Unpaid PCN Court Forms: TE9, PE3 and PE2 (Free)

Use the form that came with your Order for Recovery: the court rules require the council or other authority to attach a statutory declaration or witness statement form to the order it serves on you (CPR 75.3). GOV.UK sorts the forms by the type of penalty charge notice (PCN):

The form for each type of PCN follows GOV.UK’s court-order page, and the late forms follow its out-of-time page, with one difference: for a London borough moving traffic contravention, GOV.UK’s out-of-time page names form PE3, while HMCTS’s PE3 notes say a declaration filed more than 36 days after registration also needs form PE2. All of these forms are free on GOV.UK. Only PE3 and PE2 are statutory declarations; TE9 and TE7 are signed by you alone. If your order came with a different form, follow the order.

Because they are prescribed court forms, not open-form 1835 Act declarations. The Traffic Enforcement Centre process uses the exact PE2/PE3 wording, which the government publishes at no cost, and the court service witnesses the PE3 declaration free at most County Court hearing centres (an appointment may be necessary). You cannot change or add to the wording of the grounds on the form. We do not sell these forms, and honestly, nobody should.

Only on the grounds printed on the form. Form PE3 lets you declare that:

• you did not receive the Notice to Owner, Enforcement Notice or Penalty Charge Notice;
• you made representations to the local authority within 28 days but did not receive a rejection notice; or
• you appealed to the parking or traffic adjudicator within 28 days of the rejection notice but had no response.

Form TE9 has the same three grounds and a fourth: that you paid the penalty charge in full, with the date, method and payee. For a London borough parking contravention, TE9 says to tick only one box. HMCTS’s PE3 notes say that if none of the grounds applies, you cannot file the declaration and should contact the local authority that issued the order. You can add your reasons and attach evidence, but the forms do not list disagreeing with the contravention itself as a ground.

1. Copy the details from the Order for Recovery. Enter the penalty charge number, vehicle registration, the authority (applicant), and the location and date of the contravention. Use one form per penalty charge number; the Centre cannot trace a case without it.
2. Complete it in black ink and block capitals. Give your title, full name and address with postcode. Only the respondent named on the order can make the declaration; for a company, give your own name, the company name and your position.
3. Tick the ground and give your reasons. Do not change or add to the wording of the grounds. You may attach relevant evidence.
4. Sign it only in front of an authorised person. Swear it before a Commissioner for Oaths (for example a solicitor, £5 per declarant in England and Wales), a County Court officer appointed to take affidavits or a Justice of the Peace. HMCTS says the court service is free at most County Court hearing centres, though an appointment may be necessary. The witness must give a full postal address, and the form says any later amendment must be re-witnessed.
5. Send it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Email it to tec@justice.gov.uk or post it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre, St Katharine’s House, 21–27 St Katharine’s Street, Northampton NN1 2LH. Payments and payment queries go to the local authority or its agents, not the Centre.

A litigation friend can complete the form only for a respondent who lacks capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, with proof of their appointment.

You have 21 days from when the Order for Recovery is served on you, and the date is printed on the order. The authority must serve the order within 15 days of the Traffic Enforcement Centre registering its request (CPR 75.3), which is why HMCTS’s PE3 notes express the limit as 36 days from registration. For a TE9, the form says to file it by the date shown on the Order for Recovery. GOV.UK warns that bailiffs (enforcement agents) will be told to visit if you neither pay nor challenge within 21 days.

For a PE3 case, HMCTS’s PE3 notes say to complete form PE2, the application to file a statutory declaration out of time, and send it with your PE3, explaining why the declaration is late. GOV.UK’s out-of-time page names PE2 for low emission zone PCNs and for moving traffic PCNs issued outside London before 1 June 2022, but PE3 for a London borough moving traffic contravention, so use the forms sent with your Order for Recovery and ask the Traffic Enforcement Centre if they differ. PE2 is itself sworn before the same kinds of witness as PE3, and it asks for your reasons for lateness only, not your reasons for challenging the penalty. For a TE9 case, use form TE7. GOV.UK says you can ask for more time if you were contacted about a PCN you did not know about, about a PCN that was paid or cancelled, or if your representation or appeal got no response.

While a late challenge is considered, bailiffs are told to stop any action. If the council refuses it, the Traffic Enforcement Centre reviews the decision. If the Centre also refuses, you can ask a judge to review it by sending form N244 within 14 days of the decision; GOV.UK lists a fee of £126 without a hearing or £321 with a hearing at your local county court, and you may be able to get help with court fees. HM Courts & Tribunals Service notes that court staff are not legally trained; for legal advice, contact a solicitor or Citizens Advice.

If your challenge is accepted, the Order for Recovery is withdrawn and bailiffs cannot seize your property. The court sends a copy of your declaration or statement to the authority, any enforcement on the order stops, and the authority must tell its enforcement agent (CPR 75.8). GOV.UK says the council or authority will then either cancel the PCN, for example because you had paid it, issue a new Notice to Owner giving you 28 days to pay or challenge, or refer your case to an independent tribunal. Keep a copy of everything you send and a note of the date.

No. The Traffic Enforcement Centre and forms PE2, PE3, TE7 and TE9 cover penalty charges in England and Wales.

• Northern Ireland: nidirect says that when a Notice of Enforcement of Charge Certificate is served, the registered keeper may send a statutory declaration to an adjudicator within 21 days, on the grounds of not receiving a Notice to Owner, not receiving a Notice of Rejection after a representation, or not receiving a decision on an appeal. It can be signed before a solicitor, Commissioner for Oaths, Justice of the Peace, notary public, or Resident or lay magistrate.
• Scotland: councils issue and enforce their own PCNs. mygov.scot links to each council’s pay-or-challenge page; follow the steps on your council’s notices.
• Private parking tickets: a ticket from a private company, for example at a supermarket car park, is not a council PCN. Challenge it with the company, then appeal to POPLA or the IAS depending on the operator’s trade association.

When there is no prescribed free form and the wording must follow the 1835 Act exactly: name changes, single status for marrying abroad, identity discrepancies and lost documents. See when to use the free official forms for the full picture.