Registered keepers liability
Council penalties
For a council Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), the law makes the owner of the vehicle liable to pay, not the driver. The owner is the person who keeps the vehicle, and is presumed to be the registered keeper on the DVLA's records unless it is proved otherwise (Traffic Management Act 2004, section 92). The rule is the same in England and Wales.
So if someone else was driving, the registered keeper still has to pay or challenge the PCN. Any money owed by the driver is a matter between the keeper and the driver.
When the registered keeper is not liable
These are among the legal grounds for challenging a PCN:
- You were not the owner at the time. You had sold the vehicle before the contravention, or bought it afterwards. Give the name and address of the buyer or seller if you know them. Always tell the DVLA when you sell a vehicle.
- The vehicle had been stolen or was being used without your consent.
- A hire firm's vehicle. If the vehicle was on hire under a hire agreement and the hirer signed a statement accepting liability for penalties, the hire firm can pass the penalty to the hirer, who is then treated as the owner.
Keep your details up to date
Councils send Notices to Owner and postal PCNs to the address the DVLA holds. If you move, update your vehicle log book (V5C) straight away, or you may not hear about a penalty until it has increased.
Private parking charges are different
A Parking Charge Notice from a private car park operator, for example at a supermarket or retail park, is not a council penalty. It is a charge claimed under the terms on the car park's signs. The operator can pursue the registered keeper instead of the driver only if it follows strict rules on the notices it sends and when, set out in Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: see when the registered keeper has to pay a private parking charge. Appeals go to the operator and then to POPLA or the Independent Appeals Service, not to the council tribunals: see appealing a private parking charge.
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.