Your Hearing/Postal decision

When a Notice of Appeal is received at PATAS, our staff will make some basic checks and if everything is in order it will be registered as a formal appeal.

Your appeal can be conducted in person or by post:

Personal hearing
Postal decisions

Our leaflets containing information on what happens after a decision is made in your appeal can be found by clicking here.

Other pages you might find useful

Personal hearing

Getting Ready for the Hearing

make sure that you have sent any documents, photographs etc that you intend to rely on in your appeal to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS).

if you wish to submit in evidence photographs in electronic format or moving images, please do so on CD, DVD or videotape (not Super VHS). Please note that we will retain it as we require a complete record of the evidence.

in view of the significant security issues associated with their use, we cannot accept evidence on a USB flash drive.

please also note that, if you present evidence at a hearing that we cannot retain, such as on a mobile telephone, laptop or camcorder, the Adjudicator may need to adjourn the hearing for you to provide the evidence in a suitable form.

if you are intending to fax photographs or images to the tribunal the quality on receipt is likely to be poor. Please send clear copies to us by post. If you are attending a personal hearing, please bring the originals with you.

if you have not already sent any documents, photographs etc. that you intend to rely on with your Notice of Appeal, please try to send them to arrive no later than six days before your hearing date, so that copies can be forwarded to the local authority.

you can send them later or bring them with you, but if you do the Adjudicator may adjourn the hearing for them to be sent to the local authority for comment.

please understand that it is for you to present your evidence to the Adjudicator

it is the Adjudicator’s role to consider the evidence you and the local authority present to him and to make a decision based on that evidence. It is not the Adjudicator’s function to get your evidence or to contact witnesses on your behalf.

if you want the Adjudicator to consider the evidence of a witness they should ideally attend the hearing to give evidence in person. You may also provide a statement from them. This will be essential if they do not attend the hearing.

you should receive a copy of the local authority’s evidence to consider at least 3 days before the hearing.

remember to bring your appointment letter and all your paperwork with you.

you may bring a friend or family member with you if you wish.

the Hearing Centre is wheelchair accessible. If you require a signer or interpreter please contact us so that we can arrange one. You may, of course, bring a relative or friend to sign or interpret for you if you wish. The service has a minicom number for people with hearing difficulties: 020-7747 4758. The hearing rooms are also fitted with hearing loops.

if you have any concerns about your special requirements please contact us.

please remember that if you are driving into central London for your hearing you should check in advance whether you need to pay the Congestion Charge.

Coming to the Hearing Centre

click here for a location map of our Hearing Centre.

for information on how to travel to our Hearing Centre, click here.

arrive in good time. If you find you are going to be late please ring 020 7747 4700.

mobile phones must be turned off in the Hearing Centre. If you wish to use one please go out to the lift area.

we will start your hearing as soon as possible. We aim to do so within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, but please understand that because the length of hearings is unpredictable this may not always be possible.

please note that if you see someone apparently 'jumping the queue' and going into a hearing room before you, even though you arrived before them, it may be that they are here for a different type of appeal. Congestion charging appeals are heard by different Adjudicators to those who hear parking, bus lane, lorry ban and moving traffic appeals.

please remember that if you are driving into central London for your hearing you should check in advance whether you need to pay the Congestion Charge.

Your Hearing

your appeal will be decided by an Adjudicator, who is a qualified lawyer.

the Adjudicator is independent of all the local authorities.

usually, the local authority will not attend the hearing.

the hearing is kept as informal as possible. Please remember that it is a judicial hearing like a court, not a meeting. The Adjudicator is similar to a judge.

the Adjudicator will introduce the hearing and explain the procedure.

tell the Adjudicator if you have any special needs or if you have difficulties in understanding the proceedings for any reason.

be courteous and polite to the tribunal staff. Please understand that people who behave in a disruptive manner may be asked to leave the Hearing Centre.

you will not be asked to take an oath when giving evidence, but you must tell the truth. If you do not, you could be prosecuted.

all the documents relating to your appeal will usually have been scanned into our computer system for viewing during the hearing.

the Adjudicator will not normally have looked at the case or seen any of the documents before the hearing.

if you have brought any witnesses with you, they may be asked to wait in the reception area until the Adjudicator calls them in.

the hearing will be tape recorded for record purposes. You may not tape record, film, video or photograph the hearing.

once the Adjudicator has considered the evidence and your representations, they will usually then tell you the result of the appeal and prepare the written decision. This normally takes only a few minutes. You can either wait to take it away or have it posted to you.

occasionally, at the end of the hearing the Adjudicator may tell you that they need time to consider the decision. We will then send you the decision by post once the Adjudicator has made it. Once made, the Adjudicator’s decision is binding on you and the authority.

sometimes the Adjudicator may decide to adjourn the case to be concluded on another day; for example, for more evidence to be provided. You will be told when the next hearing will be and whether you are required to come to the hearing centre again on the next occasion.

Postal decisions

if you choose a postal decision, you will be sent a letter which explains the date after which your appeal will be decided, and a date by which time you should submit any further evidence.

for a postal decision, neither you nor the local authority will be present or represented. The Adjudicator will consider all the documentary evidence produced by both parties (you, the appellant and the local authority, the respondent) and will then make a decision based on the evidence before them.

if, when considering the evidence, the Adjudicator needs either party to provide further details before making a decision, they can adjourn the appeal to a later date.

the Adjudicator will then post the decision to you.

Postal cases are currently being considered by the Adjudicator about 21 weeks after the date the case is scheduled to come into the list. This is an indication only and is correct as at 23rd February 2010. This information will be updated on a regular basis.