Private parking firms issued a record 16.9 million parking tickets to UK drivers over the past year to the end of March 2026, new published figures show.
The Press Association (PA) and RAC Foundation have scrutinised the figures, with analysis revealing this is up from 14.4 million a year earlier, and 6.8 million in 2018/19. That’s a 17% increase year-on-year.
PARKING CHARGE NOTICES HAVE DOUBLED SINCE 2019
Private parking charges have doubled since 2019. Motorists have been hit with a record 16.9 million Parking Charge Notices in the year end to March 2026 at places such as gyms, supermarkets, petrol stations, restaurants and retail parks. That’s approx. 46,300 a day.
It’s hard to believe that 32 motorists a minute (or one motorist every two seconds) is going out of their way to break parking rules.
Each Parking Charge Notice carries a maximum charge of £100, meaning drivers could collectively be on the hook for over £4.6 million in Parking Charge Notices every day.
These are not official council fines – they are private invoices issued by car park operators. And many motorists don’t know the difference.
WHY ARE SO MANY PRIVATE PARKING TICKETS BEING ISSUED?
The parking ‘industry’ say this is due to a higher number of car parks being managed.
Motoring groups and campaigners warn that the system is stacked against drivers. Common issues include:
- Hidden or confusing signage that makes it unclear where and how to pay.
- Over-reliance on ANPR cameras, which don’t account for grace periods or delays.
- Complicated payment machines, sometimes deliberately designed to cause mistakes.
- Aggressive debt collection letters demanding up to £170.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating Euro Car Parks amid concerns about its practices at petrol stations and appeals may have broken consumer protection laws.
The CMA has “concerns about potentially unfair practices of some operators – including the way they handle appeals and attempt to recover additional fees on top of the parking charge.”
DVLA DATA: WHICH COMPANIES ARE ISSUING THE MOST PARKING CHARGE NOTICES?
The latest figures show how widespread the practice has become:
- 204 parking operators requested keeper details in 2025/26.
- ParkingEye was the most active, buying 2.5 million driver records – nearly 7,000 a day.
- Each DVLA request costs operators £2.50.
This means millions of keeper personal details are being shared with private firms, with minimal oversight.
WHAT THE RAC SAY
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“In the period since parliament unequivocally recognised the need for reform of the private parking industry, some 76 million tickets have been issued in total – an average of well over two for every car in the country.
“Andy Burnham has plenty of big things to worry about, but if his government could get round to fixing this problem, millions of drivers would have one less thing on their minds.”
It’s no wonder that private equity firms are buying up the largest operators – the industry is worth over £1.5 billion a year.
PRIVATE PARKING CODE OF PRACTICE CONSULTATION
A long awaited Code of Practice was originally laid before Parliament in February 2022. The UK Government withdrew it five months later following a legal challenge by private parking companies.
The private parking industry threatened a legal challenge, resulting in the framework being withdrawn in June 2022.
A new call for evidence closed on 8 October 2023, and the government invited responses from all interested parties.
A Department for Levelling Up and Housing spokesman said in 2024:
“The Government continues to work with the industry and consumer groups to reissue the Code as quickly as possible.”
This was never going to be a priority in an election year. I think it’s unlikely it will ever see the light of day in the foreseeable future.
A further consultation by the current Labour Government closed in September 2025.
15 March 2026 marked the seven-year anniversary of the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill becoming law. Ministers passed the law after promising to regulate private parking operators.
THE PRIVATE PARKING SECTOR SINGLE CODE OF PRACTICE
The International Parking Community (IPC) and British Parking Association (BPA) have created their own Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice.
This is the watered-down version of what would have been the UK Government Code of Practice.
The self-authored Single Code of Practice creates a unified set of rules that dictates signage, create consistency and clarity for motorists.
Signs must be clear to give motorists an opportunity to read the T & Cs and make an informed decision before entering into the contract.
CONSIDERATION AND GRACE PERIODS
When you enter a car park, you are given a consideration period to give you an opportunity to read the signs, terms and conditions and either stay or leave. A contract is not formed during this time.
A grace period, typically 10 minutes, is the time allowed to leave after your parking time expires.
Parking operators often misinterpret the ‘minimum’ as ‘maximum’. There’s nothing there that says ‘maximum’, where the Equality Act 2010 (for example), allows for reasonable adjustments to be made.
I regularly see consideration and grace periods flouted by private parking operators on first-stage appeals. That’s their business model.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COUNCIL PARKING TICKET AND A PRIVATE PARKING TICKET?
Private parking tickets are called Parking Charge Notices and are invoices for a breach of contract on private land.
These invoices are deliberately designed to look like an official Council issued Penalty Charge Notice. Private parking operators use legalese jargon to intimidate and force you to pay an invoice for an alleged breach of contract.
A private parking operator cannot fine you. A private parking operator must belong to an accredited Trade Association to access keeper details from the DVLA. They must adhere to the Trade Association’s Code of Practice to do so.
You cannot ignore a private parking ticket. They can be pursued through the Small Claims Court as a debt and you risk incurring a County Court Judgement (CCJ).
A CCJ wrecks your credit record and ability to secure affordable mortgages, loans, mobile phone contracts, etc.
Council parking tickets are called Penalty Charge Notices. These are legally enforceable and are fines issued by local authorities for infringements on public highways.
EASIEST WAY TO CANCEL A PRIVATE PARKING TICKET
The easiest way to cancel Parking Charge Notices is by speaking to the landowner. So, if you get one in a supermarket car park – speak nicely to Customer Services at the supermarket or Google search their telephone number to cancel it. They can and will do for customers (make sure you have a receipt and be polite).
Don’t worry if your appeal fails at the first and second stage. Only a court can enforce payment.
You can safely ignore standard third-party debt collector letters demanding £170. Debt collectors have no powers whatsoever to enforce an alleged debt owed to private parking operators. The only letter that needs a response is a Letter Before Claim, which is a precursor to court action.
HOW TO APPEAL A PRIVATE PARKING TICKET
If you have received a private parking ticket (a Parking Charge Notice), don’t panic. A private parking operator CANNOT fine you. It’s merely a speculative invoice for an alleged breach of contract for parking on private land. Many are unfair or invalid
Evidence is key on all appeals. Keep all receipts, photos, screenshots or emails of a payment confirmation and any evidence you have to support an appeal.
The most popular appeal relates to obscure and hidden signs. All signs need to be clearly visible and to a prescribed criteria so you can be given sufficient guidance to make an informed decision.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that Key Terms must be prominent, fair, balanced and transparent.
Here’s what to do:
- Don’t ignore it – you risk court action and a County Court Judgement (CCJ).
- Gather evidence – photos of signage, payment receipts, timestamps, confirmation emails.
- Check for mistakes – was there a grace period? Was the machine faulty? Was the signage clear?
- Appeal direct to the operator (first stage) – appeal as Keeper and never ID the driver (don’t say ‘I / We’ on appeals). They don’t know who the driver is.
- If rejected, escalate to the relevant appeals body (POPLA for BPA members, IAS for IPC members).
More than 50% of motorists win at the second stage of appeal with POPLA.
Don’t worry if both appeals fail.
Only a court can enforce payment, and that is if you don’t submit a defence and the parking operator secures a default County Court Judgment (CCJ).
MY ADVICE
Be very careful when you enter different car parks, particularly at pubs where you may be expected to input your registration details and retail parks where different operators manage adjacent car parks. Don’t assume you can park in one car park at a retail car park and wander around the shops, where other car parks are managed by different parking operators.
Keep your evidence. Shopping receipts, car park receipts, screenshots, payment confirmations, photos of faulty machines – in case you need to appeal a Parking Charge Notice.
A private parking operator cannot fine you. A Parking Charge Notice is merely a speculative invoice for an alleged breach of contract for parking on private land. Councils issue fines called Penalty Charge Notices for infringements on public highways such as parking on double yellow lines and in bus lanes.
They look similar and there’s a reason for that. The parking sector estimates that four out of five (80 per cent) are paid without question regardless of whether they have been issued fairly or not to take advantage of the “discount”, thinking it’s a fine and must be paid.
MY VIEW
This investigation by the CMA is welcome and long overdue.
Motorists shouldn’t have to become parking law experts to simply go about their everyday life. While some Parking Charge Notices will be fairly issued, many are not. Private parking operators show no mercy, common sense or compassion. Legitimate appeals are regularly declined and parking operators routinely flout the Code of Practice they are meant to adhere to with no consequences.
The private parking industry has had free rein for too long. Enough is enough. Drivers deserve fairness.
This unregulated private parking industry is potentially worth over £1.5 billion pounds a year and is out of control. It’s hard to believe that over 46,000 motorists are knowingly breaking parking rules every day. Land owners need ways of protecting themselves from parking abuse, but we’re now miles over the line.
ANPR cameras issue most Parking Charge Notices which do not take into account grace and consideration periods or other mitigating circumstances. Motorists remain vulnerable to predatory tactics by private parking operators who routinely flout the voluntary Single Code of Practice which is rarely enforced on its members who fund it.
Motorists cannot rely on the industry to regulate itself and make up the rules as they go along. We urgently need a proper UK Government Code of Practice to create a level playing field for motorists.
There is currently no accountability, no comeback or independent regulator. It’s a free for all.
The UK Government tacitly supports this industry by allowing the DVLA to sell your personal data to private parking companies for just £2.50 a pop! I think it should be £25 a request.
I WANT TO SEE DEBT RECOVERY FEES BANNED
Third party debt collectors have no legal powers and are “strangers to the debt”. They use legalese jargon to intimidate and coerce motorists into paying up to £170.
I WANT TO SEE SCHEDULE 4 OF THE PROTECTION OF FREEDOMS ACT 2012 ENFORCED
Private parking firms must issue a Parking Charge Notice within 14 calendar days beginning with the day after the day of the parking event to hold the Keeper (owner) liable under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (England and Wales). If they send it later, they will only invite you to name the driver to transfer liability – but most motorists don’t know this.
I want to see that practice banned.
Nothing will change while this industry keeps policing itself. We need a proper Government Code of Practice with tough enforcement.
The new Private Parking Code of Practice, backed by the Government’s promise of a fairer system, could finally make it fairer for motorists. But it won’t happen by itself.
This ‘industry’ relies on fear, ignorance and inertia to extract money with menaces. This isn’t about fair enforcement. It’s a money-making racket.
The CMA investigation and findings will be interesting to see. This could be a quick and easy win for Andy Burnham in his quest to make life easier and fairer for consumers.
I say week in week out that we are taken for a bunch of mugs in this country. Doing nothing achieves nothing. We are a nation of moaners, but few of us know how to complain effectively!
What do you think? And share this with anyone you know who has ever had an unfair private parking ticket.
