Being in a mandatory cycle laneThe official national descriptor for code 36, 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: 36j rather than just 36. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 36 can carry:
| j | camera enforcement |
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 36 that case rests on:
- A solid line, not a broken one, and a traffic order behind it.
- Signs stating the hours of operation.
- That the vehicle entered during those hours.
Where code 36 tickets go wrong
Then the lane is advisory and this code does not bite. Photograph the marking beside where you were, closely enough to see which it is.
Crossing a mandatory lane to get to premises is normally permitted; occupying it is not.
Many of these lanes run peak-hours only. Compare the plate with the time on the notice.
Where a skip, works or a parked vehicle made the lane impassable and you had to move around it, say so with a photograph if you can.
What to gather before you write
- A close photograph showing whether the line is solid or broken.
- The hours plate.
- The full video showing why you were where you were.
Code 36 questions, answered
How do I tell a mandatory cycle lane from an advisory one?
By one painted line. A mandatory lane has a solid white line and other traffic may not enter it during its hours. An advisory lane has a broken line and is not enforceable under this code. Go back and photograph the marking beside where your vehicle was, close enough that the difference is unarguable, because it decides the case outright.
What does contravention code 36 mean?
Being in a mandatory cycle lane. In plain terms: A mandatory cycle lane is marked by a solid white line and no other traffic may enter it during its hours. The advisory sort, marked with a broken line, is not enforceable this way, and the difference is exactly one painted line.
How much is a code 36 penalty?
Code 36 is a moving traffic or bus lane contravention, so it is not banded higher and lower the way parking codes are. In London the charge is £160 across the board. Outside London it is set at the higher level, commonly around £70. Half is normally taken off for early payment, and because these notices are usually issued from a camera rather than by an officer at the roadside, that discount period is often 21 days rather than 14. Your notice states the actual figures and the actual deadline, and it is the notice that governs.
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.
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