POPLA appeal guide

What POPLA is

POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) is the independent appeals service for parking charges issued by members of the British Parking Association. It's provided by Trust Alliance Group and is free for motorists. You can only use it after appealing to the operator first and being rejected.

Not sure if your operator is a BPA member? Its rejection letter must tell you which appeals service to use. Our operator list shows the association for the main companies, checked against the published member lists.

The 28-day deadline

POPLA says: "You have 28 days to submit your appeal with us from the date the operator rejects your appeal." The rejection gives you a 10-digit POPLA verification code, which is valid for 28 days from the date it's issued. Extensions are only given in extenuating circumstances, such as being in hospital or abroad.

How to appeal

1. Go to popla.co.uk and start an appeal with your verification code.
2. Choose your grounds and write your statement. Put every point in now. You can't add new grounds later.
3. Upload your evidence: photos, receipts, the notices, your original appeal.
4. Keep the confirmation.

While your POPLA appeal is being decided, the operator must not start or continue debt recovery (code clause 8.4.8).

The operator's evidence, and your comments

After you appeal, the operator sends POPLA an evidence pack. You'll be given the chance to see it and comment. POPLA says you have 7 days to do so, and comments must relate to the original case: "you cannot bring up new grounds of appeal at this stage". This is where you point out what's missing: no landowner authority, no photographs of the signs on the day, no answer to your POFA timing point.

The decision

• POPLA says decisions typically take 6 to 8 weeks.
• It's a single-stage process: POPLA can't reconsider its own decision.
• If your appeal is allowed, the operator must accept the decision (code clause 8.4.9) and you don't pay.
• If it's refused, POPLA says to pay within 28 days of its decision to stop the charge increasing.
• POPLA has a mitigating-circumstances process but can't allow an appeal on mitigation alone, though it can refer the case back to the operator.

How often appeals succeed

In POPLA's 2025 reporting year (1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025), 67,680 appeals were decided and 21.5% were allowed. Operators also withdrew a further 34,502 appeals before a decision, often because they chose not to defend them. Source: POPLA Annual Report 2025, via AppealsDesk.

Tips that make a difference

• Lead with your strongest point: a late Notice to Keeper or a grace-period breach.
• Make the operator prove things: landowner authority, the signs on the day, the period of parking (not just camera entry and exit times).
• Stay factual and keep it organised with numbered headings. Assessors read a lot of appeals.
• Don't miss the comments window. It's short.