Local parking guide

Parking in London

What a parking ticket costs in London, who enforces it and how to challenge one.

the 32 London boroughs, the City of London and Transport for LondonGreater LondonEngland

London is the only part of the United Kingdom where parking is a regime in its own right rather than a local policy. The penalty charges are set on a single London-wide scale that is roughly double the rest of England, appeals go to their own tribunal, footway parking has been an offence since 1974, and a network of red routes prohibits stopping altogether rather than merely waiting. What is not London-wide is everything below the charge. Zones, tariffs, permits and suspensions are set by 33 separate authorities, and the boundary between the two charge bands does not follow the borough boundary — five boroughs are split down the middle. So the useful question in London is never “what does a ticket cost here”, it is “which authority issued this, and which band is it in”.

the 32 London boroughs, the City of London and Transport for London Greater London England

Controlled parking zones are set borough by borough. There is no London-wide figure, and we will not publish an average as if there were.

On-street tariffs are set by each borough and vary by street and time of day. A single London figure would be invented.

What a ticket costs in London

There is no single figure. Penalty charges here are set on one common scale, but each authority is assigned a band, and the band decides the amount. The table below gives the band for every authority — and the band printed on your own notice is the one that counts.

Which authority, and which band

AuthorityBandHigher levelNotes
Barnet Band A £160
Brent Band A £160
Camden Band A £160
City of London Band A £160
Croydon Band A £160
Ealing Band A £160
Enfield Band A £160
Greenwich Band A £160
Hackney Band A £160
Hammersmith & Fulham Band A £160
Haringey Band A £160
Hounslow Band A £160
Islington Band A £160
Kensington & Chelsea Band A £160
Merton Band A £160
Newham Band A £160
Redbridge Band A £160
Tower Hamlets Band A £160
Waltham Forest Band A £160
City of Westminster Band A £160
Barking and Dagenham Band A £160 Band A in the west of the borough; Band B elsewhere.
Lambeth Band A £160 Band A in the north of the borough; Band B elsewhere.
Lewisham Band A £160 Band A in the north of the borough; Band B elsewhere.
Southwark Band A £160 Band A in the north of the borough; Band B elsewhere.
Wandsworth Band A £160 Band A in the north of the borough; Band B elsewhere.
Bexley Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Bromley Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Harrow Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Havering Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Hillingdon Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Kingston upon Thames Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Richmond upon Thames Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.
Sutton Band B £140 Band B; some outer London town centres are Band A.

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
12 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place where required, or without payment of the parking charge Higher
16 Parked in a permit space or zone without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required Higher
19 Parked in a residents' or shared use parking place or zone with an invalid virtual permit or displaying an invalid physical permit or voucher or pay and display ticket, or after the expiry of paid for time Lower
21 Parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space Higher
23 Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle Higher
24 Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space Lower
25 Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading Higher
26 Parked in a special enforcement area more than 50 cm from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place Higher
27 Parked in a special enforcement area adjacent to a footway, cycle track or verge lowered to meet the level of the carriageway 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 in the prescribed manner Higher
45 Stopped on a taxi rank Higher
47 Stopped on a restricted bus stop or stand Higher
62 Parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway Higher
99 Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zigzags Higher

Who enforces, and where to appeal

Each London borough and the City of London enforce parking on their own streets. Transport for London enforces the red route network, so a red route ticket comes from TfL rather than from the borough you were in.

Appeals against a London penalty charge go to London Tribunals, not to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal that covers the rest of England and Wales. Challenge the issuing authority first: only its notice of rejection opens the tribunal route.

How to challenge a ticket, step by step →

Related rules

Other cities

Common questions

How much is a parking ticket in London?
It depends on which authority issued it. Band A authorities charge more than Band B ones, and both are roughly double the levels outside London. Half the charge is payable if you pay within 14 days — or within 21 days where the notice was issued from a camera rather than left on the vehicle. The table above gives the band for each authority.
Why is my borough listed as Band A for part of it only?
Because the charge bands do not follow borough boundaries. Barking and Dagenham, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth are Band A in part of the borough and Band B in the rest. London Councils also states that the town centres of a number of outer boroughs operate Band A, without naming them. The band printed on your own notice is the one that counts.
What is the code on my ticket?
Every London penalty charge carries a contravention code, and it tells you both what you are accused of and whether the charge is at the higher or lower level. The table above lists the codes most often seen on street. Codes 26 and 27 are worth a second look: both apply only in a special enforcement area, so whether the street is in one is a question worth asking.
Who issued my ticket — the borough or Transport for London?
Look at the road. Red routes, marked with red rather than yellow lines, are enforced by Transport for London; everything else is the borough or the City of London. It matters because you challenge the issuing authority, and sending a challenge to the wrong one wastes the deadline.
Can I park on the pavement in London?
No. Footway parking has been an offence across Greater London since 1974 under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act, with narrow exceptions for emergencies and for loading. It is not a borough-by-borough scheme and it is not new.
Does my Blue Badge work in central London?
Not in the usual way. The City of London, the City of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and part of Camden run their own schemes rather than the national concession. Check that authority's own rules before you rely on the badge there.

Sources

Figures last checked 8 September 2026