PCN Code 16: Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required
This is the official national contravention code printed on your notice. Here's what it means, and whether there's a common ground worth checking.
Not a law firm. General information about the code itself, not legal advice about your case — upload your own notice for facts that actually apply to you.
“Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required”
Code 16 is an on-street contravention from London Councils' national PATROL contravention code list, the standard list used on council and TfL penalty notices across England and Wales, not just London.
Councils set two penalty bands, higher and lower, and this contravention is usually charged at the higher band — the exact amount still varies by authority, so check the figure printed on your own notice.
Often argued as: The contravention did not occur
The alleged contravention simply didn't happen, either because you were legally entitled to be there, or because the signage/road markings were so inadequate that no valid restriction was actually communicated. Adjudicators treat inadequate signing as meaning no contravention arose at all, not as a separate, weaker ground, it stands or falls with this one.
This is a statutory ground (reg 5(4)(a), Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022) — one of six specific grounds an independent adjudicator can allow an appeal on, not just something a council might choose to accept. Whether it actually applies to you depends on your own facts and evidence, not the code alone.
Check your notice and pick your groundReserved for road user charging use
Code 18Using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering or exposing for sale of goods when prohibited
Code 19Parked 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
Code 20Parked in a part of a parking place marked by a yellow line where waiting is prohibited
Not sure which code applies to you? See the full list.
Official source for this code
London Councils' national PCN Contravention Code List (PATROL), the standard reference used on penalty notices across England and Wales.
Last reviewed: 30 August 2026
OverturnFine is an independent document-preparation service. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, and it is not affiliated with any council, TfL, or UK government body.
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