Private companies issued an unprecedented 16.9 million parking tickets to UK drivers in the year ending March, according to an analysis of government data by the Press Association and the RAC Foundation. This represents a 17% increase from 14.4 million tickets issued a year earlier, and a significant rise from 6.8 million in 2018/19.
The parking sector attributes this growth to more car parks being actively managed. Individual penalties can reach up to £100, potentially costing drivers over £4.6 million daily at current rates.
Accusations against private parking businesses include using misleading signs, aggressive debt collection, and unreasonable fees. Many drivers claim tickets are unfair due to payment machine operations.
A code of practice for the industry, which aimed to halve the cap on most parking offence tickets to £50 and create a fairer appeals system, was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies. A new consultation on the code by the current Labour government concluded in September 2025.
The analysis is based on records obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by companies pursuing vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks. These figures do not include council-run car parks. In 2025/26, 204 parking management businesses requested vehicle owner records, with ParkingEye being the most active, acquiring 2.5 million records.