Private companies issued a record 16.9 million parking tickets in the UK in the year to March 2026, a 17% annual increase, according to analysis of government data by the Press Association and the RAC Foundation.
The figure is up from 14.4 million a year earlier and 6.8 million in 2018/19. The data comes as the introduction of a legislation-backed code of conduct for the sector has been delayed for seven years.
Industry blames rise on more car parks
The parking industry has attributed the rise in the number of tickets to an increase in the number of car parks being managed. Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers may be more than £4.6 million per day at the current rate.
Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees. Many drivers have been sent tickets they claim are unfair because of the way some payment machines operate.
Code of practice delayed
A Bill to enable the introduction of a code of practice for the industry received royal assent in March 2019. The code, due to come into force across Britain by the end of 2023, included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system, and banning the use of aggressive language on tickets. However, it was withdrawn by the Conservative government in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
A new consultation on the code by the current Labour Government closed in September 2025.
DVLA records and industry data
The analysis of parking tickets was based on the number of records obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by companies chasing vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks, such as at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas. It does not include council-run car parks.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "In the period since parliament unequivocally recognised the need for reform of the private parking industry, some 76 million tickets have been issued in total – an average of well over two for every car in the country."
"Andy Burnham has plenty of big things to worry about," Mr Gooding added: "But if his Government could get round to fixing this problem, millions of drivers would have one less thing on their minds."
Some 204 parking management businesses requested vehicle owner records in 2025/26. ParkingEye was the most active, buying 2.5 million records. Private companies are charged £2.50 per record by the DVLA. The agency says its fees recover the cost of providing the information and it does not make any money from the process.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was approached for a comment.
