Private Car Parks: Fined for Parking Over a White Line?

Originally written by Tracy Whitelaw, updated by the editorial team on 18th May 2026

P.B asks

I was parked over a white line in a private car park and have received a photograph of my car and a fine for £45 in the post, is this legal?

Private Parking Charges: Council vs Private Car Parks

The type of car park matters. Council-operated car parks issue Penalty Charge Notices under the Traffic Management Act 2004, enforceable through statutory powers. Private car parks issue what are technically invoices based on contract law, not fines.

Private parking companies issue Parking Charge Notices: contractual demands based on terms displayed at the entrance. The similar naming is deliberate, but enforcement differs greatly. Council tickets come with statutory powers and can be pursued through courts with added costs. Private charges require the operator to bring a successful civil claim to recover the money: a higher bar.

Check your ticket carefully. The company name and whether it references council authority will tell you which type you have.

Can You Be Charged for Parking Over a Line?

In most cases, yes. If a private operator's terms state vehicles must park wholly within a marked bay, parking over a line can breach those conditions.

Whether the charge is enforceable depends on the circumstances. The Supreme Court case ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis (2015) upheld an £85 charge, finding it served legitimate interests and was not extravagant. This case is frequently cited, though outcomes depend on individual facts. A car slightly over a line but not blocking another space may be viewed differently than one taking two spaces.

Relevant factors include: whether your parking prevented another vehicle using an adjacent space, whether bay markings were clearly visible, whether signage was adequate and prominent, and whether the charge is proportionate.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, parking contract terms must be fair and transparent. If signage was inadequate, obscured, or terms were buried in small print, you may have grounds to contest. The relevant code of practice sets specific signage requirements, including minimum text sizes. If the operator failed these standards, their claim is weakened.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

How Private Parking Charges Work

Private parking companies typically operate under a code of practice. The two main trade bodies are the British Parking Association and the International Parking Community. Members must follow standards on signage, charge levels, and dispute handling.

Since 2012, private parking companies can obtain keeper details from the DVLA. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 introduced keeper liability: the registered keeper can be held responsible unless they provide details of the driver. This only applies if the operator follows the Act's requirements, such as sending notices within specified timeframes.

Charges typically range from £60 to £100 or more. Many offer reduced rates if paid within 14 days.

Challenging a Charge and What Happens If You Do Not Pay

Start with an informal appeal directly to the parking company. If that fails, escalate to an independent body. For British Parking Association members, appeals go to POPLA. For International Parking Community members, use the Independent Appeals Service. Both are free.

Gather evidence: photographs of unclear bay markings, inadequate signage, or proof your vehicle did not prevent another from parking. Keep submissions clear and factual. A significant proportion of challenges succeed when operators cannot demonstrate adequate signage or a genuine breach. Citizens Advice can provide guidance if you are unsure how to proceed.

Do not ignore a private parking charge. While not criminal, the company can pursue the debt through civil courts. They may send reminders, pass the debt to a collection agency, or issue a county court claim. A county court judgment left unpaid for more than a month can affect your credit rating and add costs to the original charge.

Some drivers have defended claims in court by arguing charges were excessive or procedures were not followed. However, court involves time, stress, and potential costs. Resolve matters through appeals where possible. If you receive a county court claim, seek advice from a qualified legal professional. GOV.UK has further information about parking rules and your rights.

18 questions

Ask Blag a Deal a Question

BlagADeal Editor 21/07/2026 at 7:56 pm

@Paul m Honestly, your chances are decent but not guaranteed. Most operators use ANPR or a single photo, so touching the line isn't always clear cut, and the appeal often turns on whether the signage made the bay rules obvious and whether you caused any obstruction. Reject the charge with the operator first, then take it to POPLA or the IAS depending on which trade body they belong to, and include clear photos showing three wheels fully within the bay. Argue the parking was compliant, or failing that, that the charge is disproportionate as no loss was caused. Don't ignore it and don't pay until you've exhausted the appeals.

Paul m 21/07/2026 at 7:56 pm

My rear offside wheel was half an inch touching the white line not over it whilst my other 3 were within the lines am I likely to win my case on appeal ,surely the white lines are within the law if not going over it, if I touch the front line at a traffic lights I will not be fined for going through a red light whereas if my front wheels go over the line I can be fined,please let me know my chances of winning my case either on appeal or through the courts,thanks

BlagADeal Editor 28/06/2026 at 9:27 am

@B1 DDY Good point about the wider bays, some retail parks have started adding them for family or accessible spaces. The British Parking Association code doesn't actually mandate a single size, though most standard bays sit around 2.4m by 4.8m. So in practice the dimensions vary site to site, which makes "over the line" fines feel a bit arbitrary when the bay itself is tight. If you're being pinged for a few inches in a narrow bay, that's often worth appealing on grounds the space wasn't fit for a normal vehicle.

B1 DDY 28/06/2026 at 9:27 am

We are in the 21st century so are parking bay lines come as Imperial or metric distances between each inner edges of the lines, some parking bays come now with an extra width to allow doors to open.

BlagADeal Editor 17/05/2026 at 1:29 pm

@Misty Honestly, it's worth pushing the appeal further before paying. If it's refused, escalate to POPLA (or the IAS, depending on which trade body the operator belongs to), as that puts the charge on hold and stops the 14 day clock. Operators often drop cases at that stage because photos of a tyre barely touching a line rarely show any actual obstruction. Nothing to lose by trying, and you've got around 28 days once the first appeal is rejected.

Misty 14/11/2025 at 11:42 am

I parked in a 'private' car park in a shopping centre in harrow. One of my tyres was just edging the white line on one side. The car park is huge and was fairly empty on a weekday, which this was. I received a ticket which I have appealed. It's merely a money making exercise. It's a crazy world we live in. I don't expect the appeal to be successful, so i will pay the ticket as I don't want to be landed with more than the £60 within 14 days.

BlagADeal Editor 18/05/2026 at 1:06 pm

@Mikeh63 Totally agree the "letter of the rule" approach is infuriating when you've clearly caused no obstruction. That said, the operator won't budge at this stage, so your next move is POPLA (or the IAS if it's an IPC member) once you've had the formal rejection. Lay out the photos showing both neighbouring bays occupied, and argue the charge isn't a genuine pre-estimate of loss as no one was inconvenienced. Frustration of contract and the "de minimis" point are worth raising too. Plenty of these get overturned at appeal, so don't pay yet.

Mikeh63 13/10/2023 at 1:04 pm

I parked over the white line since the space to my left was on a corner and was a huge space , photographs they sent me clearly showed that I was not preventing either spaces left and right from being used since they showed cars parked there on either side next to mine. I argued that since my parking was not preventing the adjoining spaces being used ( which is the reason for the rule and i completely understand that) since i was not impeding and other vehicle i was causing no problem. They completely disregarded this and just said i was parked over the line end of. Absolutely disgusting that they act as their own gatekeeper and do not apply common sense to the situation.

nikki 07/12/2019 at 7:08 pm

my friend parked at my local cinema, and she was over the white lines. Her fault, but it was very very quiet as it was during the day. maybe 300 spaces , and just 5/6 cars. She has a fine is that ok or not. £60.00

Nat 08/10/2019 at 2:36 pm

I got a ticket as they say I wasn't parked within white lines but there is only one white line in that parking bay. J have appealed to POPLA as signage clearly shows parking within 2 white lines. Do you think I stand a good chance of winning my appeal?

Sasha 31/07/2019 at 10:38 pm

The place where I have parked my car suppose to be for 2 cars but there is no space for two cars to park and open the doors on both sides.
If I would park on the right side, there was a bar so I wouldn't be able to open the door and get out from the car. If I would reversed the car and parked backwards I wouldn’t be able to take my 11 months old baby in and out from the car due to that bar. If I would park on the left side it would be the same situation just there is no bar but a bush which is so big that doesn’t allow opening the car doors.
I received a £60 fine. Would I win with POPLA?

JaNI Editor 17/08/2018 at 1:40 pm

@505chris - 'the rules is the rules' - you can try to justify what you did, but if you parked so as not to allow another car space to park then you can expect to be fined, regardless.

505chris 17/08/2018 at 12:42 pm

I got fined for being over the white lines and I admit I was but I have a two door car and most spaces don't allow for that making it hard to get in or out. Besides that there was hundreds of unused places. Was it that bad really. Oh and I parked at the very end of the car park out of the way.

Ruth Editor 29/03/2018 at 12:22 pm

@Tillypegs - I hope the other person was fined too. I suppose the car parks have to keep some sense of order and I suppose when they are issuing a ticket they don't know which person parked over the line first. But I can completely understand your annoyance. I was ticketed because I parked nexed to a very large 4x4 and had to park slightly over the line to be able to get out of my car!

Tillypegs 28/03/2018 at 6:48 pm

I was parked over a white line due to another person parking wrong and fined it’s a disgrace shopping centres getting away with this

Ronnie 22/01/2018 at 12:19 pm

I was at speke new mersey shopping park on Sunday 14 January 13 14 I was just over white lane as car on right was on white line car on left was over white line on my right I'm disabled never had eny thing like this befor it was a private company I have paid the £60 fine but I'm so up set they put up a picture of the parking in my view I had no option the way two cars were parked can you advise
Ms v Mitchell

Nice 04/06/2016 at 2:28 pm

What's going on when they a private parking firm put tickets on your car for Parking outside a marked bay over a white line, but it was not impeding any one els in a private car park and you the person live there.

sarahb 05/05/2014 at 6:43 pm

The trouble is that I read all this advice about not paying fines and then I have now had to pay triple the amount of the original fine as I have received what appears to be a court summons. I think the motorist is v disadvantaged not knowing the law and how it stands on how much a private parking company should charge. Why is the motorist not given this information or made aware of his rights as to how much he can be charged?
The only reason I decided not to go to court was for that reason. I didn't know the law on how much the fine can be and whilst I thought it was ridiculously expensive, I am a teaching assistant and can ill afford to lose.
I'm just amazed that the government doesn't give the motorist more information on this, as I think its a criminal act on behalf of parking companies to be allowed to charge ridiculous amounts of money for fines. yet they have all the power having legal experts.. unlike the motorist.

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