Government launches long-awaited Private Parking Code of Practice

Consumer Editor

4 minute read|20th Oct 2026

A new Private Parking Code of Practice has been introduced by the Government as it looks to give motorists greater protection from unfair private parking charges.

Under the new rules, drivers will get five minutes to decide whether to park and 10 minutes to leave a car park after their parking session has ended.

Unfair charges will also be cancelled on appeal where motorists have made genuine mistakes or faced circumstances outside their control, such as a breakdown, medical emergency or faulty payment machine.

A maximum charge of £20, on appeal, will apply to minor errors, including entering the wrong registration number or forgetting to display a permit.

This is a step in the right direction to protect drivers from the poor practices of some private parking companies but not the leap we've been campaigning for so long. We've long called for the banning of debt recovery fees being added on top of parking charge notices (PCNs) and a single independent appeals body to replace the two industry-run ones, but neither have been included which is disappointing. That said, the fact we finally have a code seven years on from the Private Parking Code of Practice Act becoming law is positive. Car park management companies will now have to conform to a new set of rules or risk losing access to the DVLA's database which they depend on to issue PCNs to drivers. This will hopefully prevent many drivers wrongly being issued tickets in the first place. There's also a strong indication the code will be toughened as soon as next year to take in recent recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority.

Simon Williams

RAC head of policy

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What the Private Parking Code of Practice means for drivers

5 minutes to decide whether to park
10 minutes to leave a car park without facing a penalty
No more unfair charges for issues drivers can't control, such as a breakdown
£20 cap on charges for minor errors, such as entering the wrong registration number on a parking machine

Despite the new rules, the maximum private parking charge will remain at £100, ignoring calls from consumer groups for it to be reduced.

That means the changes offer some much-needed safeguards, but drivers can still face a sizeable bill for a parking mistake.

For motorists frustrated by the scale and cost of private parking charges, the new rules represent progress rather than a complete solution.

Roadside cover from £5.29 a month*

Cheaper than AA or we'll beat it by 20%^{^}