How to transfer a TfL PCN to the hirer

General information for England, not legal advice. Rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and every notice is different. Always check the notice and the issuer's own guidance. Last reviewed 13 November 2026.

The short answer

TfL sends the PCN to the registered keeper, which is you. You make a representation on the hire-firm ground: the vehicle was on hire, and here is the hirer. If TfL accepts, it cancels your PCN and issues a new one to the hirer. On the TfL website this is the "vehicle hire firm" option for the Congestion Charge and ULEZ, and the "Hire Firm" ground for red routes.

What TfL needs

• A copy of the hire agreement covering the date and time of the contravention. TfL says it must fully meet section 66 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
• A fixed hire period of less than six months. Extensions are allowed.
• Every Schedule 2 particular in the agreement. Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic (Owner Liability) Regulations 2000 lists what a hire agreement must record: the hirer's full name, date of birth, permanent address and driving licence details, the vehicle's registration, make and model, and the hire start and expected end.
• A statement of liability signed by the hirer, accepting liability for any PCN given during the hire.
• The hirer's name and address. For red routes TfL asks you to enclose them with a copy of the statement the hirer signed.
• The right sender. The keeper named on the PCN makes the representation, or someone with the keeper's written authority.

TfL's website has no separate boxes for the hirer. Their name and address go in the comments box, and the documents go in the upload area.

Time limits

You have 28 days from service of the PCN. After that TfL may ignore the representation, and its website won't take one online.

Common reasons TfL rejects a transfer

• A hire of six months or more. The hire-firm ground doesn't cover it.
• A missing particular. In one London tribunal case a missing vehicle model was enough to lose.
• No signed statement of liability, or a statement the hirer didn't sign.
• A licence that expires before the hire ends. Schedule 2 expects the expiry to be no earlier than the end of the hire.
• The wrong person transferring. TfL says a director of a hire company can't transfer liability from themselves using a company hire agreement.
• Late filing, after the 28 days.
• A London bus lane PCN. There is no hire-firm ground for these, so the hire company pays.

How PCN Flow handles TfL PCNs

You upload the notice. PCN Flow reads it with AI, finds the hire agreement that covers the date and time, and checks the paperwork: a signed agreement, a liability clause or signed statement, the hirer's name and address, and the vehicle and date inside the hire. It stops a TfL PCN on a hire of six months or more, so your team decides what to do, such as marking it Fine Not Assignable. When you press Make Representation, it files on the issuer's website where it can, otherwise by email. Nothing goes by post. Then it tells the hirer, in your company's name.

For the rules across every issuer, read transfer of liability, explained.