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of PCN appeals against Essex County Council are won
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal recorded 1,540 outcomes for appeals against Essex County Council from 2013/14 to 2024/25, and 859 of them ended with the driver paying nothing. That is close to the 54.4% tribunal average.
183 of those 859 wins were uncontested. In 21.3% of the appeals Essex County Council lost, it put up no defence at the tribunal at all. That is a small share, so expect Essex County Council to defend most cases and put your argument in front of an adjudicator rather than fold early. Those tickets were not close calls. The authority had already given up on them, and the appeal was the only thing standing between the driver and a cancelled charge.
Is it getting easier or harder?
In 2013/14 to 2015/16, drivers won 62.3% of appeals against Essex County Council, from 154 outcomes. In 2022/23 to 2024/25 it was 39%, from 526. Drivers are doing worse now than they were, by 23.3 points, so do not lean on the older figures.
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| Year | Allowed | Not contested | Refused | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 88% |
| 2014/15 | 15 | 46 | 19 | 76% |
| 2015/16 | 12 | 8 | 36 | 35% |
| 2016/17 | 21 | 10 | 29 | 52% |
| 2017/18 | 126 | 16 | 29 | 82% |
| 2018/19 | 131 | 10 | 59 | 66% |
| 2019/20 | 69 | 18 | 69 | 55% |
| 2020/21 | 64 | 5 | 39 | 63% |
| 2021/22 | 87 | 1 | 57 | 60% |
| 2022/23 | 87 | 10 | 131 | 42% |
| 2023/24 | 40 | 4 | 118 | 27% |
| 2024/25 | 19 | 45 | 64 | 50% |
| All years | 676 | 183 | 652 | 55.8% |
Busiest year: 2022/23, with 233 appeals decided. A further 29 appeals were closed by consent order across the period, which the tribunal counts separately because it can mean the driver agreeing to pay the original charge.
What this does and does not tell you
These are appeals that reached an independent adjudicator, which is the last stage. They leave out every ticket cancelled earlier, when you first challenge it or make formal representations, and that is where most successful challenges actually end. So your real chance of getting a ticket cancelled somewhere in the process is higher than 55.8%, not lower. Among the 203 authorities in England outside London and in Wales with enough appeals to compare, Essex County Council ranks 96th for how often drivers win.
Two details worth knowing before you read too much into the number. The refused column includes appeals made after the deadline and appeals the driver withdrew, so it is not purely a record of arguments that lost on the evidence. And a small number of appeals each year finish with no outcome recorded against any of these categories, so the totals here are of appeals that reached a recorded outcome rather than of every appeal lodged.
Before you write
- Find your contravention code. Every PCN carries a two digit code that says exactly what they claim you did, and what they have to prove. Look yours up.
- Check the deadline. Discounts and rights both expire. Work out your dates.
- Know how appeals work outside London. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal route, step by step.
- Do not just ignore it. What actually happens if you do.
How similar authorities compare
| Authority | Appeals won |
|---|---|
| Bury Metropolitan Borough Council | 56.1% of 1,213 |
| Havant Borough Council | 56% of 200 |
| Canterbury City Council | 55.9% of 220 |
| Essex County Council (this page) | 55.8% of 1,540 |
| Derbyshire County Council | 55.7% of 655 |
| Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council | 55.7% of 332 |
| Scarborough Borough Council | 55.5% of 679 |
Every authority we hold figures for, with sources →
Source: Traffic Penalty Tribunal, appeals data by authority, covering 2013/14 to 2024/25. The tribunal decides appeals for England outside London and for Wales, across parking, bus lane, moving traffic, clean air zone, river crossing and littering penalties. Only bus lane penalties appear in its record. A tribunal outcome depends on the evidence in that particular case, so nothing here predicts yours.