Private parking charges
A parking charge from a company that manages private land is a claim under a contract, not a fine. We check whether the company has followed the law and the code of practice it has signed up to, and write the appeal.
What a private parking charge is
Private parking charges are issued by companies that manage car parks and other land for the owner, such as retail parks, supermarkets, hospitals, residential developments and business premises. The company says that by parking you accepted the terms on its signs, and that the charge is the sum you agreed to pay if those terms were broken.
The notice is often called a "parking charge notice". It is not a fine, it is not a criminal matter, and it is not issued under any statutory power. It usually arrives in one of two ways: fixed to the vehicle at the time (a notice to driver), or posted to the registered keeper after a camera recorded the vehicle (a notice to keeper).
The driver is the person who made the contract. The registered keeper can only be made to pay in place of the driver if the company follows the conditions in Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
When the registered keeper can be made to pay
Schedule 4 applies in England and Wales only. It does not apply in Scotland. It also applies only to "relevant land", which excludes public roads maintained at public expense, parking places provided or controlled by a council or other traffic authority, and land where parking is already subject to statutory control, such as land covered by certain byelaws.
Where Schedule 4 applies, the conditions for holding the keeper liable are, in summary:
- the company does not know the name of the driver and a current address for service;
- the company has given the keeper a notice to keeper containing the information Schedule 4 requires, including the vehicle, the land and the period of parking, how drivers were told about the charge, the amount unpaid, an invitation to pay or to name the driver, a warning about keeper liability, the arrangements for appeals, and the date of the notice;
- the notice to keeper was given within the time allowed;
- the company applied to the DVLA for the keeper's details within the time allowed; and
- the vehicle had not been stolen when the parking began.
The time limits depend on whether a notice was put on the vehicle. If there was no notice to driver, the notice to keeper must usually be delivered within 14 days, beginning with the day after the parking ended. If there was a notice to driver, the notice to keeper cannot be given until 28 days have passed, and must then be given within the following 28 days. A posted notice is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be delivered on the second working day after posting.
If the conditions are met and the driver has not been named, the company may pursue the keeper once 28 days have passed after the notice to keeper, for no more than the amount stated in that notice. If the conditions are not met, the keeper cannot be held liable under Schedule 4, although the company may still try to pursue the person it believes was driving.
Whether to name the driver is the keeper's decision. We explain what follows either way. We never suggest giving false or misleading information about who was driving.
The Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice
Parking companies that belong to the British Parking Association (BPA) or the International Parking Community (IPC) must follow the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice. Following the code is what entitles a company to request keeper details from the DVLA.
The code was published in June 2024. Operators had to comply with most of it from 1 October 2024, and the original timetable gave existing sites until 31 December 2026 to comply in full. In April 2026 the panel that oversees the code updated its foreword: signs installed before October 2024 must still meet the BPA or IPC code that applied before the Single Code, and their update timescale will follow the government's statutory code once that is laid. Signs installed from October 2024 must meet the Single Code in full.
The Single Code is an industry code. The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 requires the government to publish a statutory code. A code published in 2022 was withdrawn, and the government consulted again in 2025. At the time of writing, no government code is in force.
Points in the code we often rely on
- Charges must not exceed £100, and a reduced amount must be offered for payment within 14 days.
- Operators must allow a consideration period for drivers to read the terms and decide whether to stay, and a grace period after the parking period ends. A charge must not be issued during the grace period.
- Motorists can appeal to the operator within 28 days, and the operator must respond within 28 days or explain when it will.
- The Appeals Charter says certain charges should be cancelled when evidence is provided, such as where the driver paid but made a minor error typing the registration, or paid for the full stay before leaving a camera-controlled car park.
- For a first charge, certain mitigating circumstances must lead to a reduced charge for 14 days, such as the onset of illness, an overrunning medical appointment, or a Blue Badge holder who did not display a valid badge.
- Debt collection must not start, or must be paused, while an independent appeal is being decided.
- Notices must not use terms such as "fine", "penalty" or "Penalty Charge Notice" in a way that suggests statutory authority, and debt collectors must not falsely suggest they have legal or official status.
How an appeal usually works
Appeal to the operator
The first appeal goes to the parking company, within 28 days under the code. We set out the facts, the evidence, and each rule or condition that has not been met.
Independent appeal
If the company says no, the appeal can go to POPLA (for BPA members) or the IAS (for IPC members). The rejection letter explains how and by when. The operator must accept the decision.
If the charge stands
You decide whether to pay. If an unpaid charge is pursued, debt collection letters may follow, and the company may decide to issue a county court claim.
ParkingEye v Beavis
In ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, the Supreme Court decided that a charge for overstaying a two-hour free period at a retail park car park was enforceable. It was not an unenforceable penalty, and it was not unfair under the consumer protection regulations then in force.
The court asked whether the charge was out of all proportion to the legitimate interests of the operator and the landowner. It accepted that managing the car park so that spaces stayed available for the shops' customers was a legitimate interest. The signs in that case were large, numerous and prominent, and the terms were clear.
The decision means that an argument that a charge is simply too high is unlikely to succeed on its own. It does not mean every charge is enforceable. The terms still have to be properly displayed, the facts still have to support the charge, and the operator still has to follow the code and, for keeper liability, Schedule 4. Those are the points we concentrate on.
Debt collection letters are not court action
If a charge is not paid, letters from a debt collection agency often follow. They are requests for payment. Only a court can order you to pay, and enforcement agents can only be used after a court judgment. Do not ignore the letters: read them, check the dates and keep copies.
A letter of claim under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims is different. It is the formal step before a claim, and it usually gives you 30 days to reply using the reply form enclosed. If you receive one, act on it promptly.
What we do
- Check the notice against each Schedule 4 condition and its dates
- Check the signs, photos, camera records and the code's consideration and grace periods
- Write the appeal to the operator and send it on your written authority
- Take the appeal to POPLA or the IAS and respond to the operator's evidence
- Explain debt collection letters and what, if anything, you need to do
- Explain your options if a county court claim arrives
What we do not do
- Tell you to ignore letters, or promise that a charge will be cancelled
- Give, or suggest you give, false or misleading information about who was driving
- File, sign or send a court defence for you, or write to the court on your behalf
- Accept service of court papers
- Handle charges on land in Scotland or Northern Ireland
If a court claim arrives, see what happens next.
Deadlines and the reduced amount
Under the code, if you appeal to the operator within 28 days and the appeal is rejected, you can still pay at the rate that applied when you appealed for a further 14 days. So an appeal sent while the reduced amount is available keeps it open. The reduced amount no longer applies if you take the appeal to POPLA or the IAS and it is not successful. We explain that trade-off before we start, and the decision is yours.
Common questions
I was not the driver. Do I have to say who was?
Schedule 4 does not require the keeper to name the driver. If you do not, and the conditions are met, the company can pursue you as keeper. If you do name the driver, the information must be accurate. We explain the consequences of each choice, and the decision is yours.
The notice arrived weeks after I parked. Does that matter?
It can. Where nothing was put on the vehicle, Schedule 4 usually requires the notice to keeper to be delivered within 14 days, beginning with the day after the parking ended. If it was not, the keeper cannot be held liable under Schedule 4, although the company may still pursue the driver. We check the dates on the notice against the posting rules.
Can the company add extra charges if I do not pay?
The code allows an operator to add up to £70 when a charge becomes overdue. Whether any added sum can be recovered in a court claim is a matter for the court.
Is a parking charge notice the same as a council PCN?
No. A council penalty charge notice is issued under statutory powers and has a different appeal route. See council parking tickets.
The car park is in Scotland. Can you help?
No. Schedule 4 does not apply in Scotland, and we only work on matters in England and Wales.
Our status
Appeal Specialists is an independent consultancy, not a law firm. We are not solicitors or barristers and we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or any other legal regulator, so you cannot complain about us to the Legal Ombudsman.
We provide non-reserved legal services only. We do not conduct litigation, file or serve court documents, or accept service of court documents for you. Where the law allows, we can speak for you at a small-claims hearing or a tribunal, but only with your agreement and, at small-claims hearings, only if you attend.
What you tell us is not protected by legal professional privilege. We never hold your money. We work on matters in England and Wales only. We do not guarantee any outcome.
All correspondence by email
We deal with everything in writing, so every point and every deadline is on the record. If you are replying to a letter from us, please quote our reference.