Vehicle parked exceeds maximum weight or height or length permittedThe official national descriptor for code 89, as published in the Department for Transport statutory guidance list.
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 89 that case rests on:
- A stated limit in the car park order.
- Signage giving the limit at the entrance, before the point where a driver commits.
- That your vehicle exceeds it on the measure they are using.
Where code 89 tickets go wrong
Weight limits are normally plated gross weight, length includes any towbar or rack, and height is to the highest fixed point. Get the figures from the manufacturer’s plate and set them against the sign.
A limit that only appears once you are inside is useless: there is nowhere to turn round. Photograph the approach.
Where the complaint is really that you overhung a bay, that is a different code. Ask them which they are alleging.
Sounds obvious, but these are frequently issued on an officer’s eye rather than a measurement. Produce the V5C or the plate.
What to gather before you write
- A photograph of the manufacturer’s plate showing weight, or the V5C.
- A photograph of the limit sign at the entrance.
- A photograph of the vehicle in the bay.
Code 89 questions, answered
My van is well under 3.5 tonnes loaded. Why a weight ticket?
Because car park weight limits are almost always plated gross weight, which is what the vehicle is permitted to weigh fully laden, not what it weighed that day. An empty van plated above the limit is still caught. Check the manufacturer’s plate on the door pillar first, because if it is genuinely under the limit the allegation collapses.
What does contravention code 89 mean?
Vehicle parked exceeds maximum weight or height or length permitted. In plain terms: Car parks cap weight, height or length to protect a deck or to keep the bays usable. Vans, motorhomes and pickups collect most of these, often after squeezing under a barrier that turned out to be the wrong measurement.
How much is a code 89 penalty?
Code 89 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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