Parked for longer than permittedThe official national descriptor for code 30, 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 — 30a rather than just 30. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 30 can carry:
| a | permit holder only electric vehicle charging bay |
| c | buses only |
| f | free parking bay |
| g | motorcycle bay |
| l | loading place |
| m | parking meter |
| n | red route |
| o | blue badge holder |
| p | pay & display |
| s | shared use bay |
| u | electronic payment |
| y | electric solo motorcycle bay |
| 1 | electric vehicles bay |
| 2 | goods vehicle loading bays |
| 7 | taxis only |
| 8 | zero emission capable taxis only |
| 9 | electric vehicle car club bay |
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 30 that case rests on:
- A signed maximum stay.
- Arrival and observation times establishing the overstay.
- That more than ten minutes had passed beyond the permitted period.
Where code 30 tickets go wrong
It applies to parking places whether the parking is paid or free. If the overstay is ten minutes or less, the penalty should not have been issued at all.
Where the maximum stay is enforced by two observations, ask for both times and the officer’s notes. Where it is ANPR in a car park, ask for both camera reads and the images.
Returning after a genuine absence is a different thing from overstaying, and is covered by codes 22 and 90. If you left the bay, evidence of the journey helps.
Work out the exact number of minutes before you write. If it is inside ten, that is your whole appeal and you do not need another argument.
What to gather before you write
- Anything timestamped that shows when you arrived and left — payment records, shop receipts, phone photos.
Code 30 questions, answered
How many minutes over is too many?
More than ten. Section 76 of the Deregulation Act 2015 requires councils to allow a grace period of at least ten minutes at the end of the permitted period in a parking place, and observation should not begin before minute eleven. Work out the exact gap between the time expiring and the time on the notice before writing anything else.
What does contravention code 30 mean?
Parked for longer than permitted. In plain terms: A free or paid bay with a maximum stay, and the vehicle was there longer. In a council car park it is issued as code 80.
How much is a code 30 penalty?
Code 30 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 30 and code 80?
They describe the same behaviour in different places. Code 30 is used on-street; code 80 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.
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