Pay a parking fine

You have a total of 28 days from the issue date to pay your fine.

If you pay the fine within 14 days of the issue date, we will reduce the amount you have to pay by 50%.

If you want to challenge the fine, don’t pay it, as paying it means you accept liability.

If you make a challenge, we will freeze the notice period. If your challenge is unsuccessful, you will still get a 50% reduction if you pay within 14 days.

Our PCN numbers are 10 digits long and begin with:

XP (for on-street PCNs issued in the Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Maldon or Rochford areas)
CF (for off-street PCNs issued in car parks owned by us)
BI (for off-street PCNs issued in car parks owned by Basildon Borough Council)
CP (for off-street PCNs issued in car parks owned by Castle Point Borough Council)

PCNs beginning with BX, CH, HL, ID, IE, IF, IG, II, IH or UF are dealt with by the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP).

PCNs issued in bus lanes beginning with ES are dealt with by Essex Highways via Essex County Council.

You will only receive a PCN as a physical ticket on your vehicle or a letter to the registered keeper address associated with the vehicle. We will not text or email you a PCN. Any texts you receive about PCNs are a scam and you should not open any links.

Pay now

You can pay your parking fine online using most debit and credit cards or PayPal.

We don’t accept American Express.

To pay your parking fine online using a debit or credit card, you will need:

the 10-digit parking fine (PCN) number
your vehicle registration number
your debit or credit card details

You can't pay online if:

you are paying more than £70
you are on a payment plan

You can pay your parking fine at any time using our payment line.

Call: 0300 456 0489

We don’t accept American Express.

To pay by phone, you will need:

the 10-digit parking fine (PCN) number
your vehicle registration number
your debit or credit card details, including the card number, CSV number, and start and expiry date

You can't pay via the payment line if you have a payment plan. If you have a payment plan, you will need to contact us.

You can pay your parking fine at the Post Office or any PayPoint outlet.

To pay by at the Post Office or a PayPoint outlet, you will simply need your parking fine (PCN) ticket.

To pay by cheque, you need to:

make your cheque payable to Chelmsford City Council
include your 10-digit parking fine (PCN) number
send your cheque to us in the post, or post it in the secure box at the Civic Centre

Our address is:

Civic Centre
Duke Street
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1JE

If you don’t pay or challenge the parking fine within 28 days of the issue date, we will issue a Notice to Owner.

Once you receive a Notice to Owner, you will need to pay the fine in full or make a formal representation.