Asger Risom
UK motorists are being hit with private parking penalties at an unprecedented rate, with new figures showing millions of tickets issued in 2025 alone.
UK motorists are being hit with private parking penalties at an unprecedented rate, with new figures showing millions of tickets issued in 2025 alone.
Data covering the year to September 2025 reveals that private parking companies handed out 15.9 million Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) — a 17% increase on the previous 12 months, when 13.6 million tickets were issued. At typical charges of around £100 per notice, the total value of penalties issued is estimated to be running into billions of pounds a year.
A record-breaking pace
The figures suggest that between June and September alone, private firms were issuing an average of 48,000 tickets every single day. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the scale of enforcement raises serious concerns.
“The rate of tickets being issued by the private parking industry has hit yet another record,” Williams said. “While some of the rise may be explained by more car parks being privately managed, these numbers seem ominously high, especially given that most drivers actively try to avoid getting a parking charge.”
He warned that the trend suggests “something has gone badly awry” and urged the government to speed up reforms to bring greater fairness and transparency to the sector.
How the numbers are tracked
The data is based on records from the DVLA, which releases vehicle keeper details to parking firms so they can pursue drivers for alleged breaches. In the three months to the end of September, 188 private parking operators requested keeper information to issue PCNs.
The penalties typically relate to alleged infringements in privately managed locations such as shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas.
What drivers can do
Motorists are not automatically obliged to accept a private parking ticket if they believe it has been issued unfairly. Appeals may succeed where there are mitigating circumstances, including medical emergencies, faulty payment machines, or unclear or misleading signage.
GOV.UK advises drivers to check who issued the ticket and follow the appeal process set out by the operator. If that appeal is rejected, motorists can escalate the case to an independent appeals service, depending on which accredited trade association the parking company belongs to.
Calls for reform
Consumer groups have long criticised private parking enforcement, arguing that aggressive ticketing, poor signage and inconsistent rules are catching out law-abiding drivers.
With millions more tickets being issued year on year, campaigners say the outcome of the government’s long-awaited Private Parking Code of Practice consultation is now overdue — and increasingly urgent for drivers across the UK.
Sources: GOV.UK, DVLA
