Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where requiredThe official national descriptor for code 16, 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 — 16b rather than just 16. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 16 can carry:
| b | business bay |
| d | doctor’s bay |
| h | hospital bay |
| q | market traders’ bay |
| 4 | virtual permit |
| 6 | hotel bay |
On permit codes the letters w, x, y and z carry a separate, permit-specific meaning: wrong parking zone, incorrect registration, obscured or illegible permit, and out of date permit. Read yours before you write — answering the wrong allegation is the most common reason a good appeal fails.
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 16 that case rests on:
- That the space is signed as a permit place of that type.
- That no valid permit covered the vehicle.
Where code 16 tickets go wrong
The suffix names the bay type. If your ticket says d but the bay is a general permit bay, the description does not match the location.
Produce it with its dates and the registration it was issued against.
A permit zone has to be signed at every entry point. A missing zone entry sign is a real point, not a technicality.
What to gather before you write
- The permit and its valid dates.
- Photos of the bay sign and the zone entry sign.
Code 16 questions, answered
What is the difference between code 12 and code 16?
Code 12 is for residents and shared use bays. Code 16 covers the other permit bays: business, doctor, hospital, market trader, hotel. The suffix on the notice names which type they mean. If the suffix describes a bay type that does not match the one you parked in, the description of the contravention does not fit the location.
What does contravention code 16 mean?
Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required. In plain terms: The general permit-bay code, used where the bay is not a residents’ bay — business, doctor, market trader, hotel and similar. Off-street the equivalent is code 85.
How much is a code 16 penalty?
Code 16 sits in the higher band, so it carries the more expensive of the two rates that council uses. Outside London that is commonly around £70; in London it is £160 in Band A or £140 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 16 and code 85?
They describe the same behaviour in different places. Code 16 is used on-street; code 85 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 — the discount usually runs out after 14 days.
Other codes
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