Enforcement and fairness to motorists
Fairness
Councils enforce parking under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, and they must have regard to the official statutory guidance: the Department for Transport's guidance in England and the Welsh Government's guidance in Wales. An adjudicator can treat a council's failure to follow the guidance, without a good explanation, as a reason to allow an appeal.
The main points for motorists are:
- Enforcement is about keeping traffic moving, not raising money. Raising revenue should not be an objective, and councils should not set targets for income or for the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).
- No rewards for tickets. Staff pay, rewards and targets should never be based on the number of PCNs, clampings or tow-aways.
- Clear, lawful signs and lines. Councils should not issue PCNs where signs or road markings are wrong, missing or don't match the traffic order, and should accept a challenge that shows they were defective.
- Published policies. Councils should publish their parking policies, including how they use their discretion to cancel penalties, and an annual report on their parking income, spending and PCNs.
- Discretion and a fresh look. A council can cancel a PCN at any stage, even when the contravention happened, if the circumstances justify it. Challenges should be considered afresh and impartially, not just by checking the officer's notes.
- Surpluses go back into transport. Money left over from on-street parking charges and penalties can only be spent on purposes set by law, such as transport, roads and the environment.
- Independent appeals. If the council rejects your representations, you can appeal to an independent adjudicator, free of charge.
- A say in the rules. Councils should consult on their parking policies when they review them. In England they should also run a petition scheme, so that residents and businesses can make the council review the parking restrictions in a place (right to challenge parking policies, 2015).
Find your council's parking information and policies.
Enforcement
How a civil enforcement officer issues a PCN
A civil enforcement officer must wear a uniform, which should show the council's name and the officer's identity number. They issue the PCN by:
- fixing it to your vehicle, or
- handing it to the driver.
They record evidence such as the vehicle details, the location, observation times and photographs. If you come back before the PCN has been issued, the guidance suggests councils may consider a verbal warning for a minor contravention, but this is up to each council.
Read about challenging a PCN.
When a PCN can come by post
A council can post the PCN to the vehicle's registered keeper, using the address the DVLA holds, if:
- The contravention was recorded by an approved camera. In England cameras can only be used for parking contraventions in council car parks, and on the street only on bus lanes, bus stop and bus stand clearways, school "keep clear" markings, red routes and mandatory cycle lanes that also have yellow lines. Wales has no such limit. See CCTV evidence.
- The officer was prevented from issuing the PCN, for example by threats or violence.
- The officer had started to issue the PCN but the vehicle was driven away before they could finish.
The vehicle's owner is legally responsible for paying, and the owner is presumed to be the registered keeper: see registered keepers liability. Keep your address up to date with the DVLA so that you receive any notices.
Clamping and towing
Councils can clamp or tow away a vehicle that is parked in contravention, but the guidance says clamping should be rare. It is mainly for persistent evaders, whose vehicles have three or more unpaid penalties. A vehicle causing danger or an obstruction should be towed away rather than clamped. A vehicle displaying a valid Blue Badge must not be clamped, and should generally not be towed away.
To get a clamped or towed vehicle back you pay a release fee and the penalty charge, and you can then challenge both.
This page was checked against the law in England and Wales on 22 October 2026. It is general guidance, not legal advice: see the legal disclaimer.