UK parking and traffic penalty statistics 2026
The key published figures on private parking tickets, council and TfL penalties, ULEZ fines and appeals, in one place. Every figure links to its source.
Last updated: November 2026
The headlines
16.9 million
times private parking firms asked the DVLA for a driver's details in 2025/26, a record and up 17% in a year
10.2 million
penalties issued by London boroughs and TfL in 2025/26 (parking, bus lanes and moving traffic), up 7%
Source: London Councils (2025/26)
1.68 million
ULEZ penalties issued by TfL from April 2025 to March 2026, about 4,600 a day
Source: TfL figures released under FOI, reported by Yahoo News
45%
of appeals decided by London's parking and traffic adjudicators in 2024/25 were allowed
Source: London Tribunals adjudicators' annual report 2024/25
Private parking tickets
Private parking tickets have grown almost ninefold since 2012/13
DVLA keeper records requested by private parking firms, millions per year
Show as a table
| Year | Records (millions) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | 1.9 | RAC Foundation (2012/13 to 2019/20) |
| 2015/16 | 3.67 | RAC Foundation (2012/13 to 2019/20) |
| 2017/18 | 5.65 | RAC Foundation (2012/13 to 2019/20) |
| 2019/20 | 8.41 | RAC Foundation (2012/13 to 2019/20) |
| 2022/23 | 11.05 | RAC Foundation (2022/23) |
| 2025/26 | 16.9 | RAC, analysis of DVLA data (2025/26) |
Years shown are those with published figures. A keeper record request is a close proxy for a ticket, but not an exact count.
Private car park operators get the registered keeper's details from the DVLA to pursue a parking charge. The number of requests has risen almost every year, from about 1.9 million in 2012/13 to 16.9 million in 2025/26.
The biggest operators
DVLA keeper requests, first half of 2024/25
| ParkingEye | about 1.1 million |
| Euro Car Parks | about 892,000 |
| Horizon Parking | about 440,000 |
| Smart Parking | about 424,000 |
| APCOA | about 367,000 |
Ten companies made nearly two-thirds (64%) of all requests in that period.
Source: Fleet World, DVLA data for the first half of 2024/25. Other analyses of the same period report different totals, so treat these as approximate.
Private parking appeals
- POPLA, the independent appeals service for BPA members, helped 92,098 motorists in the year to October 2024 (POPLA annual report 2024). That's well under 1% of private tickets, so very few drivers reach the independent stage.
- POPLA has previously reported that nearly 1 in 2 motorists who appealed to it had their charge cancelled (POPLA).
Council and TfL penalties
- London boroughs, the London Lorry Control Scheme and TfL issued 10,195,456 penalties in 2025/26 (London Councils (2025/26)).
- Two years earlier, in 2023/24, the total was 8,333,486, with bus lane penalties up 1.9% and moving traffic penalties up 8.5% that year (Fleet News (2023/24)).
- Bus lane penalties in the UK's big cities outside London exceed a million a year (Highways Magazine).
- London's adjudicators decided 43,193 appeals in 2024/25 and allowed 19,625 (about 45%). In 11,105 of those, the council chose not to contest the appeal (London Tribunals adjudicators' annual report 2024/25).
ULEZ
- TfL issued 1,683,552 ULEZ penalties between April 2025 and March 2026, down 13.9% on the 1,956,441 issued the year before (TfL figures released under FOI, reported by Yahoo News).
- The busiest month was May 2025, with 158,528 penalties.
What this means if you have a ticket
- Very few drivers challenge their ticket, yet a large share of those who reach an independent appeal win.
- Checking your notice for mistakes, late delivery or missing wording costs nothing and takes a minute.
- Deadlines matter: discounts end quickly and council penalties increase if ignored.
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You're welcome to use these figures; please cite the original sources linked above. Figures come from published reports and Freedom of Information releases and may be revised by their publishers. For comment, use the contact page.