Step-by-step
Do not pay yet, and do not phone
Paying ends the matter and cannot be undone. Phoning creates no record. Everything goes in writing, and you keep a copy of everything.
Run the free check
Enter the dates on the notice, how it was issued, where you parked, whether you are answering as keeper or driver, and the amounts. The checker lists the points that apply and their strength, and shows your reduced-rate and appeal dates.
Appeal to the operator within 28 days
Use the operator’s online appeal form or write to the address on the notice. State the grounds briefly, quote the paragraph of the Act or the clause of the Code, enclose evidence, and if you are the keeper say that you are not obliged to identify the driver and decline to do so. Ask for the photographs and the landowner authority.
If rejected, appeal to POPLA or the IAS
The rejection letter must give you a code for the independent appeals service of the operator’s trade association: POPLA for British Parking Association members, the IAS for International Parking Community members. Both are free to the motorist. Put in the same grounds, tidied up, with the evidence attached.
Keep the file
Whatever the outcome, keep every letter, your appeals and the decisions. If the operator later sends a Letter of Claim or issues a county court claim, the file is your defence.
What you are appealing against
A private parking charge is not a fine. It is a demand for money under a contract the operator says the driver made by parking on the terms displayed on its signs. The Supreme Court held in ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 that an £85 charge of that kind was enforceable where the signs were large, clear and prominent, so "it is a penalty" is a weak argument on its own. The good arguments are about whether the operator followed the rules: the statutory time limits for pursuing a keeper, whether a contract was formed at all, whether its terms were broken, and whether the amount demanded is what the terms and the Act allow.
The grounds that work
Notice to keeper out of time (keeper only). A camera notice must be delivered within the 14 days beginning the day after the parking; after a windscreen ticket the notice to keeper may only arrive on day 29 to 56. Posted notices are presumed delivered two working days after posting (Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Sch. 4 paras 8 and 9). A notice outside the window means no keeper liability.
Not relevant land (keeper only). Airport byelaw land is outside the Act; station car parks were, before 26 December 2025 (SI 2025/1256).
You had paid, or had a permit. No breach of terms. The receipt, app history or permit wins this.
The machine or app failed. If you tried to pay and could not, say so with evidence and put the operator to proof that its equipment worked.
Signage. If the signs were missing, hidden, unlit or unreadable from where you parked, the terms were not brought to the driver’s attention and no contract was formed. Photos of the entrance and each sign, at the same time of day, decide this.
Grace period (Code, not law). The Single Code of Practice requires a grace period of at least ten minutes at most time-limited sites, none in short-stay zones of 30 minutes or less, and says a charge must not be issued during it (clause 5.2 and Annex B). An overstay of ten minutes or less is worth raising.
Charge above £100 (Code, not law). Clause 8.2.1 caps a parking charge at £100 and has applied to all sites since 1 October 2024.
Added fees. If the sum demanded is more than the charge on the notice, the extra is challengeable, and cannot be recovered from a keeper under the Act at all (para 4(5)). See the separate guide.
Tells you which of these points apply to your dates and facts, how strong each is, and the deadline for the reduced rate and the appeal.
Check my parking charge →Answering as keeper or as driver
If the notice is addressed to you as registered keeper, you can answer as the keeper. You do not have to say who was driving, and you should not guess. Answering as the keeper opens the timing and relevant-land grounds, which only help a keeper, and puts the operator to proof of every condition in Schedule 4. If you have already told the operator you were the driver, those grounds are closed and the appeal turns on the contract: signage, payment, the grace period and the amount.
The Code notes that a keeper’s refusal to name the driver may be used as evidence they were the driver unless they can show otherwise. That is guidance for operators, not the law, but never say anything untrue in an appeal.
The reduced rate and the clock
The Code requires a reduction of at least 40% for payment within 14 days of the notice to driver, or of the notice to keeper where that is the first notice (clause 8.2.2), so £100 becomes £60. If you appeal to the operator within 28 days and lose, the reduced rate must be held open for 14 days after the rejection (clause 8.1.2(e)). These are Code requirements the operator has signed up to as a condition of getting keeper data from the DVLA, not statutory rights, so quote the clause if an operator departs from them.
POPLA and the IAS
Both are free to the motorist and both decide on the papers. POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) hears appeals against British Parking Association members; the IAS (Independent Appeals Service) hears appeals against International Parking Community members. The rejection letter tells you which and gives you a verification code and a deadline. Their decisions bind the operator if you win. If you lose, you are not bound: the operator still has to sue you in the county court and prove its case there, and you can defend. A government statutory Code and single appeals service under the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 have been consulted on but were not in force at the time of writing; check the current position if you are reading this later.
Drafts the operator appeal and the POPLA or IAS appeal from your checker answers, with the paragraph and clause numbers in place, and tracks the dates. You review and send them yourself.
- Operator appeal letter
- POPLA or IAS appeal
- Evidence checklist per ground
- Reduced-rate and appeal deadlines
Frequently asked questions
Will appealing lose me the discount?
Not if you appeal within 28 days. The Code requires the reduced rate to remain available for 14 days after a rejection (clause 8.1.2(e)).
Can I appeal a council penalty charge notice this way?
No. A council or Transport for London PCN is a statutory penalty challenged with the council and then the independent adjudicator, on the deadlines printed on the notice. This guide is about private operators only.
What if I ignore it?
The charge does not lapse. The operator may add fees, pass it to debt collectors, send a Letter of Claim and issue a county court claim. Ignoring a court claim leads to a default judgment. Appeal in writing, and if a claim comes, defend it.
Should I say the charge is a penalty?
Not as your main point. Beavis decided that a charge of around £85 to £100 with adequate signage is not a penalty. Argue the rules and the facts instead.
Is CourtPilot connected to POPLA, the IAS, the BPA or the IPC?
No. CourtPilot is an independent information and document-preparation service. Appeals to the operator, POPLA and the IAS are free and you make them yourself.
This guide provides general information about UK small claims court procedures and is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. CourtPilot is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The law may have changed since this guide was last updated. For advice specific to your situation, please consult a qualified solicitor or seek help from Citizens Advice.