Notice to keeper 14 days: the rule, with worked examples

The notice to keeper 14 days rule in plain English

Private parking companies can chase two people: the driver, who they say agreed to the terms on the signs, or the registered keeper, if the driver isn't named. The second route only exists because of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 (often shortened to PoFA). It sets strict conditions, and timing is one of them.

Where no ticket was left on the windscreen, paragraph 9 says the notice to keeper must be delivered within the "relevant period" — 14 days beginning with the day after the parking ended. Paragraph 9(6) says a posted notice is presumed delivered on the second working day after it was posted. Weekends and bank holidays don't count as working days.

If the company misses the deadline, it can't use PoFA to hold the keeper liable. It can still try to show who was driving, so the rule helps most when the company doesn't know who the driver was.

How to count the 14 days

1. 1

   Step 1: Find the parking date

   Use the last day the car was there. If it stayed overnight, use the day it left.

2. 2

   Step 2: Work out the last day

   Add 14 days to the parking date. That is the last day the notice can be delivered.

3. 3

   Step 3: Find the date on the letter

   Look for 'Date of issue', 'Date sent' or a date near the top. Use that, not the day it landed on your mat.

4. 4

   Step 4: Add two working days

   Skip Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. The result is the day the letter counts as delivered.

5. 5

   Step 5: Compare

   If the delivered date is after the last day, the notice was late.

What it means if your parking fine arrived late

A late notice to keeper means the conditions in PoFA for keeper liability aren't met. In an appeal you can say so in one short paragraph: the date of parking, the date on the notice, the date it counts as delivered and the last day of the 14-day period. Our free appeal letter adds this paragraph for you when the dates show it was late.

This point protects the keeper. If you have already told the company who was driving, or you were the driver and said so, the company can chase the driver instead and the rule matters much less. You don't have to say who was driving, but never say anything untrue.

PCN received after 14 days: common mix-ups

• Date received vs date on the letter. The law works from when the letter was posted, plus two working days. A letter that arrives late in the post may still count as on time.
• A ticket was left on the car. Then a different rule applies: the notice to keeper must arrive between 29 and 56 days after the ticket.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland. PoFA doesn't apply there at all, so there is no keeper liability to begin with.
• Hire and lease cars. The company must send a 'notice to hirer' with extra documents — see parking charges on a hire car.
• A 'non-PoFA' notice. Some letters say they don't rely on PoFA. That usually means they can only chase the driver.

What to do next

Appeal to the parking company within 28 days of the notice. For the dates in example 1, that means by Monday 2 November 2026. If the appeal is rejected, you can use the free independent service — see our POPLA appeal guide or IAS parking appeal guide. Keep copies of everything.

Examples on this page are illustrative and based on typical situations, not real cases.

This is a free self-help guide, not legal advice. Check your own letters and dates. If you're unsure, get free advice from Citizens Advice. Written by the Parking Help team.