footage is ambiguous or the right-turn exception clearly applies.

If You Have Already Received a Charge Certificate

A Charge Certificate is served when the original PCN remains unpaid and unchallenged after the deadlines pass. It increases the penalty by 50%. If you receive one, you cannot make formal representations in the normal way, but you may be able to make a statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre if you never received the original notice or the Notice to Owner, or if there are other exceptional grounds. Acting quickly is essential because the next step is an Order for Recovery and debt enforcement. Consider seeking specialist advice if you are at this stage.

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