Council PCN
Charge certificate and order for recovery
Independent site, not a council, operator or appeals service. You pay or appeal only through the channel printed on your notice.
Type the penalty printed on your notice: the tool shows the amount after the charge certificate and the next court deadlines.
What a charge certificate adds
Amount after the certificate
£105
| Increase | £35 |
| Order for recovery after | 14 days |
| Witness statement within | 21 days |
A charge certificate is the notice a council serves when a Penalty Charge Notice has gone unpaid and unchallenged through the whole Notice to Owner period. It increases the penalty by 50%: a £70 penalty outside London becomes £105, a £160 London band A penalty becomes £240. In England, if the increased amount is still not paid 14 days after the certificate is served, the council can ask the county court's Traffic Enforcement Centre to register the debt as if it were a court order, without a hearing on the merits. You then receive an order for recovery, and you have 21 days to pay or file a witness statement on one of a few narrow grounds, such as never having received the Notice to Owner. If neither happens, the council can pass the debt to enforcement agents, whose fixed fees are added on top. The certificate is therefore the last point at which the debt can be settled simply.
Deadline for a witness statement
Send it by
22 November 2026
| Period | 21 days |
| Where | Traffic Enforcement Centre (county court) |
Counted from the day the notice is served, with that day as day one: the cautious reading.
Rules, amounts and dates read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
How the steps follow each other
| Step | When | Amount on a band 2 higher penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Penalty Charge Notice | day of the contravention | £70 |
| Notice to Owner | from day 28 | £70 |
| Charge certificate | after the 28 days of the Notice to Owner | £105 |
| Order for recovery | 14 days after the certificate | £105 |
| Witness statement deadline | 21 days after the order | £105 |
| Enforcement agents | after that | £105 plus fixed fees |
An example with dates
A Notice to Owner served on 2 December 2026 leaves 28 days to pay or make representations. If nothing happens, a charge certificate can be served from 30 December 2026. Suppose it is served on 5 January 2027: the council can apply for registration from 19 January 2027. If the order for recovery is served on 1 February 2027, a witness statement must reach the Traffic Enforcement Centre by 21 February 2027, counting the day of service as day one. The second mini-tool above gives that last date for yours.
The witness statement: a narrow door
A witness statement is not a second appeal about whether you parked legally. It deals with what went wrong in the process. The grounds are printed on the form sent with the order for recovery and cover cases such as these: you did not receive the Notice to Owner; you made representations but never received a rejection; you appealed to the adjudicator but had no response; or you had already paid the penalty in full. A witness statement is made under a statement of truth, so it must be accurate. If the court accepts it, the order for recovery is revoked and the council must go back a step, often to the Notice to Owner.
If you are past the 21 days, the form also allows an application to file out of time with your reasons, such as being away or not receiving the order. Explain the facts with dates.
Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland
In Northern Ireland, nidirect explains that a charge certificate raising the penalty to £135 can follow 28 days after the Notice to Owner, and that a Notice of Enforcement of Charge Certificate gives 21 days to make a statutory declaration (nidirect). In Wales and Scotland the increase is also 50%; the recovery route uses each nation's own court procedure, described in the letters you receive. GOV.UK's summary for England is in its parking tickets guide.
Checking the certificate
A charge certificate should only arrive after the full period given by the Notice to Owner has passed without payment or representations. Compare its date with the date you received the Notice to Owner: a certificate served before the 28 days have run, or after you made representations that were never decided, points to a procedural problem. Note it in writing to the council at once.
Before enforcement agents
Once a warrant goes to enforcement agents, fixed fees apply from the first letter. Our bailiffs page shows how they add up. Paying at the charge certificate stage, or acting on the order for recovery within 21 days, is far cheaper than any later step.