Appealing against a parking ticket when someone else was driving

If someone borrowed your car 

It’s a good idea to talk to whoever was driving the car at the time about the ticket. They might be happy to pay the ticket.

If your car was stolen or your licence plate was copied

You might have got a parking ticket in the post because your car wasn’t parked correctly after it was stolen. Or your licence plate might have been copied and used on another car – known as ‘car cloning’.

You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should appeal.

Write back to whoever contacted you about the parking offence. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent you. Explain that the car was stolen or cloned when the offence happened.

You might only find out that your licence plate has been cloned when you get the ticket in the post.

You should report the cloning to the police and DVLA straight away.

You'll have been given a crime reference number when you reported the theft to the police. If you report cloning to the police, they will also give you a reference number. Include the reference number in your appeal as this will prove that you weren’t driving the car when it was wrongly parked.

Once you’ve proven you weren’t driving, the notice against you must be cancelled.

Contact your nearest Citizens Advice if the ticket isn’t cancelled – they can help you get legal advice.

If you recently bought your car

You might have been sent a parking ticket in the post because your car’s previous owner parked where they shouldn’t have. This will happen if the ticket is posted after the previous owner told the DVLA they’d sold their car to you.

You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should definitely appeal.

Write a short statement explaining that you weren’t the owner at the time of the parking offence. Send it to whoever contacted you about the parking ticket. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent to you.

The types of evidence you could include are:

• the date you bought the car
• the full name and address of the previous owner – or the company that sold you the car
• a copy of the DVLA registration certificate (V5C)
• a copy of the receipt or invoice from when you bought the car, if you have it

As long as you’ve sent this evidence, the notice against you must be cancelled. It will then be issued to the person who was driving – known as 'transfer of liability'.

Contact your nearest Citizens Advice if the ticket isn’t cancelled – they can help you get legal advice.

If you recently sold your car

You might have been sent a parking ticket in the post because your car’s new owner parked where they shouldn’t have. It will have been sent to you if there was a delay in registering the car in their name.

You’re not responsible for this ticket, so you should definitely appeal.

Write a short statement explaining that you’re no longer the owner of the car.

Send the statement to whoever contacted you about the parking ticket. Their contact details will be on the notice or letter they sent to you. 

You should include:

• the date you sold the car
• the full name and address of the new owner – or the company that sold them your car
• a copy of the receipt or invoice for the sale, if you have it

As long as you’ve sent this evidence, the notice against you must be cancelled. It will then be issued to the person who was driving – known as 'transfer of liability'.

Contact your nearest Citizens Advice if the ticket isn’t cancelled – they can help you get legal advice.