A heavy commercial vehicle wholly or partly parked on a footway, verge or land between two carriagewaysThe official national descriptor for code 61, 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: 61c rather than just 61. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 61 can carry:
| 1 | electric vehicles bay |
| 2 | goods vehicle loading bays |
| 4 | virtual permit |
| c | buses only |
| g | motorcycle bay |
| n | red route |
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 61 that case rests on:
- That the vehicle is a heavy commercial vehicle as the restriction defines it.
- That it stood wholly or partly on a footway, verge or central land.
- That no loading exemption applied.
Where code 61 tickets go wrong
The definition turns on plated weight, not on how big it looks. Produce the plate or the V5C.
Loading and unloading is normally permitted, subject to time. Say what was being moved, to where, and how long it took.
Photograph the wheels against the kerb line, from square on.
Where the street layout leaves a lorry no lawful position to unload, adjudicators do take it into account.
What to gather before you write
- The plated gross weight.
- Delivery paperwork with times.
- Photographs showing the wheels relative to the kerb.
Code 61 questions, answered
My lorry was on the verge because I was unloading. Where does that leave me?
In a reasonable position, if you evidence it. Loading is normally permitted even where parking on a verge is not, subject to time limits. What decides these is detail: what you were moving, into which premises, how many trips and over what period. A delivery note with a time on it and a photograph of the vehicle with the tail lift down do more than any amount of assertion.
What does contravention code 61 mean?
A heavy commercial vehicle wholly or partly parked on a footway, verge or land between two carriageways. In plain terms: The heavy vehicle version of code 62. Two things decide most of these: whether the vehicle is above the weight the restriction uses, and whether it was there to load, because loading is usually treated differently from being left.
How much is a code 61 penalty?
Code 61 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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