Local parking guide

Parking in Cardiff

What a parking ticket costs in Cardiff, which zones apply, what it costs to park, who enforces it and how to challenge one.

Cardiff CouncilCardiffWales

In four of Cardiff's controlled parking zones the first hour costs nothing. You still have to register the car with MiPermit to get a digital ticket, and the free hour is worthless if you do not — but an hour in Cathays is genuinely free, and that is unusual enough to be worth planning around. The catch is the other end of the week. Every controlled parking zone in Cardiff runs Monday to Sunday. There is no free Sunday anywhere in a zone, and Plasnewydd South runs until 10pm. Wales uses the same penalty charge bands as England, so a parking ticket here costs the same as one in Liverpool or Manchester. What is not the same is the rulebook underneath: Wales has no pavement parking offence. Scotland banned it, London has banned it since 1974, and Wales decided instead to give councils an obstruction power that we have not been able to confirm is in force. Until it is, a wheel on the kerb in Cardiff is not an offence in itself.

Cardiff Council Cardiff Wales

Band 2Penalty charge band
£1.50–£3.50/hourOn-street tariff
9Controlled parking zones
NoFree on Sundays

What a ticket costs in Cardiff

Cardiff 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 Cardiff

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

ChargeAmountIf paid earlyNotes
Bus lane, bus gate and moving traffic contravention £70 £35 The same £70 as a parking ticket, halved to £35, but a different notice under different powers. The discount runs 21 days rather than 14, because the notice comes from a camera and arrives by post — the national rule for camera-issued notices, not a Cardiff choice.
Resident, visitor and business parking permits Not confirmed Cardiff does not publish permit prices on its website. The council's permit operator states that costs appear only once you select a duration inside the purchase screen, so there is no figure to quote until you are already applying.

Paying by phone

Cardiff Council accepts MiPermit. 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
B5A — Plasnewydd South 8am to 10pm Monday to Sunday The longest day of any Cardiff zone.
C1 — Cathays East 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday First hour free with MiPermit registration.
C2 — Cathays Central 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday First hour free with MiPermit registration.
C3 — Cathays West 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday First hour free with MiPermit registration.
C4 — Gabalfa 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday
C5 — Fairoak Road 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday First hour free with MiPermit registration.
C6 — Wedal Road 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday
C7 — Talybont 8am to 10pm Monday to Sunday Pay and stay £1.50 an hour; the first 30 minutes are free but you still need a ticket. Three hours maximum, no return within two hours. Cashless only.
K1 — Butetown South 8am to 8pm Monday to Sunday

On-street tariffs

AreaPer hourMaximum stayNotes
Controlled parking zones C1, C2, C3 and C5 (Cathays and Fairoak Road) Free 5 hours The first hour is free, but only to a vehicle registered with MiPermit for a digital ticket. Five hours costs £6.00. Monday to Sunday, 8am to 6pm.
Civic Centre £3.50 12 hours £3.50 for one hour, £4.80 for two, up to £16.00 for twelve. Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm. Evening parking from 6pm is £3.50.
Butetown North and Schooner Way £2.50 10 hours Also sold in half hours: £1.50 for thirty minutes, £3.50 for two hours, £12.00 for ten. Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm.
Porth Teigr £2.50 3 hours £1.50 for thirty minutes, £4.50 for the full three hours. No return within two hours. Seven days a week, 8am to 6pm.
Outer city centre £2 10 hours £2.00 for one hour, £4.00 for two, up to £14.00 for ten. Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm.

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
27 Parked adjacent to a dropped footway Higher
30 Parked for longer than permitted Lower
40 Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge Higher
99 Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zig-zags Higher

Park and ride

  • Cardiff East, to University Hospital Wales · Free. Run by the council as a hospital park and ride rather than a city centre one — useful if the Heath is where you are going, not if the centre is.

Who enforces, and where to appeal

Cardiff Council enforces on-street parking, bus lanes and bus gates, and moving traffic contraventions. There is no clean air charge to enforce: the Welsh Government approved Cardiff's non-charging air quality plan in January 2020, with £21m of measures instead of a charging zone.

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal covers Wales as well as England outside London, so a Cardiff appeal goes to the same tribunal as a Liverpool or Manchester one. Challenge the council first — only its rejection opens the tribunal. The tribunal operates in Welsh as well as English.

How to challenge a ticket, step by step →

Related rules

Other cities

Common questions

Is the first hour really free in Cardiff?
In four zones, yes — C1 Cathays East, C2 Cathays Central, C3 Cathays West and C5 Fairoak Road. But you have to register the vehicle with MiPermit to get a digital ticket for that hour. Parking without registering is not a free hour, it is an unpaid one, and it is enforceable.
Is parking free on Sundays in Cardiff?
Not in a controlled parking zone. Every Cardiff CPZ runs Monday to Sunday. Some pay and display areas do open later on Sundays — the outer city centre and Civic Centre start at 10am rather than 8am — but the zones themselves do not take the day off.
What does a parking ticket cost in Cardiff?
Cardiff issues at Band 2, the higher of the two bands available to councils outside London. The amounts are in the table above, and half is payable within 14 days. Ignore it and a charge certificate adds 50 per cent, with a further £9 court fee once the debt is registered with the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
Is a bus lane ticket the same as a parking ticket here?
The amount is the same — £70, halved to £35 — but it is a different notice under different powers, and the discount runs 21 days rather than 14. That is not a Cardiff quirk: a notice issued by a camera and posted to you carries the longer window everywhere in England and Wales. Read the days off the notice in front of you.
Can I park with a wheel on the pavement in Cardiff?
Wales has no pavement parking offence. The Welsh Government chose to give councils a civil obstruction power rather than impose a national ban, and we have not been able to confirm that those regulations are in force. That is not permission: you can still be ticketed for the restriction on the street itself, such as a yellow line, and a vehicle causing an obstruction can still be dealt with by the police.
Is there a clean air charge in Cardiff?
No. Cardiff put a case to the Welsh Government for non-charging measures instead of a charging Clean Air Zone, and the Minister approved it on 10 January 2020 with £21m of funding for bus retrofitting, taxi measures and active travel. There is nothing to pay on emissions grounds for driving into Cardiff.
What does a resident permit cost in Cardiff?
The council does not publish the price. Its permit operator says costs appear only after you choose a duration inside the purchase screen, so the only way to find out is to start an application. We will not print a figure the council has not published.

Sources

Figures last checked 19 October 2026