The following information applies equally to Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone and Ultra Low Emission Zone appeals.
Are you at the correct stage to appeal to the tribunal?
You may only appeal to the adjudicator if you have first made formal representations to Transport for London (TfL) and have received from them a 'Notice of Rejection'.
With this ‘Notice of Rejection’ TfL must send you a ‘Notice of Appeal.' To appeal to the adjudicator you should complete the Notice of Appeal. If you do not receive a Notice of Appeal form from TfL you should contact them to obtain one if you wish to appeal.
If you intend to appeal to the tribunal you should do so within 28 days of the date of TfL’s ‘Notice of Rejection’. If you submit your appeal outside of this time limit you should state clearly the reasons for the delay in order that the Adjudicator can decide whether to allow your appeal to be registered.
Please note that, as an independent tribunal, neither the adjudicator nor London Tribunals are able to offer advice to appellants or TfL on the merits of individual cases.
Costs
There is no charge for submitting an appeal to the tribunal.
Preparation
Please read the notes which accompany the appeal form carefully.
One of the first questions on the appeal form asks you whether you want your appeal decided on a postal or a personal basis. If you need help in deciding which is best for you, please read our webpage on 'your hearing'.
If you decide you would like a personal hearing, you should indicate the times you are available to attend the hearing centre in the spaces provided on the Notice of Appeal form.
Grounds of appeal
You should decide which of the legal grounds of appeal applies in your case. These can be found on the Notice of Appeal form and on the grounds of appeal web page.
The adjudicator will allow an appeal if one of the grounds is made out. The adjudicator is not able to allow an appeal or reduce the penalty because you feel that the circumstances were an excuse for illegal parking. These are called mitigating circumstances and are not allowable as grounds of appeal.
Evidence
You should send any evidence in your possession that may support your case to the adjudicator. Please remember that, as an independent tribunal, the adjudicator does not hold any information on your Penalty Charge Notice and will decide your appeal based on the evidence provided by both yourself and Transport for London.
The adjudicator is also unable to obtain evidence on your behalf.
Examples of evidence you may wish to send to the adjudicator are:
- Receipt for sale (if you no longer own the vehicle)
- Witness statements
If you wish to submit in evidence photographs in electronic format or moving images, please do so on CD or DVD. Please note that we will retain it as we require a complete record of the evidence.
In view of the significant security issues associated with their use, we cannot accept evidence on a USB flash drive.
Please also note that, if you present evidence at a hearing that we cannot retain, such as on a mobile telephone, laptop or camcorder, the adjudicator may need to adjourn the hearing for you to provide the evidence in a suitable form.
TfL will send to London Tribunals all the evidence it has on the Penalty Charge Notice and provide you with a copy.
Whether you choose a postal or a personal hearing, TfL must send both London Tribunals and you a copy of their evidence at least three clear days before the hearing.
Please note that all evidence/correspondence received will be securely disposed of according to our retention policy. View retention policy.
What if I don’t have all the evidence I need at the moment?
Send in the appeal form as soon as you can. Remember there is a strict time limit to return your completed form. When you receive a date for your hearing you will be told the last date on which evidence can be submitted.
If the date of your appeal approaches and you still do not have all your evidence, you may ask for it to be rescheduled. If you have elected a postal appeal, this should be done in writing / by e-mail to London Tribunals. If you have elected to attend a personal appeal, please contact us by telephone. Unless you have spoken to somebody or received written or e-mail confirmation that your hearing has been rescheduled, please do not assume that you will automatically be granted an adjournment. View contact details.
Witness statements
The adjudicator will not contact witnesses on your behalf. If you are submitting a witness statement you should send this to us or if you have chosen to have a personal hearing your witness may accompany you to the hearing if you wish.
Key cases
When you are preparing your appeal you might find it useful to look at key cases that have been decided before. These key decisions are stored on this site for you to view. They are a reference point for adjudicators.
By searching key cases you may find one with circumstances which are similar to yours which can help you build your case.
See congestion charging key cases
Primary legislation
The procedures for dealing with appeals and the relevant grounds of appeal are based on legislation. See our regulations page for details