Reasons why Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are issued

On Street Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are issued for one of the following contraventions. A contravention is when a parking or driving rule has been breached.

National driving and parking guidance and rules can be found in The Highway Code, including images and examples of the different road signs and lines.

Find local parking rules in Newham.
Find information on loading rules.

Find more information about the stages of a PCN and what you can do.

01 - Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours.
Parked on single or double yellow lines or where temporary waiting restrictions apply. Suffix O means Blue Badge Holder, Suffix A means temporary waiting restrictions (no lines needed but signed with cones and yellow corex signs) usually for street cleansing or resurfacing.

02 - Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force.
Parked on single or double yellow lines with additional yellow 'no loading' kerb stripes. Single stripes means loading prohibited between certain times. Double kerb stripes mean ‘at any time’.
Read more about the rules for loading on the London Councils website.

05 - Parked after the expiry of paid for time.
If you paid for parking but stayed parked over the time duration paid for. You must ensure that your ticket or phone payment session covers you for the whole of your stay. Suffix U stands for initial parking period paid for by phone.

06 - Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher.
A valid pay & display ticket or voucher was not clearly displayed on the parked vehicle.

11 - Parked without payment of the parking charge.
Valid in parking bays where you can only pay for parking by phone. Suffix U refers to a payment made by phone.

12 - Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place without either clearly displaying a valid permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place, or without payment of the parking charge.
The vehicle was parked and did not clearly display either a valid resident/visitor permit, pay and display ticket or had a phone payment session in place, that is accepted in the location. Suffix R refers to resident permit bays, Suffix S refers to shared use bays, Suffix W means wrong parking zone.

14 - Parked in an electric vehicles’ charging place during restricted hours without charging.
Vehicle must be fully electric and must be charging.

16 - Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required.
Applies to locations with resident and non-resident parking restrictions such as; business permit, doctor, disabled resident bay (suffix 5) and car club bays.

19 - Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place or zone with an invalid virtual permit or displaying an invalid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket, or after the expiry of paid for time.
Applies to vehicles parked in a resident permit bay (suffix R), shared use bay (suffix S) or where a phone payment parking session has expired (suffix U).

21 - Parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space.
Parking bays may be suspended (restricted) for periods of time for reasons such as road works or events. During this time, you are not allowed to park in the suspended bays. Suspended parking bays and spaces are marked by yellow signs nearby which explain where and for how long the suspension applies. Suffixes are for resident permit bays (suffix R) shared use bays (suffix S) or pay and display bay (suffix P).

22 - Re-parked in the same parking place or zone within one hour after leaving.
You must not return to the same parking place within one hour of leaving it (usually applies to limited waiting parking bays). Refer to the signs at the location.

23 - Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle.
Some parking areas are reserved for certain types of vehicles. Refer to signs and road markings at the location. The main suffixes are 23(2) for Goods vehicles only, suffix G for motorcycle bays.

24 - Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space.
Vehicles must be parked wholly within the bay markings, with all wheels fully within the lines. Suffixes are resident permit bays (Suffix R) shared use bays (Suffix S) and pay and display bays (Suffix P).

25 - Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading.
Loading bays are for loading and unloading only. Some loading bays may be used for other purposes at different times of the day. For example, the bay is reserved for free parking during the day (Mon-Sun, 11am – 9pm) and for loading during early morning (Mon-Sun, 8 – 11am). In such cases, the bay will not be marked ‘LOADING ONLY’. A loading bay may also be indicated by coloured surfacing or block paving instead of white lines.

26 - Parked in a special enforcement area more than 50 cm from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place.
The whole of Greater London is a special enforcement area. At least one part of the vehicle must be within 50cm of the edge of the carriageway.

27 - Parked in a special enforcement area adjacent to a footway, cycle track or verge lowered to meet the level of the carriageway.
The whole of Greater London is a special enforcement area. Vehicles must not be parked in front of a dropped kerb. A dropped kerb is when the kerb has been lowered for a driveway or to allow easier access for pedestrians crossing the road.

28 - Parked in a special enforcement area adjacent to a footway, cycle track or verge raised to meet the level of the carriageway.
The whole of Greater London is a special enforcement area. Vehicles must not be parked in front of a pedestrian crossing point, which is identifiable by an section of the road that has been raised to the same level as the footpath or cyclepath.

30 - Parked for longer than permitted.
Applies to vehicles which overstay their maximum permitted time - usually for Blue Badges on yellow lines or limited stay free bays. Refer to signs and road markings at the location. Suffix F stands for 'free bay', Suffix O for Blue Badges.

40 - Parked in a designated disabled person’s parking place without displaying a valid disabled person’s badge in the prescribed manner.
A disabled person badge is otherwise known as a Blue Badge. These bays are restricted at all times, unless times are stated on the restriction sign.

45 - Stopped on a taxi rank.
This is a stopping rather than parking contravention. Stopping restrictions mean you can not wait for any length of time at a location. Loading or dropping off passengers is not allowed.

46 – Stopped where prohibited (on a red route or clearway).
This is a stopping rather than parking contravention. Stopping restrictions mean you can not wait for any length of time at a location. Loading or dropping off passengers is not allowed.
Read more about the rules for stopping on the Transport for London (TFL) website.

47 - Stopped on a restricted bus stop or stand.
This is a stopping rather than parking contravention. Stopping restrictions mean you can not wait for any length of time at a location. Loading or dropping off passengers is not allowed. (This restriction is generally enforced by CCTV, a PCN will be issued by post.)

48 - Stopped in a restricted area outside a school, a hospital or a fire, police or ambulance station when prohibited.
This refers to areas that are marked by yellow zig-zag markings. Stopping restrictions mean you can not wait for any length of time at a location. Loading or dropping off passengers is not allowed.

55 - A commercial vehicle parked in a restricted street in contravention of the Overnight Waiting Ban.
Applies to commercial vehicles weighing over 5 tons parked on the street between 6.30pm and 8am, daily.

61 - A heavy commercial vehicle wholly or partly parked on a footway, verge or land between two carriageways.
Vehicles must be parked with all four wheels on the road, with a very limited exemption for loading or unloading.

62 - Parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway.
Vehicles must be parked with all four wheels on the road, unless in a marked bay, with a very limited exemption for loading or unloading. Suffix C applies to crossovers, and Suffix G for grass verge.

63 - Parked with engine running where prohibited.
A vehicle's engine is left running unnecessarily while parked. This includes idling the engine, which is unnecessary and creates air pollution.

99 - Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zigzags.
This is a stopping rather than parking contravention. Stopping restrictions mean you can not wait for any length of time at a location. Loading or dropping off passengers is not allowed. Refer to road markings at the location.