Appeal a Late Parking
Charge Notice (15+ Days)
If your Notice to Keeper (NTK) reached you more than 14 days after the parking date, the law stops the parking company making you - the vehicle's registered keeper - pay. It's one of the strongest grounds for a successful appeal, and one of the easiest to spot. We check the dates and appeal for you.
Under paragraph 8 of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA), a parking company that left no ticket on your car must give you its Notice to Keeper within 14 days, counted from the day after you parked. A notice sent by post counts as given on the second working day after it was posted, so one posted on day 13 usually lands too late. Miss that deadline and the operator loses the right to make you, the registered keeper, pay - even if the charge would otherwise have been valid. It can then only pursue the driver, whose identity it rarely knows.
One exception decides whether any of this applies to you. The 14-day rule covers charges you first heard about by post. If a warden put a ticket under your wiper at the time, a different clock runs and the notice is given between 28 and 56 days after that ticket, so the 14-day count does not apply. That is the usual pattern on permit and residential sites run by operators like UK Parking Control. Check which happened before you rely on the date.
Was Your Notice to Keeper Late? How to Check
Checking eligibility takes less than a minute. You need two pieces of information - or you can put them straight into our free POFA deadline calculator, which applies the deemed-service rule for you.
Take the parking date from the notice. Day 1 is the day after it, so the deadline is 14 days after the parking date.
Take the date the notice was posted, usually printed on it, and add two working days. If that falls after the deadline, the notice was late.
Upload the PCN and the NTK when you start your appeal. We confirm eligibility and submit the appeal on late service grounds.
Other POFA Defects We Check
Even if your notice was served within 14 days, there are other POFA requirements that operators frequently get wrong:
POFA requires NTKs to contain specific language and information. Missing elements - such as the invitation to name a hirer or the correct appeal reference - render the notice defective.
The NTK must correctly identify the creditor. If the named company does not match the actual landowner or operator at the time of the alleged contravention, this is a defect.
The NTK must state the period of parking to which the charge relates. A notice that only states a time without a clear period may be defective.
The NTK must be served to the registered keeper's address as recorded at DVLA. Service to an out-of-date address may not satisfy the POFA requirements.
Late Notice Appeal FAQ
Where no ticket was left on the vehicle, paragraph 8 of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requires the Notice to Keeper to be given within the 14 days beginning with the day after the parking event. A posted notice counts as given on the second working day after it was posted. If it is given any later, the operator cannot hold the registered keeper liable and can only pursue the driver.
Take the parking date from the notice and count 14 days starting the day after it: that is the last day the notice can be given. Then find the date the notice was posted, which is usually printed on it, and add two working days, skipping weekends and bank holidays. If that lands after the deadline, the notice was late. The free POFA deadline calculator does this for you.
POFA also requires the NTK to contain specific prescribed information. If the notice is missing required details - such as the right to name a hirer, an appeal invitation, or specific warning language - it may be defective even if served on time.
If your appeal is accepted on late NTK grounds, the charge is cancelled and the parking company cannot lawfully pursue the registered keeper for that specific charge. They may only pursue the actual driver, whose identity they do not have.
Related parking appeal guides
APCOA is the operator most often caught serving late notices. See our dedicated APCOA appeal guide for the full approach.
Airport drop-off Notices to Keeper are frequently posted late - one of the most common ways keeper liability is broken.
Station car parks came inside the POFA rules in December 2025, which makes the 14-day deadline the strongest ground available on a station charge.
Upload your PCN and NTK - we confirm eligibility and appeal for £10.