Challenge a fixed penalty notice
An FPN issued under Criminal Law provisions is offered in lieu of prosecution, with no formal right of appeal. If an alleged offender does not accept their liability for the offence, there is no requirement on them to pay the fixed penalty.
If a fixed penalty is unpaid, the case should be prosecuted, unless they have given a convincing reason to the Council for it not to do so. This is consistent with schedule 11N.14 of the DEFRA Codes of Practice on Litter and Refuse.
For a Littering From Vehicle penalty notice appeal, the vehicle keeper may submit a written representation to the Council, if they believe that one or more of the grounds (A to L) apply, as set out under Regulation 14 of The Littering from Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018.
Representation must be submitted within the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the penalty notice is issued. While there is no legal right of appeal to a Fixed Penalty Notice, you can query one in the form of a representation.
Representations that we will not consider
Representations will not be considered on the basis that:
- you did not know the law
- you did not know the law was being enforced
- it was the first time you committed the offence
- you have always done this and never received a penalty or warning before
- you believe the officer issuing the FPN was rude or did not behave appropriately
You cannot make a representation based on the behaviour of the Enforcement Officer. If you wish to make a complaint about the conduct or behaviour of an officer you should visit our complaints page. We will process the complaint separately to the FPN representation. You are still liable to prosecution if you don't pay the FPN on time.