Do not ignore your ticket – follow the advice on this page to either pay or challenge it as soon as possible.
If you have lost your penalty charge notice reference number, please take a look at our help and support page where we’ve brought together the answers to our most frequently asked questions.
IF you have received a text message from a .Gov source requesting payment of an outstanding parking fine be warned that this is a scam. No local authority or council would make contact with you in this way to remind you or request payment of a fine. The issuing council would only communicate with you by letter about unpaid parking fines or by email if you have appealed a fine online.
If you have received a text message with a website link inviting payment of an outstanding parking fine, do NOT use that link.
Penalty charge notices (PCNs) are issued to those we believe have parked in contravention of a parking restriction. Fines of either £70 or £50 are issued, but these are reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days of the date of the ticket.
Pay a parking ticket
If you accept your parking ticket has been fairly issued, you should pay it as soon as possible. You will need the number on your PCN as well as your car registration.
Please note that PCN details may take up to 24 hours to appear on the system.
If you would prefer not to make a payment online you can send a cheque or postal order made payable to Devon County Council, to Devon County Council, Parking Services, PO Box 811, Exeter, EX1 9WA, along with the payment slip at the bottom of the parking ticket.
Challenge a parking ticket
If you think your ticket has been issued incorrectly or unfairly you can challenge it.
Do not make or send a payment until you receive a reply to your correspondence. Once you have paid the ticket you have accepted liability and closed the case, so you can’t then challenge it.
We are unable to discuss individual parking tickets over the phone or accept appeals submitted by email. If you want to challenge your ticket please follow the guidance provided below.
Informal challenges
Informal challenges need to be made within 28 days of your ticket being issued.
If you submit a challenge within 14 days of issue, and your challenge is unsuccessful you will usually be given another 14 days from our reply date to pay at the lower amount.
Please note that PCN details may take up to 24 hours to appear on the system.
If you’d prefer not to use our online service, you can write to us with your reasons for challenging your PCN and send that to Devon County Council, Parking Services, PO Box 811, Exeter, EX1 9WA.
You should receive an email with our decision typically within 21 days of us receiving your challenge. Please check both your email inbox and junk folders if you are waiting for a decision from us.
You can find out more about challenging a ticket here.
Formal challenges
If you do not pay or challenge your PCN within 28 days (or if your informal challenge is rejected), we will use DVLA keeper details to send a ‘notice to owner’ to the registered keeper of the vehicle.
You will then have 28 days to make a formal challenge. This is also called making a ‘formal representation’.
You should receive confirmation of our decision within 28 days of us receiving your representation. We will contact you by first class post unless you tell us in your representation to notify you of our decision by email.
If your formal challenge is rejected, you will have 28 days to pay your fine, or take your case to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) for an independent decision on your case. If TPT allow your appeal you will have nothing to pay. If dismissed the full charge of £50 or £70 will apply.
TPT now has a website www.keycases.info where previous decisions on cases from England & Wales can be viewed.
If parking fines are left unpaid we can pursue the debt through the County Court.
If you are having difficulty making payment
The Council must advise it cannot offer formal payment plans or accept payment in instalments for outstanding parking penalty charges. We are obligated to follow a set timeline of progressions for unpaid cases, and are unable to process partial payments via our payment portals.
If you have any unpaid tickets that you know you will have difficulty making payment for and have not submitted a challenge or a representation to the Council or responded to letters and notices issued to you by the Council, please seek independent financial guidance via the National Debt Line services, or Citizens Advice as soon as you can.
If you have been contacted by a bailiff about collecting payment for unpaid parking fines of which you had no previous knowledge, please visit the Citizens Advice website which advises what you can do to suspend enforcement action. The parking fines will not be cancelled but may be taken back to an earlier appeal or pay stage with the Council. There is also a National ‘Breathing Space’ scheme in place to assist those in financial difficulty.
Whilst the Council cannot defer a payment to keep a PCN at the 50% discounted rate, it may consider, a short delay of 7 -14 days to avoid surcharges being added. This can only be considered after a Notice to Owner has been issued and before receipt of an Order for Recovery.
If the extra days would allow you to make payment in full of your case you can email us at parkingservices@devon.gov.uk to tell us why you need a few extra days (e.g. next pay date) to request a deferred payment date. We will consider each request on a case by case basis. If you have multiple cases we will not be able to defer payments. Please refer to advice above and seek independent financial advice.
Zero tolerance – abusive or aggressive behaviour
Civil enforcement officers (CEOs) have a difficult but important job in ensuring the highway is clear and safe for all users. Whilst we appreciate nobody wants a parking ticket it is important that our staff are treated with courtesy and respect.
At Devon County Council, we have an Unacceptable Behaviour policy. This means that inappropriate, aggressive or violent behaviour towards our staff will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Our CEOs now wear body cameras for their protection. These devices will be activated if the officer feels that a situation is escalating and that behaviours towards them is no longer acceptable.
Anyone demonstrating these behaviours towards CEOs may be sent a letter advising that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Any future violation of this policy may result in the police being informed.
We understand that you may not like the job CEOs do, however, we feel sure that you will understand that unacceptable behaviour is not the solution. If you have feedback on the conduct or behaviour of a CEO please let us know.
The corporate complaints process should not be used to dispute the issue of a parking ticket. Use the challenge process detailed above to tell us why you think your parking ticket should be cancelled.
Privacy notice
The personal data you provide on this form will be held by Devon County Council for the purpose(s) of administering your request. The data will be held securely and not kept for longer than necessary. Under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018 you have the right to ask that your details are removed.
More information about how we process your data under GDPR is available in the Parking services privacy notice.