Your ticket
Parking Charge Notice: what it is and every date that matters
Independent site, not a council, operator or appeals service. You pay or appeal only through the channel printed on your notice.
Enter the date printed on your notice and how it reached you: the countdown lists the reduced rate, the appeal deadline and the Notice to 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 |
| 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. | 22 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. | 23 November 2026 |
| Notice to Keeper: earliest deliveryBefore this day a notice to keeper does not meet paragraph 8. | 24 November 2026 |
| Notice to Keeper: latest deliveryAfter this day the keeper cannot be made liable under Schedule 4; the operator would have to show who was driving. | 21 December 2026 |
A Parking Charge Notice is a demand sent by a private parking company, on behalf of a landowner, when it says the driver broke the terms displayed on the signs of a car park: overstaying, not paying, parking outside a bay or without a permit. It is not a fine and it is not issued under any power of a council or the police: it is a claim under contract, and only a county court can order you to pay it. In England and Wales, Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 lets the company pursue the registered keeper when the driver is not named, but only if its notices meet strict conditions and arrive within set dates; in Scotland and Northern Ireland that Schedule does not apply. The Private Parking Code of Practice laid before Parliament on 20 October 2026 caps a charge at £100, requires at least 40% off for payment within 14 days, gives 28 days to appeal and limits the debt recovery fee to £70. It applies from the day it comes into force, which the government has not yet fixed.
Is this private charge above the Code limits?
Most the Code allows
£100
| Charge cap | £100 |
| Reduced within 14 days (at least 40% off) | £60 |
| Debt recovery add-on once overdue | £0 |
The Code is laid but not yet in force: these limits apply from the date it takes effect.
Rules, amounts and dates read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
What the notice is, in law
When you park on private land, the signs at the entrance and around the car park set out the terms of a contract: how long you may stay, what you must pay, who may park where, and what you owe if you break those terms. The parking company acts for the landowner. If its attendant or camera records a breach, it sends a Parking Charge Notice for the sum displayed on the signs. That is why a court, not the company, decides in the end whether the money is owed: the company must show that the terms were clear enough to form a contract and that they were broken.
The government explanatory memorandum puts it plainly: the private parking sector is largely governed by contract law, and the Code does not change that law. What the Code changes is the behaviour expected from companies that want to keep access to DVLA keeper records. A company that breaks it can lose that access, which in practice stops it from tracing keepers (explanatory memorandum, paragraphs 4.3 and 6.1).
Windscreen ticket or letter: two routes
A notice fixed to the windscreen or handed to the driver is a notice to driver. A notice sent by post to the registered keeper, usually after a camera read the number plate, is a notice to keeper. The dates that follow depend on which one you have:
| Step | Windscreen ticket first | Letter by post only |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced rate | 14 days from the day it was issued | 14 days from the date of issue printed on it |
| First appeal to the operator | 28 days from delivery | 28 days from delivery (second working day after posting) |
| Notice to Keeper must arrive | between day 29 and day 56 after the windscreen ticket | within 14 days beginning the day after the parking ended |
| Keeper can be pursued | 28 days after the Notice to Keeper | 28 days after the Notice to Keeper |
The countdown at the top of this page applies these rules to your date. A posted notice is presumed delivered on the second working day after posting, weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales left out, unless you can show it arrived later (Schedule 4, paragraphs 8(6) and 9(6)). Keep the envelope if the postmark or the date of arrival helps you.
How much a private parking charge can be
Under the government Code, laid on 20 October 2026, a parking charge cannot exceed £100, and a payment within 14 days must earn at least 40% off, so £60 or less on a charge at the cap. When a driver left without paying a tariff above £60, an approved operator may claim that tariff on top of the charge. Once a charge is overdue, up to £70 may be added for debt recovery. The Code says itself that these are maximums: a charge at the cap is not automatically fair or recoverable (clauses 8.2 and 9).
Charge plus debt recovery fee
Total demanded
£170
| Add-on allowed by the Code | up to £70 |
| Above that limit | £0 |
Clause 9 of the Code: the add-on is a maximum, not an amount that is always fair or recoverable.
These limits apply from the day the Code comes into force. Until then, the companies follow the code of their trade association, the Sector Single Code in effect since October 2024, which the government Code will replace. Our page on the Code tracks the date.
Your options, in order
If you accept the charge, paying inside the reduced-rate period costs least. Pay only through the channel printed on the notice and keep the receipt. If you dispute it, appeal to the operator within 28 days with your reasons and evidence: photographs of the signs, a payment receipt, a breakdown report. The Code lists cases where the operator must cancel, such as a minor keying error in the registration you paid for, and cases where it must reduce the charge to £20, such as a valid permit not displayed. Our appeal letter builder turns ticked reasons into a letter.
If you appeal within 28 days and the operator rejects it, the rate you could have paid on the day you appealed stays open for 14 more days. You can then pay, or go to the independent appeals service named in the rejection: POPLA or the IAS. While that second appeal runs, debt recovery must stop (clauses 8.1.2(e) and 8.3.7).
Signs that the notice may not hold
- It arrived by post more than 14 days after the day you parked, with no windscreen ticket before it: the keeper cannot be made liable under Schedule 4 by that notice (check with our Notice to Keeper checker).
- It calls itself a fine or a penalty, or speaks of an offence or a crime: the Code bans those words and any design that imitates a council notice.
- The time recorded is within the grace period after your paid time ended, or within the consideration period on arrival: see our grace period page.
- The amount, once the Code applies, is above £100, or the added fees above £70.
None of these is decided by this site: the operator, then the appeals service, then a court decides. The tools here tell you which dates and limits the texts set, so you can act before they pass.