Paid penalty for vehicle litter: no s.87/88 action – s.88D
If a s.88C civil penalty for vehicle litter is paid, no s.87/88 action. Unpaid after 28 days recoverable as decree arbitral.
No action may be taken under section 87 or section 88 against a person in respect of an act of littering for which a civil penalty charge notice has been given and paid in full, regardless of whether or not the person who paid it is the vehicle’s keeper. After the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which a civil penalty charge notice is given, any unpaid amount of the charge may be recovered in like manner as an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff for any sheriffdom.
Text in force at .
Source: legislation.gov.uk — The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), reproduced under licence Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it actually says
If a civil penalty charge notice issued under section 88C for littering from a vehicle is paid in full, no further action can be taken under section 87 (the offence of leaving litter) or section 88 (fixed penalty notices) for that same act of littering. This applies regardless of who paid – whether the vehicle's keeper or someone else.
If the penalty is not paid, after 28 days from when the notice was given the unpaid amount may be recovered in the same way as an extract registered decree arbitral with a warrant for execution issued by a sheriff in any sheriffdom – a Scottish court enforcement procedure.
This provision is part of the Scottish civil penalty regime (s.88C); for England and Wales a similar regime exists under s.88A.
When it applies
- A driver receives a civil penalty for throwing a cigarette butt from a car window, pays it, and later the council tries to prosecute under s.87 – this provision bars the prosecution.
- A passenger drops litter from a moving vehicle; the owner pays the penalty. The passenger cannot later be prosecuted for that littering because the penalty was paid.
- Someone ignores a civil penalty notice; after 28 days the council can recover the unpaid amount through Scottish court proceedings, such as wage deduction.
- A person pays a penalty but the litter was actually thrown by another occupant; still, no action under s.87 or s.88 can be taken against anyone for that specific incident.
- A person receives multiple penalty notices for separate littering acts; paying one notice only bars action for that particular act, not others.
What this section does not say
- It does not prevent prosecution under s.87 if no civil penalty notice was issued for the littering act.
- It does not apply if the civil penalty notice was invalid or not issued under s.88C.
- It does not affect separate proceedings under s.82 (summary proceedings by persons aggrieved by statutory nuisances).
- It does not prevent a new civil penalty notice for a different littering act from the same vehicle.
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This page reproduces the text of EPA 1990 s. 88D in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.