Local parking guide

Parking in Portsmouth

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

Portsmouth City CouncilHampshireEngland

Portsmouth runs the only Class B Clean Air Zone in England, and the class is the whole point. The government's framework defines four: Class A charges buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles; Class B adds heavy goods vehicles; Class C adds vans; Class D adds cars. Portsmouth stopped at B. So if you drive a car here you pay nothing on emissions grounds — and neither does a van. A tradesman in an older Transit pays £10 a day in Sheffield's Class C zone and nothing in Portsmouth's Class B one — the same van, the same day, a different letter. What is charged is a non-compliant taxi or private hire vehicle at £10 a day, and a non-compliant bus, coach or lorry at £50. The zone covers the south-west of the city and has run since 29 November 2021, 24 hours a day. Parking is the ordinary business, and Portsmouth's own lever is the permit. The first for a household is £30 a year. The second is £120. The third, where a zone allows one at all, is £300 — ten times the first.

Portsmouth City Council Hampshire England

Band 2Penalty charge band
£1.30–£3/hourOn-street tariff
NoFree on Sundays

Portsmouth's resident parking zones are lettered rather than numbered — BB, FA, JA, KA and so on — and the council publishes them as a map of individual zones rather than as a total.

What a ticket costs in Portsmouth

Portsmouth 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 →

Clean Air Zone: class B

A class B zone charges buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles and heavy goods vehicles. Anything not on that list is not charged for entering the zone at all.

Ultra low emission vehicles with significant zero emission capability are exempt from charges across all classes.

GOV.UK, Annex A to the Clean Air Zone Framework for England

Other charges you can get in Portsmouth

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

ChargeAmountIf paid earlyNotes
Clean Air Zone daily charge — taxi or private hire vehicle £10 Payable for each day a non-compliant vehicle is driven in the zone, however many trips you make. Not a penalty: pay it and there is nothing further.
Clean Air Zone daily charge — bus, coach or heavy goods vehicle £50 Same rules, five times the price. Vans and cars are not charged at all in a Class B zone.
Clean Air Zone penalty charge notice £120 £60 For not paying the daily charge within six days. The penalty is on top of the daily charge you still owe, and halves to £60 if you pay within 14 days.

Paying by phone

Portsmouth City Council accepts RingGo. 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
Lettered resident parking zones across the city Varies by zone Varies by zone Eleven zones — BB, FA, GD, JA, JD, KA, KB, KC, LB, MD and MI — do not issue a third permit at all, whatever you are willing to pay.
Clean Air Zone, south-west of the city 24 hours Every day of the year Not a parking restriction. Charges only taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles.

On-street tariffs

AreaPer hourMaximum stayNotes
Prime short-stay bays (three locations) £3 1 hour Sold as £1 per twenty minutes. 8am to 6pm daily.
Seafront and other premium areas £2.20 24 hours £2.20 for one hour, £8.50 for six, £15.10 for a full day. 8am to 6pm daily.
Standard pay and display £2 Over 5 hours at a flat rate £2.00 for one hour, £5.80 for four, £14.20 for anything over five. 8am to 6pm daily, and some bays are charged around the clock.
Selected cheaper areas £1.30 24 hours £1.30 for one hour, £7.60 for six, £12.10 for a full day. Mostly 8am to 6pm.

Resident permits

First vehicle£30
Second vehicle£120
Valid for12 months

A third permit, in the zones that issue one, is £300 a year — ten times the first. Eleven zones do not issue a third at all. Prices do not depend on the vehicle's emissions.

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
40 Parked in a designated disabled person's parking place without displaying a valid disabled person's badge Higher

Park and ride

  • Portsmouth Park and Ride, Tipner — £5 · A day ticket covering up to five people travelling together, with hop-on hop-off use all day. Ten days is £35, twenty £60 and fifty £145. The council does not state a separate parking charge.

Who enforces, and where to appeal

Portsmouth City Council enforces on-street parking and runs the Clean Air Zone. Two kinds of notice, and the Clean Air Zone one is not a parking ticket: it is charged for driving in, not for stopping.

Portsmouth is outside London, so appeals go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, which handles the Portsmouth Clean Air Zone as well as parking notices. Challenge the council first; its rejection is what opens the tribunal. A parking penalty is discounted if you pay within 14 days.

How to challenge a ticket, step by step →

Related rules

Other cities

Common questions

Do I pay to drive into Portsmouth's Clean Air Zone?
Not in a car, and not in a van either. Portsmouth runs a Class B zone, which charges only non-compliant taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles. Vans are charged in a Class C zone and cars in a Class D zone, and Portsmouth is neither.
What is the difference between a Class B and a Class C Clean Air Zone?
Vans. The government's framework sets out four classes: A charges buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles; B adds heavy goods vehicles; C adds light goods vehicles, which is what most vans are; D adds cars. So the same non-compliant van pays nothing in Portsmouth and a daily charge in a Class C city. The class is the first thing to check, not the words "Clean Air Zone".
What does the zone cost if my vehicle is charged?
£10 a day for a non-compliant taxi or private hire vehicle and £50 for a non-compliant bus, coach or HGV. One charge covers the whole day however many times you enter. If you do not pay within six days you get a penalty charge notice of £120, halved to £60 within 14 days, and you still owe the daily charge underneath it.
When did the zone start and what hours does it run?
29 November 2021, and it runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year — like every charging clean air zone in England. It covers the south-west of the city rather than the whole of it.
What does a resident permit cost in Portsmouth?
£30 a year for the first vehicle at an address, £120 for the second and £300 for a third — ten times the first. Eleven zones, including Portsea, do not issue a third permit at any price. The prices do not depend on what the car emits.
What does on-street parking cost?
It depends which tier the bay is in: £1.30 an hour in the cheaper areas, £2.00 at the standard rate, £2.20 on the seafront and in other premium spots, and £1 per twenty minutes in three prime short-stay locations with a one-hour maximum. Charging is generally 8am to 6pm every day, and some bays are charged around the clock.
What does a parking ticket cost in Portsmouth?
Portsmouth issues at Band 2 — £70 for a higher-level contravention and £50 for a lower one. The amounts are in the table above, and a discount applies if you pay within 14 days.

Sources

Figures last checked 19 October 2026