Private parking
ANPR parking charge: when a camera sends the letter
Independent site, not a council, operator or appeals service. You pay or appeal only through the channel printed on your notice.
Enter the date of posting printed on the letter and the day you parked: the countdown shows the presumed delivery day, the reduced rate, the appeal date and the keeper window.
Next: End of the 14-day reduced rate
8 November 2026
13 days left · £60
| End of the 14-day reduced rateUnder the government Code, at least 40% off if paid within 14 days of the date of issue: £60 or less on £100. Check the rate printed on your notice. | 8 November 2026£60 |
| Notice to Keeper: latest delivery14 days beginning with the day after the parking ended. Your notice is presumed delivered on 28 October 2026. | 9 November 2026 |
| First appeal to the operatorWithin 28 days of delivery. If it is rejected after an appeal made in time, the rate you could pay when you appealed stays open for 14 more days. | 24 November 2026 |
| Keeper liability can start (earliest)Proceedings against the keeper cannot begin before the end of 28 days beginning with the day the notice to keeper is given, and only for the sum it names. | 25 November 2026 |
ANPR stands for automatic number plate recognition: cameras at the entrance and exit of a car park read every number plate and record the times. When the stay breaks the terms on the signs, for example by staying longer than the maximum or without paying, the operator obtains the keeper's name and address from the DVLA and posts a parking charge, often called a fine although it is a claim under contract. Because nothing is left on the windscreen, this letter is the first contact and, in England and Wales, it is a notice to keeper under paragraph 9 of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. To make the keeper liable, it must be delivered within 14 days beginning with the day after the parking ended, and a posted letter is presumed delivered on the second working day after posting. Under the government Code, the reduced rate runs for 14 days from the date of issue on the letter and the first appeal must be made within 28 days of delivery.
Did the Notice to Keeper arrive in time?
Keeper liability possible?
Yes, in time
| Window opens | 2 October 2026 |
| Window closes | 15 October 2026 |
England and Wales only. A posted notice is presumed delivered on the second working day after posting unless you can show otherwise.
Rules, amounts and dates read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
From the camera to your letterbox
An ANPR charge follows a fixed path. The cameras record the entry and exit; the operator compares the stay with its tariff and terms; it asks the DVLA for the keeper's details; it posts a notice. Each step takes time, and Schedule 4 sets a deadline for the whole chain when the operator wants the keeper, rather than an identified driver, to pay (Schedule 4, paragraph 9). The date of posting printed on the letter is your starting point.
| Parked on | Posted on | Presumed delivered | Window closes | Keeper liable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2026 | 20 November 2026 | 24 November 2026 | 26 November 2026 | can be |
| 12 November 2026 | 25 November 2026 | 27 November 2026 | 26 November 2026 | no |
The two lines differ by five days of posting, and that is enough to move the letter outside the window. The countdown at the top applies the same rules to your own dates. If you can show the letter arrived later than the presumed day, the real date counts.
Checking what the camera saw
A notice to keeper must say what period of parking it relates to. Before deciding to pay or appeal, set that period against your own records:
- the entry and exit times in the notice, and the photographs if they are printed or available online;
- your payment: the machine ticket, the app history or a card statement showing the time and the registration entered;
- anything that proves a break, such as a receipt from somewhere else between two visits;
- the type of car park and its grace period, explained on our grace period page.
Many camera charges come from a registration typed wrongly at the machine. The Code treats a minor keying error, such as a zero for a letter O, as a reason to cancel when you paid for the stay, and a wrong registration from another of your cars as a reason to reduce the charge to £20: see our registration error page.
Paying or appealing in time
Under the government Code, once in force, a postal notice keeps a reduction of at least 40% for 14 days beginning on the date of issue shown on it, and the first appeal can be made within 28 days of delivery (clauses 8.2.2 and 8.3.1). Because the letter can arrive several days after it was issued, part of the reduced-rate period may already have passed when you open it. If you appeal within 28 days and lose, the reduced rate you could pay when you appealed stays open for 14 more days.
If the keeper was not driving, the keeper does not have to name the driver, but the keeper may then be liable if every condition of Schedule 4 is met. Our page for keepers who were not driving sets out the choices.
Outside England and Wales
Schedule 4 does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland. A camera charge for a car park there can still arrive by post, but it cannot make the keeper liable through that Schedule. The government Code covers Scotland once it is in force, so its cap, discount and appeal rules apply there too. Choose the nation in the countdown and it drops the keeper dates.