Parking is managed in two ways; public and private parking.
Public parking is regulated through the Traffic Management Act. Public car parks are managed by local authorities.
In most of England and Wales, all ofNorthern Ireland and in Scotland’s citiesand larger towns, local authorities willpatrol and enforce waiting and loadingrestrictions. This is known as CivilParking Enforcement (CPE), or DecriminalisedParking Enforcement (DPE) in Scotland.A local authority will issue a Penalty Charge Notice (parking ticket) when avehicle appears not to be complying withthe rules and regulations.
Where CPE or DPE is not in place local authorities will manage public car parks (Off Street Parking) under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.They issue FixedPenalty Notices or Excess Charge Notices and these are criminalpenalties.
Private parking
Private car parks are managed by a private parking company, these can be at train stations, retail parks, healthcare facilities, universities, privateresidential areas and railway stations to name a few.
Aprivate parking company will issue a Parking Charge Notice (parking ticket) when avehicle appears not to be complying withthe rules and regulations.
To manage parking on private land the operator must belong to an Accredited Trade Association in order to access keeper details from the DVLA, but in order to do so must adhere to the scheme’s Code of Practice.
Nobodylikes receiving parking tickets but if you do, here’ssome information about how tickets areissued and the different types.
- Penalty Charge Notices
- Parking Charge Notices
- Differential Penalty System
- Conditions for issuing a ticket
- Who can appeal a ticket?
- Fixed Penalty Notices
- Excess Charge Notices
- What's the role of the British Parking Association?
Penalty Charge Notices
A PenaltyCharge Notice (PCN) is commonlyknown as a parking ticket.
Penalty Charge Notices can be sentto the Registered Keeper’s address,which can be requested from theDVLA when:
» a vehicle is driven away before theCEO can hand the Notice to thedriver or attach it to the vehicle,(often called a ‘drive-away’);
»a CEO is threatened or fearsviolence; local authorities usecameras to detect a contraventionsuch as parking or waiting in abus lane or yellow box junction
If the location is one where parking is normally permitted, Local Authorities in England and Wales operate a Grace Period at the end of the parking period of 10 minutes.
Differential Penalty System
Local Authorities in England and Walesemploy Civil Enforcement Officers(CEO)* who patrol and manage parkingon street and in local authority car parks.A CEO* can issue a Penalty ChargeNotice when they find a vehicle parkedin contravention of the Regulations. Theamount of the Penalty Charge will varydepending upon where you are parkedand how serious the contravention is.For example you will usually pay morefor parking on a double yellow line thanfor over staying your time limit. Themaximum penalty charges in Londonare usually higher than elsewhere too.(*In Scotland they are called ParkingAttendants and in Northern Ireland,Traffic Attendants).
In England and Wales Local Authorities operate a Grace Period at the end of the parking period of10 minutes.
Conditions for issuing a ticket
Before anyone can issue a PenaltyCharge it is necessary to gather severalpieces of information. These may include thevehicle registration number, make andmodel of the vehicle and details of thecontravention, as well as details of where andwhen it was parked to prove it wasn’tcomplying with the rules.Where set observation periods have beenagreed or are required by law these willbe recorded either by the software in ahand-held computer, which prevents aparking ticket being issued in error, and/orin the notebook of the person issuing thePenalty Charge.
Where parking is restricted but there areexemptions for loading and unloading aCEO will observe the vehicle for a setperiod of time to make sure that loadingor unloading is actually taking place.If it isn’t they may issue a PenaltyCharge Notice.
Parking Charge Notices
If private parking companies issue parking tickets they are called a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) (link to further down), also commonly known as a parking ticket.
These are issued by private parkingoperators who are managing parkingon private land, such as supermarkets,hospitals, railway stations and privateresidential areas.
Private off-street parking is generallygoverned by the law of contract. If youpark in a private off-street area and donot adhere to the rules the operatorshave advertised on local signs andnotices, you may be issued with aParking Charge Notice.An Approved Operator will give youtime to assess the advertised rules,known as terms and conditions, andyou are free to leave the parking area if you disagree with them. If you staythen you will have legally agreed toabide by them. A parking ticket is only issued when avehicle appears not to be complying withthe terms and conditions.
Changes were made to the BPA Approved Operator Scheme's Code of Practice in October 2015. This established a Grace Period atthe end of the parking period of 10 minutes for BPA AOS members, if the location is one where parking is normally permitted.
In 2012 following the Protection of Freedoms Act introduced keeper liability, the legislation allows for the operator to pursue the keeper of the vehicle if no serviceable name and address is given for the driver. The act only applies to England and Wales.
Who can appeal a ticket?
Only the person with whom the contract has been formed with can appeal a parking ticket. Special exceptions may be considered. Please see our section onHow to appeal a parking ticket.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Where local authorities do notemploy CEOs*, usually police or trafficwardens still patrol and enforceparking restrictions. They issue FixedPenalty Notices and these are criminalpenalties. These are issued for a widerange of offences in areas such as themore rural parts of England, Wales andScotland. These tickets are enforcedthrough the criminal justice system,which means appeals are heard in therelevant national or local court.
Excess Charge Notices
Where police and traffic wardenspatrol and enforce waiting and loadingrestrictions, local authorities can stillprovide parking places on-street andin car parks where they use ExcessCharge Notices when rules are broken.
These notices operate under criminal rather than civil law, so there are different rules for appealing. For information on how to appeal an ECN please click here.
What is the role of the British Parking Association?
The British Parking Association(BPA) is the ONLY professional association that represents the entire parking sector across the UK, representing 710 member organisations in the parking and traffic management profession. Members range from Government organisations, Healthcare Trusts, technology companies and car park operators as well local authorities, train operators and theme parks for example. We provide an Approved Operator Scheme which serves the purpose of an Accredited Trade Association to a fifth of our membership, the private parking companies that manage parking on private land.
Motorists who receive Parking Charge Notices from private parking companies that are members of the BPAs AOS can appeal through POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals Service).
The IPC is the equivalent of and a competitor to the BPAs Approved Operator Scheme (AOS). The IPC has its own appeals service, which is called the Independent Appeals Service (IAS). It is available to motorists who receive parking tickets from IPC Members anywhere in the UK.
The difference between the BPA’s AOS and the IPC:
The IPC IAS is not transparent as it does not publish an Annual Report declaring the numbers of appeals and nature ofdecisions, PoPLA does.
Read more on why parking is managed
