Parking rules · clearly explained

Where you must not park

The Highway Code keeps two lists with different legal weight. And parking across a dropped kerb is only prohibited by statute in a designated area – not everywhere.

UK-specific guidanceSources shown on every guideReviewed 8 September 2026

The Highway Code separates what you MUST NOT do from what you should not do. The distinction is not stylistic: a MUST NOT is backed by a statute, and the rule names it.

Where you must not stop or park

PlaceNote
A pedestrian crossing, including the area marked by the zig-zag lines Stopping is prohibited, not just parking.
A clearway No stopping at any time on the main carriageway.
A taxi bay marked by signs and markings
A cycle lane or tram lane during its hours of operation
A cycle track
A red line on a red route Double red means at any time; single red means during the hours shown.
The carriageway, hard shoulder or emergency area of a motorway Except in an emergency.
A parking space reserved for particular users, such as Blue Badge holders
A road at night facing against the direction of traffic Unless you are in a recognised parking space.

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 sections 5, 6 and 8; Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 schedules 7, 9 and 14; Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 regulation 24

Where you should not park

Rule 243 is a DO NOT list, not a MUST NOT list. That does not make these places safe to park in: most of them are separately restricted by lines, by an Order, or by the offence of causing an unnecessary obstruction. It means the rule itself is not what a ticket would be issued under.

PlaceNote
Near a school entrance Where the road is marked and an upright no-stopping sign is present, this becomes enforceable.
At or near a bus stop, tram stop or taxi rank Bus stop clearways are separately enforceable.
Where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles In a special enforcement area this is a statutory prohibition, not advice. In Scotland it is prohibited outright.
In front of an entrance to a property
On a bend, opposite or within ten metres of a junction Except in an authorised parking space.
Where you would obstruct cyclists using cycle facilities
On the approach to a level crossing or tramway crossing

Dropped kerbs: not the blanket rule you have read about

In a special enforcement area a vehicle must not be parked on the carriageway adjacent to a footway, cycle track or verge that has been lowered to help people cross, or where the carriageway has been raised to meet the footway.

The same sections also prohibit parking more than 50 centimetres from the edge of the carriageway — double parking — in a special enforcement area.

Neither prohibition applies everywhere. Both operate only in a designated special enforcement area, and designation is not automatic: an order is made on an application by the authority. Not even Greater London is covered by the Act by default — each London authority applied. So “parking across a dropped kerb is illegal” is true in some places and not in others, and whether it is true where you were parked is a question about designation. If the council cannot point to the designation or to a marked restriction, the ticket has a problem.

The exceptions, where the prohibition does apply:

  • Parked in a designated parking place or otherwise authorised.
  • Parked outside residential premises with the occupier’s consent and not for reward — but not across a shared driveway.
  • Fire, police, ambulance or emergency response.
  • Delivering or collecting goods where it could not reasonably be done otherwise, for a limited period.
  • Building, demolition, excavation, waste collection, removing an obstruction or utility works, for as long as necessary.

Only the delivery exception is capped by the clock: it runs for 20 minutes and no longer. The works exception lasts as long as the work does.

The sections came into force in Wales on 26 October 2006 and in England on 31 March 2008.

Traffic Management Act 2004, sections 84 to 86 and Schedule 10

Scotland does it differently

Parking on a carriageway adjacent to a dropped footway is prohibited across Scotland, with no designation needed. Exceptions: Access to a driveway or garage, and saving life.

Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, Part 6

The same Act brought in Scotland’s pavement and double parking bans →

Zig-zags: two markings, two different weights

At a pedestrian crossing

The white zig-zags either side of a zebra, pelican, puffin or toucan crossing mark a controlled area.

You must not park on the crossing or in the area covered by the zig-zag lines, and you must not overtake the vehicle nearest the crossing.

This is a stopping restriction. Waiting for a moment, engine running, with someone in the car, is still stopping.

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 section 25(5); Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 schedule 14 parts 1 and 5

Outside a school

The yellow zig-zags outside a school marked SCHOOL KEEP CLEAR are a different marking with a different legal weight.

The markings themselves ask you to keep the entrance clear of stationary vehicles, even to set down or pick up children.

They become enforceable when an upright no-stopping sign accompanies them, with the days and hours on it. Without that sign the markings are advisory, and a council cannot issue a penalty charge for ignoring them. If you were ticketed outside a school, the first thing to check on the photographs is whether the upright sign was there and what hours it gave.

Common questions

Someone has parked across my dropped kerb. Can the council ticket them?
Only if the street is in a designated special enforcement area, or if there is a separate marked restriction there. The prohibition in the Traffic Management Act 2004 does not apply everywhere by itself — the area has to have been designated by order on an application from the authority. Ask your council whether the street is in one before assuming a ticket is automatic.
How far from the kerb counts as double parking?
In a special enforcement area, a vehicle must not be parked with no part of it within 50 centimetres of the edge of the carriageway. Scotland uses the same distance, but applies it everywhere rather than only in designated areas.
Can I stop on the zig-zags outside a school to drop my child off?
The markings ask you not to, even for setting down. Whether a council can penalise you for it depends on the upright sign: with a no-stopping sign showing days and hours it is enforceable, and without one the markings are advisory. Check the photographs on the notice for the sign before deciding whether to challenge.
Is stopping on the zig-zags at a pedestrian crossing the same thing?
No. The white zig-zags at a zebra, pelican, puffin or toucan crossing mark a controlled area where stopping is prohibited outright, and it is a MUST NOT rule with statute behind it. Sitting there with the engine running and a passenger in the car is still stopping.
Can I park outside my own house on a dropped kerb?
Where the prohibition applies, there is an exception for parking outside residential premises with the occupier’s consent, so long as it is not for reward — but it does not cover a shared driveway. If the dropped kerb serves more than one property, the exception is not available.

Sources

Figures last checked 8 September 2026