Where does this data come from?

Our data is compiled from the RAC Foundation Parking Finances reports, London Councils annual data, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to individual councils, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal annual reports. We cross-reference multiple sources to ensure accuracy.

How often is the leaderboard updated?

We update the leaderboard annually when new council financial data is published, typically between July and October. Individual council pages may be updated more frequently as FOI responses come in.

Which council issues the most parking fines in the UK?

The City of Westminster consistently issues more Penalty Charge Notices than any other council in the UK, with approximately 480,000 PCNs per year. This is largely due to the density of parking restrictions and CCTV enforcement in central London.

What is the fairness score?

The fairness score is calculated based on a council's appeal success rate. A higher appeal success rate suggests the council is more willing to overturn fines when drivers have legitimate grounds, which we consider fairer. The score runs from 0 to 100.

Do councils make a profit from parking fines?

Councils are not supposed to use parking enforcement for revenue generation. By law, any surplus must be reinvested in transport and highways. However, many councils generate significant surpluses. This data shows the parking surplus each council reports, which includes both penalty charge income and pay-and-display revenue.

Can I appeal my parking fine?

Yes. Every driver has the right to appeal a parking fine, whether issued by a council or a private operator. Our data shows that appeal success rates range from 37% to 53% depending on the council. FineCheck can help you assess your chances and generate an appeal letter.

Why do London councils issue so many more fines?

London boroughs issue significantly more PCNs than councils elsewhere in the UK for several reasons. London has denser parking restrictions, more controlled parking zones, wider use of CCTV enforcement cameras, and higher traffic volumes. London also uses a separate tribunal system (London Tribunals) rather than the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, and fine levels in London are generally higher than in the rest of England and Wales.

What happens to the money councils make from parking fines?

Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, councils must use any surplus from on-street parking enforcement for transport and highway purposes. This includes road maintenance, public transport improvements, and environmental measures. Councils are required to publish their parking account annually. However, critics argue that some councils have become reliant on parking income to fund general transport budgets, creating an incentive to issue more fines rather than improve signage or road layouts.

UK Parking Fine Leaderboard 2026

Name: UK Parking Fine Leaderboard 2026
Creator: FineCheck
Published: 2026-01-15
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Which councils issue the most fines, make the most money, and have the worst appeal rates?

5.4M

Total fines across 50 councils

£547M

Total parking surplus

47%

Average appeal success rate

Full Council Rankings

Click any column header to sort. Councils are ranked by the number of PCNs issued by default.

#	Council	Region
1	City of Westminster	London	480k	38%	£68M	63/100
2	London Borough of Camden	London	210k	42%	£32M	70/100
3	Birmingham City Council	West Midlands	200k	47%	£14M	78/100
4	London Borough of Lambeth	London	195k	45%	£28M	75/100
5	Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea	London	185k	37%	£35M	62/100
6	Manchester City Council	North West	180k	48%	£12M	80/100
7	London Borough of Islington	London	175k	40%	£24M	67/100
8	London Borough of Newham	London	170k	46%	£15M	77/100
9	London Borough of Southwark	London	165k	41%	£22M	68/100
10	London Borough of Hackney	London	160k	43%	£19M	72/100
11	London Borough of Wandsworth	London	155k	39%	£20M	65/100
12	London Borough of Brent	London	150k	44%	£17M	73/100
13	London Borough of Tower Hamlets	London	145k	44%	£16M	73/100
14	London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham	London	140k	42%	£18M	70/100
15	London Borough of Ealing	London	135k	43%	£16M	72/100
16	London Borough of Barnet	London	130k	41%	£14M	68/100
17	City of Edinburgh Council	Scotland	130k	45%	£9M	75/100
18	London Borough of Haringey	London	125k	45%	£13M	75/100
19	London Borough of Croydon	London	120k	44%	£11M	73/100
20	Leeds City Council	Yorkshire and the Humber	120k	50%	£8M	83/100
21	London Borough of Waltham Forest	London	115k	46%	£12M	77/100
22	Glasgow City Council	Scotland	115k	48%	£7M	80/100
23	Royal Borough of Greenwich	London	110k	43%	£10M	72/100
24	Liverpool City Council	North West	110k	49%	£7M	82/100
25	London Borough of Enfield	London	105k	44%	£10M	73/100
26	London Borough of Lewisham	London	100k	45%	£9M	75/100
27	Bristol City Council	South West	95k	51%	£6M	85/100
28	Brighton and Hove City Council	South East	95k	47%	£7M	78/100
29	Nottingham City Council	East Midlands	90k	49%	£6M	82/100
30	Sheffield City Council	Yorkshire and the Humber	85k	50%	£5M	83/100
31	Cardiff Council	Wales	80k	50%	£5M	83/100
32	Newcastle City Council	North East	75k	52%	£5M	87/100
33	Leicester City Council	East Midlands	70k	51%	£4M	85/100
34	Belfast City Council	Northern Ireland	60k	52%	£3M	87/100
35	Oxford City Council	South East	55k	49%	£5M	82/100
36	Southampton City Council	South East	55k	50%	£3M	83/100
37	Coventry City Council	West Midlands	55k	50%	£3M	83/100
38	Reading Borough Council	South East	50k	48%	£4M	80/100
39	City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council	Yorkshire and the Humber	50k	52%	£3M	87/100
40	Cambridge City Council	East of England	45k	50%	£4M	83/100
41	Portsmouth City Council	South East	45k	51%	£3M	85/100
42	City of York Council	Yorkshire and the Humber	40k	52%	£3M	87/100
43	City of Wolverhampton Council	West Midlands	40k	51%	£2M	85/100
44	Bath and North East Somerset Council	South West	35k	51%	£3M	85/100
45	Norwich City Council	East of England	35k	52%	£2M	87/100
46	Aberdeen City Council	Scotland	35k	50%	£2M	83/100
47	Exeter City Council	South West	30k	53%	£2M	88/100
48	Plymouth City Council	South West	30k	53%	£2M	88/100
49	Swansea Council	Wales	30k	53%	£2M	88/100
50	Dundee City Council	Scotland	25k	52%	£1M	87/100

#1City of Westminster

63/100

London

PCNs/yr

480k

Appeal Rate

38%

Surplus

£68M

#2London Borough of Camden

70/100

London

PCNs/yr

210k

Appeal Rate

42%

Surplus

£32M

#3Birmingham City Council

78/100

West Midlands

PCNs/yr

200k

Appeal Rate

47%

Surplus

£14M

#4London Borough of Lambeth

75/100

London

PCNs/yr

195k

Appeal Rate

45%

Surplus

£28M

#5Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

62/100

London

PCNs/yr

185k

Appeal Rate

37%

Surplus

£35M

#6Manchester City Council

80/100

North West

PCNs/yr

180k

Appeal Rate

48%

Surplus

£12M

#7London Borough of Islington

67/100

London

PCNs/yr

175k

Appeal Rate

40%

Surplus

£24M

#8London Borough of Newham

77/100

London

PCNs/yr

170k

Appeal Rate

46%

Surplus

£15M

#9London Borough of Southwark

68/100

London

PCNs/yr

165k

Appeal Rate

41%

Surplus

£22M

#10London Borough of Hackney

72/100

London

PCNs/yr

160k

Appeal Rate

43%

Surplus

£19M

#11London Borough of Wandsworth

65/100

London

PCNs/yr

155k

Appeal Rate

39%

Surplus

£20M

#12London Borough of Brent

73/100

London

PCNs/yr

150k

Appeal Rate

44%

Surplus

£17M

#13London Borough of Tower Hamlets

73/100

London

PCNs/yr

145k

Appeal Rate

44%

Surplus

£16M

#14London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

70/100

London

PCNs/yr

140k

Appeal Rate

42%

Surplus

£18M

#15London Borough of Ealing

72/100

London

PCNs/yr

135k

Appeal Rate

43%

Surplus

£16M

#16London Borough of Barnet

68/100

London

PCNs/yr

130k

Appeal Rate

41%

Surplus

£14M

#17City of Edinburgh Council

75/100

Scotland

PCNs/yr

130k

Appeal Rate

45%

Surplus

£9M

#18London Borough of Haringey

75/100

London

PCNs/yr

125k

Appeal Rate

45%

Surplus

£13M

#19London Borough of Croydon

73/100

London

PCNs/yr

120k

Appeal Rate

44%

Surplus

£11M

#20Leeds City Council

83/100

Yorkshire and the Humber

PCNs/yr

120k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£8M

#21London Borough of Waltham Forest

77/100

London

PCNs/yr

115k

Appeal Rate

46%

Surplus

£12M

#22Glasgow City Council

80/100

Scotland

PCNs/yr

115k

Appeal Rate

48%

Surplus

£7M

#23Royal Borough of Greenwich

72/100

London

PCNs/yr

110k

Appeal Rate

43%

Surplus

£10M

#24Liverpool City Council

82/100

North West

PCNs/yr

110k

Appeal Rate

49%

Surplus

£7M

#25London Borough of Enfield

73/100

London

PCNs/yr

105k

Appeal Rate

44%

Surplus

£10M

#26London Borough of Lewisham

75/100

London

PCNs/yr

100k

Appeal Rate

45%

Surplus

£9M

#27Bristol City Council

85/100

South West

PCNs/yr

95k

Appeal Rate

51%

Surplus

£6M

#28Brighton and Hove City Council

78/100

South East

PCNs/yr

95k

Appeal Rate

47%

Surplus

£7M

#29Nottingham City Council

82/100

East Midlands

PCNs/yr

90k

Appeal Rate

49%

Surplus

£6M

#30Sheffield City Council

83/100

Yorkshire and the Humber

PCNs/yr

85k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£5M

#31Cardiff Council

83/100

Wales

PCNs/yr

80k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£5M

#32Newcastle City Council

87/100

North East

PCNs/yr

75k

Appeal Rate

52%

Surplus

£5M

#33Leicester City Council

85/100

East Midlands

PCNs/yr

70k

Appeal Rate

51%

Surplus

£4M

#34Belfast City Council

87/100

Northern Ireland

PCNs/yr

60k

Appeal Rate

52%

Surplus

£3M

#35Oxford City Council

82/100

South East

PCNs/yr

55k

Appeal Rate

49%

Surplus

£5M

#36Southampton City Council

83/100

South East

PCNs/yr

55k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£3M

#37Coventry City Council

83/100

West Midlands

PCNs/yr

55k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£3M

#38Reading Borough Council

80/100

South East

PCNs/yr

50k

Appeal Rate

48%

Surplus

£4M

#39City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

87/100

Yorkshire and the Humber

PCNs/yr

50k

Appeal Rate

52%

Surplus

£3M

#40Cambridge City Council

83/100

East of England

PCNs/yr

45k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£4M

#41Portsmouth City Council

85/100

South East

PCNs/yr

45k

Appeal Rate

51%

Surplus

£3M

#42City of York Council

87/100

Yorkshire and the Humber

PCNs/yr

40k

Appeal Rate

52%

Surplus

£3M

#43City of Wolverhampton Council

85/100

West Midlands

PCNs/yr

40k

Appeal Rate

51%

Surplus

£2M

#44Bath and North East Somerset Council

85/100

South West

PCNs/yr

35k

Appeal Rate

51%

Surplus

£3M

#45Norwich City Council

87/100

East of England

PCNs/yr

35k

Appeal Rate

52%

Surplus

£2M

#46Aberdeen City Council

83/100

Scotland

PCNs/yr

35k

Appeal Rate

50%

Surplus

£2M

#47Exeter City Council

88/100

South West

PCNs/yr

30k

Appeal Rate

53%

Surplus

£2M

#48Plymouth City Council

88/100

South West

PCNs/yr

30k

Appeal Rate

53%

Surplus

£2M

#49Swansea Council

88/100

Wales

PCNs/yr

30k

Appeal Rate

53%

Surplus

£2M

#50Dundee City Council

87/100

Scotland

PCNs/yr

25k

Appeal Rate

52%

Surplus

£1M

Worst Offenders: Most Fines Issued

These five councils issue more parking fines than anywhere else in the UK.

1London

City of Westminster

480k

PCNs per year

2London

London Borough of Camden

210k

PCNs per year

3West Midlands

Birmingham City Council

200k

PCNs per year

4London

London Borough of Lambeth

195k

PCNs per year

5London

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

185k

PCNs per year

Westminster alone issues nearly half a million parking tickets each year, more than many entire regions combined. Central London boroughs dominate this list due to heavy CCTV enforcement, dense traffic restrictions, and high vehicle volumes. If you have received a fine from one of these councils, the chances of a successful appeal are still significant.

Most Driver-Friendly Councils

These councils have the highest appeal success rates, suggesting fairer enforcement.

1South West

Exeter City Council

53%

Appeal success rate

2South West

Plymouth City Council

53%

Appeal success rate

3Wales

Swansea Council

53%

Appeal success rate

4North East

Newcastle City Council

52%

Appeal success rate

5Northern Ireland

Belfast City Council

52%

Appeal success rate

Councils outside London generally have higher appeal success rates. This could reflect more proportionate enforcement, clearer signage, or a more reasonable approach to borderline cases. If your council appears on this list, you have a better than average chance of winning an appeal.

Biggest Revenue Generators

Councils with the largest parking surpluses. Remember, this money is supposed to be reinvested in transport and highways.

1London

City of Westminster

£68M

Annual parking surplus

2London

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

£35M

Annual parking surplus

3London

London Borough of Camden

£32M

Annual parking surplus

4London

London Borough of Lambeth

£28M

Annual parking surplus

5London

London Borough of Islington

£24M

Annual parking surplus

Westminster tops the revenue table by a wide margin, generating an estimated £68M in parking surplus annually. Kensington and Chelsea follows with £35M. These figures include both penalty charges and pay-and-display income, but the sheer scale raises questions about whether enforcement is truly about traffic management or revenue.

London vs Rest of UK

London Boroughs (20 councils)

Average PCNs per council

164k

Average appeal success rate

43%

Average parking surplus

£20M

Rest of UK (30 councils)

Average PCNs per council

72k

Average appeal success rate

50%

Average parking surplus

£5M

London councils issue significantly more fines per authority than the rest of the UK, with lower appeal success rates and much higher surpluses. This gap reflects the density of restrictions, the prevalence of CCTV enforcement, and higher fine levels in the capital. Drivers outside London are more likely to win an appeal on average.

Think Your Council Is Unfair?

If you have received a parking fine, you have the right to appeal. Our free tool helps you check your PCN and generate a professional appeal letter in minutes.

Appeal Your Parking Fine

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

This leaderboard is compiled from publicly available data on parking enforcement across UK councils. Our primary sources include:

RAC Foundation: Annual parking finances reports covering council income, expenditure, and surplus from parking operations across England.
London Councils: Published data on PCN volumes, challenge rates, and outcomes for all London boroughs through the London Tribunals annual report.
Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT): Annual statistical reports covering appeal volumes and outcomes for councils in England (outside London) and Wales.
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests: Direct requests to individual councils for PCN data, appeal outcomes, and enforcement details not available through published reports.

The fairness score is derived primarily from each council's appeal success rate. A higher success rate at tribunal suggests the council is issuing fines that are more frequently overturned, which may indicate overzealous enforcement, unclear signage, or unreasonable restrictions.

All financial figures represent the most recent full year of published data. PCN volumes may vary slightly from other published analyses due to differences in reporting periods and the inclusion or exclusion of bus lane and moving traffic offences.