How to Fill Out and Submit Form TE9: Grounds, Filing, and Missed Deadlines

To fill out Form TE9, download the current version from GOV.UK, enter the Penalty Charge Number, vehicle registration, and your name and address exactly as they appear on the TE3 Order for Recovery, tick the ground or grounds that apply to your case, and sign the statement of truth.¹ Send it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre within 21 days of the date on the Order for Recovery. There is no filing fee.²

One thing to be clear about before you start: TE9 is not a way to reargue the parking or traffic contravention itself. It challenges whether the authority followed the correct enforcement steps before registering the debt with the county court. If you want to dispute whether the ticket was fair, that argument belongs at an earlier stage, not on this form.

Check That You Have Grounds

You can only file a TE9 on one of four specific grounds. Each identifies a breakdown in the enforcement process rather than a dispute about the contravention:

You never received the original Penalty Charge Notice.
You made formal representations to the authority but never received a rejection notice.
You appealed to an adjudicator and received no response, or the appeal had not been decided when the Charge Certificate was issued.
You already paid the penalty in full before the Order for Recovery was issued.

Each ground focuses on a procedural failure by the authority or the tribunal.³ If none of them describes your situation, TE9 is not the right form.

The most common reason people never receive a Penalty Charge Notice is an outdated address on the V5C logbook. Penalty notices go to the address registered with the DVLA, so if you’ve moved and not updated the V5C, fines can escalate through to bailiff enforcement without your knowledge. If that applies to you, update your V5C address with the DVLA before filing the TE9, so that any reissued notices actually reach you.

Filling In the Form Field by Field

Download the form from the GOV.UK publications page for Form TE9.¹ If you’re completing it by hand, use black ink and block capitals. Every detail you enter needs to match the information on the TE3 exactly.⁴

The key fields are:

Penalty Charge Number: the alphanumeric reference from the original ticket, also shown on your TE3.
Vehicle registration mark: the number plate of the vehicle involved.
Your full name and current address: these must match the respondent named on the Order for Recovery.
Grounds checkboxes: tick the boxes that apply. For most penalty types you can tick more than one if several failures occurred. If your penalty relates to a London borough parking contravention, tick only one box.⁵

The form does not require you to attach evidence, but supporting documents help. If you’re claiming non-receipt, include something showing you moved house, such as a utility bill at the new address. If you’re claiming prior payment, attach a bank statement or receipt showing the date and amount. Keep copies of everything you send.

Signing the Statement of Truth

The form ends with a statement of truth that you sign under penalty of contempt of court. If you’re the vehicle owner, sign and date it yourself. If someone signs on your behalf, they need to indicate their capacity. The form provides checkboxes for an officer of a company, a partner of a firm, or a litigation friend acting for a protected party under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.⁵ A false statement on this form can lead to contempt proceedings, so only tick grounds you can honestly stand behind.

Submitting the Form

Send the completed form to the Traffic Enforcement Centre within 21 days of the date shown on the Order for Recovery.² You have two options:

Email: scan or photograph the completed form and send it to tec@justice.gov.uk. Put the Penalty Charge Number in the subject line so the TEC can route it correctly.
Post: Traffic Enforcement Centre, County Court Business Centre, St Katharine’s House, 21–27 St Katharine’s Street, Northampton NN1 2LH.⁴

There is no filing fee. If posting, use recorded delivery and keep the certificate of posting. If emailing, save the sent message. Proof of submission protects you if the TEC later claims they never received it. The 21-day deadline is firm, and missing it by even a day triggers a different and harder process.

What Happens After You File

Under Civil Procedure Rules Part 75, once your witness statement is filed within the 21-day window, the Order for Recovery is deemed revoked. Any execution issued on the order ceases to have effect, and the enforcing authority must instruct any bailiff to withdraw the warrant as soon as possible.⁶ Bailiff visits stop, and any seizure of goods or vehicles must be halted.

The TEC sends a copy of your witness statement to the authority that issued the penalty. The revocation does not cancel the original penalty charge itself; it rewinds enforcement to an earlier stage. What that looks like depends on the ground you filed under:

Non-receipt of the Penalty Charge Notice: the authority reissues a fresh notice, and you can pay at the earlier rate or challenge the charge from the beginning.
No response to your representations or appeal: the process rewinds to the stage where the breakdown occurred.
Already paid in full: the debt registration is cancelled and no further action should follow.

If bailiffs had already been involved, their fees are removed once the revoking order is issued. Any payments you made toward bailiff fees or the penalty under enforcement should be refunded, and a seized vehicle must be released with storage charges cancelled.

If You Have Missed the 21-Day Deadline

If the 21 days have passed, you cannot file a TE9 on its own. You need to apply for permission to file it late using Form TE7, available from GOV.UK. The TE7 can also be used to request an extension if you’re still within the 21-day window but need more time.⁷

Attach your completed TE9 to the TE7 application. The TE7 asks you to explain the specific reasons you missed the deadline, and those reasons must be about the delay itself, not about the original contravention. A Court Officer reviews the application without a hearing.⁷

The difference matters. A TE9 filed within 21 days revokes the Order for Recovery automatically. A late TE9 filed through a TE7 depends on the authority granting permission. If they refuse, or the Court Officer rejects the application, you can escalate the matter by applying for a review at your local county court.