Notice to Keeper

The Notice to Keeper is a letter sent by a private parking company to the keeper of a vehicle to inform them of an outstanding parking charge (parking ticket). A Notice to Keeper is sent in two circumstances:

  • When a Notice to Driver (the parking ticket) has been attached to a car, but remains unpaid
  • When a parking ticket is not physically attached to the car at the time of the incident, such as when ANPR cameras are used

In these two circumstances, the parking company buys the keeper’s details from the DVLA requesting them to either pay the charge, or to name the driver at the time of the incident (NB. it is the driver who is primarily liable for the charge). The Protection of Freedoms Act introduced the concept of keeper liability, which allows the parking charge to be recovered from the keeper of the vehicle if it remains unpaid. However, in order to enforce keeper liability, the Notice to Keeper must be issued within specified time-frames and detail the following:

  • Which car the ticket relates to
  • What land the car was parked on
  • The period the car was parked
  • Advise that the driver is liable for the parking charge and the amount and that it has not been paid in full
  • State whether a notice to the driver was given either to the driver or placed on the vehicle and if so to repeat the information in that notice about paying the parking charge and when
  • Specify the outstanding amount of the parking charge and of the maximum additional costs they may seek to recover, and of the dispute resolution arrangements
  • Invite the registered keeper to pay the outstanding parking charge or, if he was not the driver,  to provide the name and address of the driver and to pass a copy of the notice on to that driver
  • Identify the “creditor” who is legally entitled to recover the parking charge
  • Warn the keeper that if the parking charges remains outstanding after 28 days and the name and address of the driver has not been given, or otherwise known to the person entitled to the parking charge,  that “creditor” will be entitled to recover the parking charge from the registered keeper.
  • Details of the discount for payment within 14 days,   The Discount should be at least 40% of the full charge under the BPA Code of Practice (applies to BPA members only)
  • Date of the notice

If the Notice to Keeper does not comply with the conditions in the Protection of Freedoms Act, then the parking company would not be able to enforce keeper liability using the Protection of Freedoms Act. This is discussed in detail on our Keeper Liability page. However, this does not mean that the charge is not enforceable, it just means they cannot use the Protection of Freedoms Act. Conversely, just because the parking company has met the conditions, it does not mean it is enforceable either, it is just one of may factors.

If you have received a Notice to Keeper, then you should start by reading our private parking tickets guide.