How to Appeal a Notice to Keeper

A Notice to Keeper is a private Parking Charge Notice sent to the registered keeper of a vehicle. It may be the first notice after a camera or Automatic Number Plate Recognition parking event, or it may be sent after an earlier Notice to Driver was fixed to the vehicle or handed to the driver.

It is not a council Penalty Charge Notice and it is not a criminal fine. The parking company normally alleges that the driver accepted parking terms displayed on private land and became liable for a contractual charge. The keeper and driver are not automatically the same person.

In England and Wales, Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 creates a conditional mechanism through which a parking creditor may recover a driver's unpaid Parking Charge from the keeper. The parking company must satisfy the applicable statutory conditions before it can use that mechanism.

Two Keeper Notice Procedures

The correct Schedule 4 procedure depends on how the case began:

• No earlier Notice to Driver: paragraph 9 applies where the Notice to Keeper is the first relevant parking notice, commonly after an ANPR event.
• Earlier Notice to Driver: paragraph 8 applies where a windscreen or handed Notice to Driver was issued first and the charge remained unpaid.

The distinction controls the delivery deadline, required wording and documents that should be assessed. A Notice to Keeper can therefore reveal defects that were not visible at the parking location.

Relevant Land Matters

Schedule 4 applies to relevant land in England and Wales. It excludes a highway maintained at public expense, a parking place provided or controlled by a traffic authority, and other land where parking is subject to statutory control. Land governed by some byelaws may therefore fall outside the Schedule 4 keeper-liability provisions.

The appeal begins with the complete keeper notice and the parking event it describes. Both must be checked because a failure of keeper liability and a defect in the underlying Parking Charge are separate issues.

Identify the Applicable Paragraph

Check whether a Notice to Driver was issued before the postal notice. An ANPR notice sent as the first relevant notice is normally assessed under paragraph 9. A postal notice following a windscreen Notice to Driver is normally assessed under paragraph 8.

The date of the parking event, date printed on the notice, date of posting and date of delivery should be recorded. Keep the envelope where available because a late delivery issue concerns when the Notice to Keeper was delivered, not only the date printed on it.

Check the Delivery Deadline

Where no Notice to Driver was issued first, paragraph 9 requires a Notice to Keeper used for keeper liability to be delivered within 14 days beginning with the day after the specified period of parking ended.

Where a Notice to Driver was issued first, paragraph 8 prevents the Notice to Keeper from being delivered during the first 28 days and requires it to be delivered within the following 28-day period. This is commonly described as delivery between days 29 and 56 after the parking event.

For a notice sent by post, Schedule 4 presumes delivery on the second working day after posting unless the contrary is proved. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in England and Wales are not working days for this calculation.

Check the Required Information

The precise requirements differ between paragraphs 8 and 9. A compliant Notice to Keeper should identify the vehicle, relevant land, period of parking, unpaid Parking Charge, circumstances said to create the charge, creditor, payment and dispute arrangements, date sent and the prescribed keeper-liability warning.

Where a Notice to Driver was issued first, the later keeper notice must also connect correctly with that earlier notice. The vehicle, location, period of parking, allegation and amount should be consistent across both documents.

Check the Parking Event

The Notice to Keeper should be compared with the parking company's photographs, payment data, signs and site records. ANPR images often establish entry and exit times, but those times do not necessarily prove the period when the vehicle was parked or that the displayed terms were breached.

The current Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice distinguishes the time allowed to read and consider the parking terms from the grace period after a permitted parking period ends. A charge should not be enforced before the applicable period has expired.

Send the Operator Appeal

The sector code requires operators to allow a Parking Charge to be appealed within 28 days. The deadline printed on the actual notice should be checked immediately. A retailer or landowner complaint can be made at the same time, but it should not be assumed to pause the operator's appeal deadline unless cancellation is confirmed.

The operator should respond within 28 days or acknowledge the appeal and explain when its decision is expected. Keep the submitted appeal, every attachment and the confirmation page or email receipt.

The strongest appeal uses every ground supported by the notice, parking event and evidence. A Schedule 4 defect may prevent keeper liability, while separate grounds may show that the Parking Charge itself should be cancelled.

Notice Arrived Too Late

The parking company may be unable to rely on Schedule 4 if the notice was not delivered within the paragraph 8 or paragraph 9 period that applies. The appeal should state the parking date, posting date, presumed delivery date and actual delivery evidence precisely.

A late Notice to Keeper does not automatically erase every possible allegation against an identified driver. It can prevent the parking company from transferring the driver's unpaid charge to the keeper through Schedule 4.

Required Wording Is Missing

The notice may omit or misstate the period of parking, relevant land, unpaid amount, creditor, circumstances of the charge, dispute arrangements or prescribed keeper warning. The appeal should identify the exact statutory requirement rather than make a general claim that the notice is invalid.

Land Is Not Relevant Land

Parking at airports, ports, railway land, public highways or other locations governed by statutory control may require a different legal analysis. The operator should not assert Schedule 4 keeper liability unless the location falls within the statutory definition of relevant land.

No Parking Breach Occurred

Payment records, a valid permit, customer booking, resident authorisation, a correct vehicle registration or the actual parking time may contradict the allegation. The evidence should be matched to the exact term the operator says was breached.

Signs Were Not Clear

The entrance sign and signs near the vehicle should clearly communicate the material parking terms and the amount of the charge. Poor placement, small text, darkness, conflicting instructions or missing tariff information can affect whether a driver was given adequate notice of the alleged contract.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires consumer terms and notices to be transparent and provides protection against unfair terms. The appeal should explain the specific term that was hidden, ambiguous or inconsistent.

In ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, the Supreme Court upheld an £85 charge at a particular retail car park where the two-hour limit and charge were prominently displayed and there was a legitimate interest in managing parking turnover. The decision does not make every Parking Charge valid. Each notice still depends on the site terms, signs, evidence, authority and circumstances.

ANPR Evidence Is Incomplete

Entry and exit images should show the correct vehicle and reliable timestamps. They may not account for time spent finding a space, reading the terms, queuing to leave, making two separate visits or a failure to record an intervening exit. The operator's complete image sequence and system records may be needed.

Parking Time Was Allowed

The alleged duration should be tested against the paid or permitted parking period, consideration period and grace period. An overstay calculated only from site entry and exit may not equal the actual period of parking.

Operator Authority Is Unclear

The parking company must have authority from the landholder covering the site and enforcement action. The appeal can require evidence that the agreement authorised the relevant terms, charge, keeper correspondence and pursuit of unpaid Parking Charges.

Equality Duties Apply

The Equality Act 2010 may be relevant where a disabled motorist needed additional time or another reasonable adjustment. The appeal should explain the disability-related disadvantage, the adjustment required and the evidence supporting it.

Evidence for the Appeal

Useful evidence can include:

• every page of the Notice to Keeper and its envelope;
• an earlier Notice to Driver and operator correspondence;
• the operator's complete ANPR or photographic sequence;
• entrance signs, nearby terms, tariffs and bay markings;
• payment tickets, bank records and parking-app history;
• permits, bookings, receipts and registration records;
• breakdown, medical or disability-related evidence;
• witness evidence and location history; and
• confirmation from the retailer, employer, hotel, hospital, managing agent or landowner.

Each item should prove a disputed fact. A receipt may confirm that the driver was a customer but not, by itself, establish payment for parking. A permit only proves authorisation if it covered the relevant vehicle, location and time.

The appeal letter should identify the Parking Charge reference, vehicle, location, parking event and relevant dates. It should then separate any Schedule 4 keeper-liability defects from the grounds challenging the underlying Parking Charge.

Where timing is disputed, show the applicable paragraph and delivery calculation. Where wording is defective, identify the missing requirement. Where signs, payment, parking duration or ANPR evidence are disputed, explain the fact and attach the record that supports it.

The letter should request cancellation and preserve the complete position for any later independent appeal. It should not assume that the registered keeper was the driver, and it should not make a legal argument that is unsupported by the notice or facts.

Submit the appeal to the parking company named on the Notice to Keeper using the online portal, email address or postal method stated on the notice. GOV.UK guidance directs motorists to challenge a private Parking Charge through the issuing company first.

Check the notice reference, vehicle registration, appellant details and attachments before submission. Save the appeal text, evidence list, submission confirmation, email receipt or proof of posting.

Do not send the first appeal to the British Parking Association, International Parking Community, POPLA or IAS. The operator decides the initial appeal. The independent service only becomes relevant after an eligible rejection.

The parking company will accept or reject the appeal. Acceptance should confirm that the Parking Charge is cancelled. Keep that confirmation and check that no later demand is issued for the same charge.

A rejection should explain why the operator says the charge remains payable. It may provide photographs, signs, payment records or reasoning that were not supplied with the Notice to Keeper. Compare that material with the original appeal before deciding the next step.

The rejection should also identify the relevant independent appeal service and provide the code or instructions needed to use it. A rejected initial appeal should not simply be resubmitted unchanged because the next appeal needs to answer the operator's reasons and evidence.

The parking company's Accredited Trade Association determines the independent appeal service. GOV.UK identifies POPLA for British Parking Association operators and the IAS for International Parking Community operators.

An eligible BPA rejection should provide a ten-digit POPLA verification code. POPLA's current guidance states that the appeal should be received within 28 days of the operator's rejection and that the grounds and evidence should be supplied with the appeal.

The Independent Appeals Service considers eligible Parking Charges issued by IPC members after the operator appeal. The complete facts and evidence should be submitted because a decision cannot be reopened simply to add material that could have been supplied earlier.

The independent appeal should combine the Notice to Keeper, first appeal, evidence and rejection. If it succeeds, the Parking Charge is cancelled. If it is refused, the operator may request payment and later decide whether to pursue a civil claim. Refusal does not itself create a County Court judgment.