Civil Traffic Enforcement in England

This page was last updated on 15th March 2023

Civil Traffic Enforcement in Wales is here

Changes to legislation are harmonising the civil traffic enforcement procedures throughout England and include provisions for the production of evidence from Closed Circuit TV cameras and associated recording equipment.

Such devices, or parts of a device not covered by an existing recognised approval, must be certified by the Secretary of State for Transport to show that the complete system is an “approved device”. The Vehicle Certification Agency has been appointed to do this on behalf of the Secretary of State.

The Department for Transport publishes the following documentation:

The Department for Transport provides a list of the Certifications issued (and the current guidance document that describes the certification procedure).

The Department for Transport also produces the following guidance:

Bus lane and moving traffic enforcement outside London. Outlines the responsibilities for designated councils outside London when enforcing bus lane or moving traffic contraventions.

How local authorities should enforce parking restrictions. This contains more detailed advice on civil parking enforcement and tells members of the public as well as local authorities about parking policies and their enforcement.

Independent adjudicators have been appointed to deal with unresolved disputes about Penalty Charge Notices issued by traffic authorities for civil bus lane or parking contraventions.

Further advice is available from: PATROL (for contraventions outside London)

More information is also available from London Tribunals, which is the new name for the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS)