Parked without clearly displaying two valid pay and display tickets when requiredThe official national descriptor for code 10, as published in the Department for Transport statutory guidance list.
The letter after the number on your ticket
Codes are often written with a suffix: 10p rather than just 10. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 10 can carry:
| p | pay & display |
What the council has to be able to show
An appeal is not an apology, it is a challenge to the council’s case. For code 10 that case rests on:
- A traffic order requiring two tickets for that class of vehicle or that bay.
- Signage stating the requirement in terms a driver would understand.
- A photograph of the windscreen showing what was displayed.
Where code 10 tickets go wrong
This is the whole argument on code 10. An unusual rule that is not on the plate cannot fairly be enforced against someone who could not have known it.
If it capped the transaction or ran out of paper, you could not comply. Photograph the machine and any message on it.
A display fault is still a contravention in principle, but producing the second ticket with the right time is strong mitigation and often enough at the first stage.
The requirement usually attaches to a vehicle size or a bay type. If yours was neither, show the bay markings.
What to gather before you write
- Both tickets, or the receipt if only one was issued.
- A photograph of the tariff plate showing what it does and does not say.
- A photograph of the bay with your vehicle in it.
Code 10 questions, answered
How was I supposed to know the bay needed two tickets?
That is the right question and it is usually the appeal. A requirement this unusual only binds a driver if the signage conveys it. Photograph every plate at the bay from where a driver would actually read it, then ask the council to identify the sign they say told you. If the plate shows a tariff and nothing about two tickets, their case is weak.
What does contravention code 10 mean?
Parked without clearly displaying two valid pay and display tickets when required. In plain terms: A small number of bays, usually for longer or larger vehicles, need two tickets rather than one. Where that requirement is not signed clearly, most drivers never learn it exists.
How much is a code 10 penalty?
Code 10 sits in the lower band, so it carries the cheaper of the two rates that council uses. Outside London that is commonly around £50; in London £110 in Band A or £90 in Band B. Half is normally taken off if you pay within 14 days, and your notice states the actual figures.
What is the difference between code 10 and code 94?
They describe the same behaviour in different places. Code 10 is used on-street; code 94 is the off-street version, issued in a council car park. The facts you would argue are the same, and only the location and the code on the notice change.
Your notice is definitive. This page explains the national code. Councils use extra codes and local suffixes, and the wording printed on your own notice always takes precedence. Check the deadline on the notice before you do anything else, because the discount usually runs out after 14 days.
Other codes
01 02 05 06 12 14 16 19 21 23 24 25 26 27 30 40 46 47 62 99 04 07 08 09 10 11 20 22 35 29 31 32 33 34 36 37 38 50 51 52 53 54 81 89 92 93 95 28 41 42 43 45 48 49 55 56 57 63 18 61 58 59 67 68 All codes →