Advice on parking in London

London Councils have produced a series of online guides about parking in London, including where you can and can't park your car and help with understanding parking penalties. These are also available as hard copies to download. Click on the relevant title to view each guide.

If you have received a parking penalty and would like some help please see the pages on the Parking and Traffic Appeals service.

Parking Your Car in London
London is a thriving commercial and residential area - consequently parking controls are necessary to maintain traffic flow and protect amenity.

Understanding parking penalties (under the road traffic Act 1991)
Warning: do not ignore parking tickets. They may carry extra penalties if not paid (or contested) promptly.

Parking for Diplomats
Local authorities in London have designated a number of parking spaces for the exclusive use of the diplomatic community. These are clearly marked with a diagonal cross in the parking spaces, and an accompanying sign. Diplomatic vehicles may park in these spaces without restriction

Loading and Unloading
When a vehicle stops in order to load or unload goods it is often exempt from parking regulations. However, use of the vehicle must be necessary, and it must be moved immediately loading has finished.

Paying to Park 
Parking meters are introduced in areas where demand for parking exceeds what is available. In order to balance demand for parking against what is available charges are introduced for parking, and enforcement against 'meter feeding' ensures that people stay no longer than the maximum time.

Find out more about our Blue Badge service, and try out our new interactive Blue Badge map.

Other useful parking sites include those of the Central London boroughs:

Camden Opens in a new window , Kensington & Chelsea Opens in a new window and Westminster Opens in a new window.

For queries, please contact parking@londoncouncils.gov.uk