“28 days” — but 28 days from what?

Your notice gives you 28 days to appeal. It probably does not say 28 days from what, and the parking companies that do say it do not agree with each other. We read the operators' own websites: 17 of the 29 that publish a deadline count from the date the notice was issued, and the rest count from delivery, from when you received it, from the first notice in the chain, or from the parking itself.

The Code sets the 28 days. It does not say what they run from

Both trade associations run their members under one document. This is the whole clause that creates your appeal window:

“allows that the parking charge may be appealed within 28 days”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, clause 8.4.1(a), 17/02/2025

That is the entire text. There is no start date in it. Nothing in clause 8.4 supplies one either — the 28 days that are anchored in section 8.4 belong to the operator, not to you: they are the 28 days it has to answer you. That clause, and what to do when they go quiet →

Where the Code does name a start, it names three different ones

Three separate provisions attach a date to the same 28-day idea, and each attaches a different one.

One. The clause that protects your reduced rate runs from receiving the charge.

“that if the recipient appeals within 28 days of receiving the parking charge, the right to pay at the rate applicable when the appeal was made must stand for a further 14 days from the date (subject to 8.1.2d) they receive notification that their appeal has been rejected”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, clause 8.1.2(e), 17/02/2025

Two. The clause that sets the discount runs from issue. Not from delivery, and not from receipt — from the day the notice was issued.

“A reduction of a minimum of 40% must be offered where payment is made within 14 days of the issue of the Notice to Driver where a notice is issued at the time of the parking event, or of the issue of the Notice to Keeper and/or Notice to Hirer where the first notice is sent through the post.”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, clause 8.2.2, 17/02/2025

Three. The annex that says when the right to appeal ends runs from the first notice. This is the only place in the Code that says the right to appeal can be lost at all, and it sits in an annex rather than in section 8.4.

“Where no appeal is made within 28 days of the first notice then the right to appeal is lost, subject to 8.4.1(c).”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, 17/02/2025

“The first notice” is doing a great deal of work in that sentence, because the annex defines two kinds of notice and says plainly that one can follow the other:

“Notice to Driver (NTD) This refers to the notice issued at the time of the parking, event either to the windscreen of the vehicle or the person in control of the vehicle.”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, 17/02/2025

“Notice to Keeper (NTK) This refers to the notice issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle, either following an NTD or as the very first notification where no NTD is issued at the time of the parking event.”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, 17/02/2025

So if a ticket was put on your windscreen and a letter reached the registered keeper weeks later, the first notice is the windscreen ticket. Read literally, the annex closes the appeal window 28 days after that — a date that can fall before the letter was even posted.

What the operators themselves publish

On 07/09/2026 we read 217 private parking operator websites and 190 responded and could be read. The busiest come first — the 79 operators POPLA decided an appeal against in the year to 30 September 2025, ranked by how many, which is the only published per-operator volume figure there is — and the rest are approved-list members with no published appeal volume, read in list order. 29 of those publish a deadline for you to appeal by, in their own words, on their own pages. Every single one of the 29 says 28 days. They do not agree on 28 days from when.

Read on each operator's own website with our own reader · 07/09/2026

Their exact words, with the page each came from

• ParkingEye — counts from the date it was delivered. Their words, from their own page — Appeals should be submitted within 28 days of the delivery of the Parking Charge and whilst under assessment, the value of the charge will not increase.
• UK Parking Administration Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — Your appeal must be received by UKPA within 28 days of the issue date of your Notice to Keeper letter.
• Secure Parking Solutions Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — How long do I have to appeal my Parking Charge? Appeals must be made within 28 days of your Parking Charge Notice being issued.
• Capital Car Park Control Ltd — counts from the date it was issued, counted inclusively (“beginning with”, so the notice date is day 1). Their words, from their own page — If you have received a PCN and wish to appeal, please do so within 28 days beginning with the date of issue of the PCN, either by using the link at the bottom of this page or writing to us at Capital Car Park Control Ltd, 3 Stanton Way, Suite 0106, London, SE26 5FU, titled either “Appeals Department” or “Complaints…
• Spring Parking Limited — counts from the date you received it. Their words, from their own page — Home About Services News Contact Appeals Permit enquiries Pay a PCN APPEALS PERMITS PAY A PCN How to Appeal your Parking Charge Notice (PCN) If you would like to appeal your Parking Charge Notice (PCN), you must submit an appeal in writing within 28 days of receiving your PCN.
• Azure Parking — counts from the date it was delivered. Their words, from their own page — Appeals should be submitted within 28 days of the delivery of the Parking Charge and whilst under assessment, the value of the charge will not increase.
• All Parking Services UK Limited — counts from the date of the parking itself. Their words, from their own page — By the motorist entering the land and seeing the contractual warning signs Appeals All appeals should be made in writing within 28 days of the event and sent directly to All Parking Services UK Ltd, PO Box 316, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, FY8 9GX.
• Carflow Limited — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — All appeals must be received within 28 days of the parking charge issuance date.
• NSGL Ltd trading as NSGL Parking — counts from the date of the original notice. Their words, from their own page — All appeals and transfers of liability must be put in writing and must be received within 28 days of the date of the original notice.
• Fisc Parking Solutions Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — Pay Now If You Wish To Make An Appeal If you have received an ‘Parking Charge’ and you believe it has been issued incorrectly and wish to appeal you must do so within 28 days of date of issue.
• Vehicle Control Solutions Ltd t/as Flashpark Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — ALL OTHER APPEALS ARE LIKELY TO BE REJECTED How to appeal a Parking Charge Notice Write to us at Flashpark, Po Box 21425, Highgate, London, N6 6WP Legal restrictions mean we cannot deal with any appeals over the telephone You Must Appeal Within 28 Days Of The Date Of Issue Of The Parking Charge Notice.
• City Permits Limited — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — Pay for your ticket Permit Orders Appeals POPLA Appeals FAQs About Contact Appeals POPLA Appeals If you have appealed to City Permits within 28 days of issue of your PCN or Notice to Keeper and your appeal is rejected, you can request for the decision to be reviewed by the Independent Appeals Service, POPLA.
• Local Parking Management Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — 0800 048 5177 Home Parking Solutions Self Ticketing Pay & Display ANPR Camera How to pay Contact us HOW TO APPEAL? Should you wish to appeal this parking charge you have 28 days from the date of issue to do so.
• ACDL Holdings LTD — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — Your appeal must be received within 28 days of the notice being issued.
• Car Park Securities LTD — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — All appeals must be received within 28 days of issue of the Parking Charge.
• EV Bay Management ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — Q: How long do I have to submit an appeal? A: Appeals must be submitted within 28 days of the date the Parking Charge Notice was issued.
• FAAC UK ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — 28 days of the notice being issued FAAC (UK) Ltd, ta FAAC Mobility Services Unit 10 Hatch Industrial Estate, Greywell Road, Hants RG24 7NG Appeals will be logged through our back-office system automatically through the above link or…
• Napier Parking Ltd — counts from the date it was issued, counted inclusively (“beginning with”, so the notice date is day 1). Their words, from their own page — Home Parking Charges Parking Services Our Car Parks Permits News Privacy Notices Help Centre Menu Home Parking Charges Parking Services Our Car Parks Permits News Privacy Notices Help Centre Appeal & Liability Forms APPEAL If you wish to dispute liability of a Parking Charge, appeals must be received within 28…
• New Generation Parking Management Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — How can a motorist lodge an appeal? If you wish to dispute liability for this parking charge, you must lodge your appeal within 28 days of the issue date of this notice.
• Pace Recovery & Storage Ltd — counts from the date you received it. Their words, from their own page — If you wish to dispute liability for a Charge Notice, the appeal must be made within 28 days and we will endeavour to reply within a further 28 days of receiving the appeal.
• Park & Control (UK) Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — All appeals against your Parking Charge Notice MUST be made either through our secure online portal Or alternatively, in writing at the address below within 28 days of the date of issue.
• Parking Awareness Services Ltd — counts from the date you received it. Their words, from their own page — All appeals are processed within 28 days of receipt.
• Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — Please note, we are only able to process appeals within 28 days of the issue of the charge and they must come from the driver or the keeper of the vehicle.
• Parkpay Services LTD — counts from the date it was issued. Their words, from their own page — PCN Appeals In the event that you wish to pursue an appeal, you must do so, in writing or via email, within 28 days of issue of the Parking Charge Notice noting the conditions set down below.
• Parkshield Collection Ltd — counts from the date you received it. Their words, from their own page — If you wish to appeal against a Parking Charge Notice issued by us, you must do so within 28 days of the date of issue (not contravention), or within the time period stipulated on the notice/document you have received.

One of those is worth a second look. Capital Car Park Control Ltd counts inclusively — “beginning with the date of issue” makes the notice date day one, so its window closes a day earlier than the same words without “beginning with”. It is one day, and it is the last one.

What the difference is worth, in days

Take a windscreen ticket given on Mon, 2 March 2026. Under the Protection of Freedoms Act the follow-up letter to the registered keeper may lawfully be delivered as late as Mon, 27 April 2026 — day 56.

Same charge, same law, 56 days between the two answers — and on the first of them the window shut before the letter arrived. That gap is not a coincidence: it is exactly the delivery window the Act gives the operator for the follow-up notice. Work out both dates from your own notice →

What to do about it, in order

1. Your own notice outranks every website, including ours. If it states a deadline, that is the one to work to. Read the small print on the back as well as the front.
2. Work to the earliest date any reading gives you. If a windscreen ticket came first, count 28 days from that. Appealing early costs nothing; appealing late costs the free independent stage.
3. Appeal in writing and date it. An email or an online form with a reference is a record. A phone call is not.
4. If it already looks late, appeal anyway and say why. This is not a favour they may grant — the Code requires their appeals process to include it:

“requires the parking operator to consider appeals received outside of the normal 28-day period allowed for lodging an appeal where the appellant provides evidence of exceptional circumstances for the appeal not being lodged within the normal timeframes”
— The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1, clause 8.4.1(c), 17/02/2025

Read as a favour, that clause sounds like something an operator may grant if it feels generous. Read as written, the obligation is on the appeals process itself, and what triggers it is evidence: illness, hospital, bereavement, being away, a notice sent to an old address. Give the reason and attach the proof. What else is still open after a missed deadline →

Your notice date in, all three deadlines out, including the right independent window for your specific operator. Nothing stored, no signup.

Common questions

Where every fact on this page comes from

• The 28-day appeal window with no start date, the late-appeal duty, the reduced-rate clause and the discount clause: The private parking sector single Code of Practice, Version 1.1 (British Parking Association and International Parking Community, 17/02/2025) — checked 20/08/2026 — clauses 8.4.1(a), 8.4.1(c), 8.1.2(e) and 8.2.2, quoted verbatim above.
• The loss of the right to appeal 28 days after the first notice, and the two notice definitions: the same Code, Annex C (“Appeals and Liability”). Cited at annex level, never with a sub-clause number, because the Code prints its clause numbers in a column separate from its text.
• The 56-day outside date for a follow-up notice to the keeper: Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4, paragraph 8(4)–(5) — checked 27/08/2026, the same provision behind the keeper-liability dates on the deadline calculator.
• Which start date each operator publishes: our own read of 217 operator websites on 07/09/2026, ranked by appeals decided against them in POPLA Annual Report 2025 — Appendix (Parking on Private Land Appeals, 30/04/2026) — checked 20/08/2026. A row is counted only where one sentence on the operator's own page carries both an appeal word and a 28-day count, and the start is labelled only where their wording is unambiguous — “the date of the Charge Notice” does not say which date that is, so it is counted as not said rather than guessed at. Sentences about the operator's own turnaround, or about the reduced rate, are excluded, because those are different clocks. How the read was done →

If you would rather not write it yourself

Everything above this line is free and stays free — the deadlines, the odds, the grounds, the template letter. The paid builder only writes the letter for you. If it does not fit your notice, reply to the receipt and a person — me — will either fix it or refund you. Expect a reply within a few days.

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