Local parking guide

Parking in Brighton and Hove

What a parking ticket costs in Brighton and Hove, which zones apply, who enforces it and how to challenge one.

Brighton & Hove City CouncilEast SussexEngland

Brighton and Hove has a low emission zone and it will not cost you a penny. It applies to buses only — Castle Square, North Street and Western Road as far as Palmeira Square — and it works by requiring operators to run compliant vehicles rather than by charging anyone at the kerb. Cars, vans and taxis are outside it. There is no clean air zone here and no congestion charge. The city's actual lever is the parking zone, and the clever part is that not all zones are controlled all day. In a light-touch zone the restriction is a short block — Monday to Friday, nine to ten in the morning, say, or two to three in the afternoon. Outside that block anyone can park without a permit. One hour a day is enough to keep all-day commuters out, and it costs residents less than a full scheme permit. Above that sit the full scheme zones, controlled for much longer, and above those the high-demand zones. Two zones are event-day zones, controlled only when something is on. Which tier your street is in decides what you pay, what hours you are caught by, and whether there is a waiting list for a permit at all.

Brighton & Hove City Council East Sussex England

Band 2Penalty charge band

Brighton and Hove has around thirty lettered and numbered parking zones, grouped into four kinds: light-touch, full scheme, high demand and event day. The council publishes them by letter rather than as a count.

The council does not publish a tariff table. Its own paid parking page says the cost "varies around the city" and sends you to a zone map, and PayByPhone works the price out automatically from where you are parked.

What a ticket costs in Brighton and Hove

Brighton & Hove City Council issues penalty charge notices at Band 2.

LevelFull chargeIf paid early
Higher level £70 £35
Lower level £50 £25

What the higher and lower levels mean, and every stage if you do not pay →

Other charges you can get in Brighton and Hove

Not every notice you get is a parking ticket. These are issued under different powers, and some of them cost more.

ChargeAmountIf paid earlyNotes
Visitor parking permit — light-touch zone £3.50 Per permit, up to 52 a year. Zones L, P, S, U, W, X, 10, 11 and 12.
Visitor parking permit — full scheme zone £5 Per permit, up to 52 a year.
Visitor parking permit — high demand zone £7 Per permit, up to 52 a year. Zones M, Y and Z.
Resident parking permit Not confirmed We are not quoting a figure. The council's own page headed "How much a resident parking permit costs" explains the three zone tiers and then says the street signs have all the information you need, without giving a price. What it does confirm is that a light-touch permit costs less than a full scheme one.
Bus lane or bus gate penalty charge notice £70 £35 The council states 14 days for the half-price payment on a bus lane notice, the same window as a parking ticket. Read the days off the notice you hold rather than assuming.

Paying by phone

Brighton & Hove City Council accepts PayByPhone. Check the sign in the bay for the location code before you start a session — it is the code, not the street name, that decides what you are charged.

Controlled parking zones

ZoneHoursDaysNotes
Light-touch zones — L, P, S, U, W, X, 10, 11 and 12 Short controlled blocks, for example 9am to 10am or 2pm to 3pm Monday to Friday No permit needed outside the controlled block, and permits cost less than in a full scheme zone.
Full scheme zones — A, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, N, O, Q, R, T, V and 14 Controlled for much of the day Varies by zone The standard scheme. Check the sign: the hours are not the same in every zone.
High demand zones — M, Y and Z Controlled for much of the day Varies by zone The dearest tier. A visitor permit here costs twice what one costs in a light-touch zone.
Event day zones — B and D Only when an event is on Event days Visitor permits are free in these two zones, and residents get up to 60 a year rather than 52.

The codes you will see on a ticket here

Every penalty charge notice carries a contravention code. It tells you what you are accused of, and whether the charge is at the higher or the lower level.

CodeWhat it meansLevel
01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours Higher
02 Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force Higher
05 Parked after the expiry of paid for time at a pay and display bay Lower
06 Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket or voucher Lower
12 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place without a valid permit Higher
19 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place displaying an invalid permit Lower
23 Parked in a parking place not designated for that class of vehicle Higher
25 Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading Higher
30 Parked for longer than permitted Lower
34 Being in a bus lane Higher
40 Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge Higher

Who enforces, and where to appeal

Brighton & Hove City Council enforces on-street parking and bus lanes. There is no clean air zone and no congestion charge, so unlike many English cities of this size there is no third kind of notice to confuse with a parking ticket.

Brighton is outside London, so appeals go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal once the council has rejected your representations. Both a parking penalty and a bus lane penalty are discounted if you pay within 14 days here.

How to challenge a ticket, step by step →

Related rules

Other cities

Common questions

Is there a clean air charge in Brighton?
No. Brighton and Hove has a low emission zone, but it applies to buses and nothing else, and it works by requiring operators to run compliant vehicles rather than by charging drivers. Cars, vans and taxis pay nothing. There is no clean air zone and no congestion charge in the city.
What is a light-touch parking zone?
A zone where the restriction only applies in short blocks — the council's own example is Monday to Friday, 9am to 10am, or 2pm to 3pm. Outside the block you do not need a permit at all. One controlled hour a day is enough to stop all-day commuter parking, and residents pay less for a permit than in a full scheme zone.
How do I know which zone I'm in and what it costs?
From the sign. Brighton has around thirty zones in four tiers — light-touch, full scheme, high demand and event day — and the hours and prices differ between them. The council does not publish a single tariff table: its paid parking page says the cost varies around the city and points to a zone map, and PayByPhone works out the price from where you have parked.
What does a visitor permit cost?
£3.50 in a light-touch zone, £5 in a full scheme zone and £7 in a high-demand zone, for up to 52 permits a year. In the two event-day zones, B and D, visitor permits are free and residents can have 60 a year.
What does a resident permit cost?
The council does not put a figure on it. Its page headed "How much a resident parking permit costs" sets out the three tiers and then says the street signs have all the information you need. It does confirm that a light-touch permit costs less than a full scheme one, and some zones have waiting lists. We will not print a number the council has not published.
What does a parking ticket cost in Brighton?
£70 for a higher-level contravention and £50 for a lower one, halved to £35 and £25 if you pay within 14 days — Band 2. A bus lane or bus gate notice is £70 with the same 14-day window, which is worth noting because in some cities a camera notice gives you 21.
Are permits still paper?
No. Brighton and Hove moved to digital permits from 3 November 2025, so there is nothing to display in the windscreen — enforcement reads the registration.

Sources

Figures last checked 9 September 2026