Statutory Declaration: When Court Papers Went to an Old Address

It is declared before someone authorised to take it, and which form you need depends on the debt: a section 14 declaration for a magistrates' court fine, form PE3 for a TfL charging penalty, and a TE9 witness statement rather than a declaration for a council parking PCN.

Made in time and on true facts, a declaration can make the proceedings against you void, so the case starts again and you get the chance you should have had first time. But it is the right tool only for particular kinds of debt, the deadlines are short, and using the wrong form wastes time you may not have. This page covers which cases a statutory declaration fits, how the two main routes work, and where to get one witnessed.

Which cases use a statutory declaration

The second half of that table matters as much as the first, because "swear a statutory declaration" is handed out as generic advice for every traffic penalty, and for most council penalties it is wrong. Which form belongs to which penalty scheme, and why the TE9 needs no swearing, is set out in TE9 or PE3: challenging an order for recovery.

Magistrates' court fines: section 14

Where a magistrates' court dealt with a case that began with a summons, and you did not know about the summons or the proceedings until after the trial had begun, section 14 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 lets you make a statutory declaration saying so. Served on the court's designated officer within 21 days of the date you found out, the declaration makes the summons and everything that followed it void, though the underlying allegation survives and can be dealt with afresh.

Void proceedings mean the conviction and the fine built on them fall away, and with them the warrant sent to the enforcement agency, which is why this route matters so much to anyone facing fines enforcement, the one kind of debt where agents hold their strongest powers. Tell the enforcement agency in writing, with the court's confirmation, as soon as the declaration is served.

Two practical points. First, the 21 days run from the date you discovered the case, not from the original hearing, so an old conviction can still be reopened if you genuinely only just learned of it. Second, missing the 21 days is not necessarily fatal: the Act lets the court accept a late declaration where it was unreasonable to expect you to serve it in time, though you should treat that as a safety net rather than a plan.

Many prosecutions that produce surprise fines, TV licensing and minor road traffic matters among them, now go through the single justice procedure, decided on the papers without a hearing. Section 16E of the same Act provides the equivalent declaration for those cases, again served within 21 days of finding out, with the same effect that the proceedings after the notice are void. The court's fines office can confirm which section your case falls under; what you tell them is the same either way.

TfL penalties: forms PE3 and PE2

London's road user charging schemes, the Congestion Charge, LEZ and ULEZ, keep the statutory declaration in its traffic form. Under regulation 19 of the Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001, a declaration served on the county court within 21 days of the order for recovery being served on you can unpick the order. The declaration goes on form PE3, and if the 21 days have passed, form PE2 asks the court to accept it out of time.

The PE3 offers three grounds only: that you did not receive the penalty charge notice, that you made representations to the charging authority but received no rejection notice, or that you appealed to an adjudicator and had no response. There is no ground for a penalty you have already paid, which the witness statement regimes do have, and you declare only what is actually true, because the form itself warns that knowingly and wilfully filing a false declaration is an offence under section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911, punishable by up to two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Both forms are published on GOV.UK and filed with the Traffic Enforcement Centre, whose wider process is covered in the Traffic Enforcement Centre guide. Where an out-of-time application is pending, the court's practice direction provides for enforcement of the warrant to be suspended while it is decided, but do not assume the bailiffs know: send the enforcement firm written confirmation of what you have filed and keep proof.

Getting the declaration witnessed

A statutory declaration is not valid just because you signed it. Under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 it must be declared before a justice of the peace, a notary public, or another officer authorised by law to administer an oath, and in practice most people use one of three doors:

• the court itself: magistrates' courts routinely take section 14 and 16E declarations, usually by appointment through the fines office, and there is normally nothing to pay there
• a solicitor: most high street firms will administer a declaration for a small fixed fee, often while you wait
• a commissioner for oaths or notary public, useful where no solicitor is convenient.

Take photo ID, do not sign in advance, and if anything on the form changes after it is witnessed, it generally needs witnessing again. For the PE3, the form's own notes say who may take it; the county court that serves you can usually point you to the nearest option.

What a statutory declaration cannot do

A declaration is a statement about what you knew, not a defence on the merits. It does not argue that the fine was too high, that the penalty was unfair, or that you were wrongly convicted on the evidence; it says you never had the chance to respond at all. When the proceedings are reopened, the case usually comes back, and you then deal with it properly, by defending it, making representations, or paying at the original level without the enforcement costs.

It follows that a declaration is the wrong move where you did know about the case and simply did not act. Declaring otherwise is a criminal offence on both routes, and courts see these documents every day. If your real problem is that the debt is unaffordable rather than unknown, look instead at what to do when you cannot pay, or get help to talk the position through; initial advice is free.