Oxford Council Cancels 13 PCNs for Deceased Owners — Oxford News
Oxford cancelled 13 penalty notices after vehicle owners were recorded as deceased, according to data on its £5 congestion charge zones and low traffic neighbourhoods. The Oxford news figures sit inside a much larger record of about 257,000 fines issued since the schemes began, with close to 14,000 later scrapped for 64 reasons.
Oxford County Data
Oxfordireshire County Council’s dataset lists the 13 cancellations alongside other unusual cases, including two penalty notices cancelled because the owner was in prison and one for a diplomatic vehicle. It also shows 36 fines revoked for ambulances, 16 for police vehicles, two for the fire service and four because the driver was a doctor on call.
The same data shows more than 1,000 fines were revoked for taxis and more than 4,000 for vehicles without a registered keeper. Disabled drivers, people with medical reasons, untraceable vehicle owners and foreign vehicle owners also received cancellations.
Traffic Schemes in Oxford
Oxford’s congestion charge began on 29 October 2025, and the low traffic neighbourhood ANPR cameras went live in May 2024. By 7 January, the county council said it had issued 31,588 fines since the congestion charge began, before later figures put the total congestion charge notices at 205,691 up to 30 April and the low traffic neighbourhood total at 51,209.
The figures do not show how vehicles belonging to deceased owners entered the restricted zones. They do show that more than 5,000 penalty notices were voided for permit errors and for motorists who had paid for entry, making paperwork and payment issues the largest single source of cancellations in the dataset.
Thames Street Notices
Thames Street recorded the highest number of fines among the six congestion charge points, with 81,493 notices. It also had the most cancellations, with more than 5,000, or about six per cent of the total.
The congestion charge surplus is estimated at £5.2 million and is set aside for new hospital express bus services from the park and ride sites. For drivers facing penalty notices in Oxford, the practical lesson is narrow but clear: the council’s own data shows that keeper status, payment records and eligibility exemptions can change whether a notice stands.
