Stopped in a restricted area outside a school, a hospital or a fire, police or ambulance station when prohibitedThe official national descriptor for code 48, 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: 48j rather than just 48. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 48 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 48 that case rests on:
- Zigzag markings in the prescribed form.
- An upright sign stating the hours, where the markings are of the type that needs one.
- That the vehicle stopped there during those hours.
Where code 48 tickets go wrong
This is the classic school keep clear argument. Where the markings require an accompanying sign giving the times, and there is none, they are not enforceable. Photograph the whole length in both directions.
Most run for a window at the start and end of the school day. Check the plate against the timestamp.
Photograph your wheels against where the zigzags stop.
Zigzags have a prescribed form and length. Worn, shortened or partial markings are challenged successfully.
What to gather before you write
- Photographs of the markings along their full length.
- A photograph of the hours plate, or of the gap where it should be.
- The complete video if a camera issued it.
Code 48 questions, answered
There was no sign giving the times outside the school. Does that matter?
It is the single most common way these notices fail. Where the keep clear markings are of the type that needs an upright sign stating the hours, and no such sign is present or legible, the restriction is not properly conveyed. Walk the full length of the zigzags photographing in both directions, including the gaps where you would expect a sign to be.
What does contravention code 48 mean?
Stopped in a restricted area outside a school, a hospital or a fire, police or ambulance station when prohibited. In plain terms: School keep clear markings and their equivalents outside hospitals and emergency stations. Increasingly camera enforced, and the school ones are among the most contested markings in the country because the restriction depends entirely on how they are signed.
How much is a code 48 penalty?
Code 48 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.
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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