How to appeal to POPLA (and the IAS)
How to appeal a private parking charge to POPLA or the IAS after the parking company rejects you: the code, the 28 days, the evidence pack, and arguments that work.
Last checked 28 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
The short answer
If the parking company rejects your appeal, its letter should give you a POPLA verification code. Go to popla.co.uk, enter the code within 28 days of the rejection, set out your grounds and upload your evidence. The company then sends its evidence, you have 7 days to comment on it, and an assessor decides on paper. It's free, and if you win the company must cancel the charge.
What POPLA is
POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) is the free, independent appeals service for parking companies that belong to the British Parking Association (BPA). Companies that belong to the International Parking Community (IPC) use a different service, the Independent Appeals Service (IAS). It's the second stage: you can only go to POPLA or the IAS after the parking company itself has rejected your appeal.
The rejection letter tells you which service to use. ParkingEye, Euro Car Parks, APCOA and UKPC are BPA members and use POPLA. If your letter mentions the IAS, the same steps apply, but the website and forms are different.
Before you start: the code and the deadline
- Find the POPLA verification code in the rejection letter or email. You can't appeal without it. If the rejection doesn't include one, ask the parking company for it in writing straight away.
- You usually have 28 days from the date of the rejection to appeal to POPLA. Don't leave it to the last day.
- While a POPLA or IAS appeal is open, the parking company shouldn't chase you for payment or pass the charge to a debt collector.
The discount: decide first
After a rejection, if you appealed while the discount still applied, the industry code lets you pay the reduced amount for 14 days. If you go on to POPLA and lose, most companies will then ask for the full charge: ParkingEye, for example, says the discount no longer applies once you appeal to POPLA. So weigh it up. If your grounds are strong, POPLA is free and worth it. If they're weak, paying the reduced amount may be cheaper.
How the appeal works
- Appeal online at popla.co.uk with your verification code. Set out each ground clearly, one by one, and upload your evidence.
- The parking company then sends its evidence pack: photos, the signs, the contract with the landowner and its version of events.
- POPLA gives you 7 days to comment on the evidence pack. You can't add new grounds at this stage. Read it carefully. Point out anything missing, unclear or wrong, such as a sign photo taken on a different day, or no proof that the landowner authorised them to issue charges.
- An assessor decides on the written evidence. There's no hearing.
Arguments that tend to work
POPLA decides whether the charge was issued correctly under the terms and the rules, not whether it's fair. Hard-luck stories on their own rarely win. Specific failings by the company do:
- No keeper liability: the notice to keeper arrived after the 14-day deadline, or is missing wording that Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act requires. If you're appealing as the keeper and haven't named the driver, the company can't make you pay.
- Signs: no sign at the entrance, terms too small to read, no charge amount shown, or signs that don't match the photos in the evidence pack.
- No authority: the company hasn't shown a valid contract with the landowner allowing it to issue charges in its own name.
- Grace periods: the time on the notice is within the grace periods the code requires.
- Camera data: the entry and exit times may come from two separate visits ('double dipping'), or don't add up.
- Your evidence: a payment receipt, an app record, or proof the machine was broken.
If you win
The parking company has to cancel the charge, and that's the end of it. You don't pay anything.
If you lose
The decision binds the parking company but not you. You can pay the charge, or refuse and let the company decide whether to take you to court. A judge isn't bound by POPLA's decision either. If you get a letter before claim or court papers after losing, don't ignore them: our guide to debt collectors and court explains the deadlines.
The IAS
The IAS handles IPC members' charges. The steps are similar: a code in the rejection, a deadline to appeal, the company's evidence, and a decision on paper. Read the rejection letter for the exact deadline and use the IAS website. The same arguments about keeper liability, signs, landowner authority and grace periods apply.
What's changing
The government's new Private Parking Code was laid before Parliament on 20 October 2026 and is expected to apply from late December 2026. It keeps a free independent appeal and adds charges that must be cancelled or reduced to £20. Our guide to the new code has the details.
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