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The 14-Day POFA Rule: Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 Schedule 4

Did your postal parking fine arrive more than 14 days after the incident? Learn why the registered keeper cannot be held liable under POFA 2012.

The 14-Day Rule for Postal Parking Tickets

When a private parking company uses ANPR cameras (or issues a postal Notice to Keeper without leaving a ticket on your windscreen), they must comply with strict delivery deadlines under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA 2012).

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4, Paragraph 9(4)

A Notice to Keeper must be delivered to the registered keeper within the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the specified period of parking ended. Failure to deliver within 14 days permanently extinguishes keeper liability.

How to Calculate the 14-Day Limit

  1. Day 0: The date the parking incident occurred.
  2. Day 1: The day after the parking incident.
  3. Day 14: The Notice to Keeper must be delivered to your address on or before Day 14.
  4. Deemed Postal Delivery: Under civil procedure, second-class post is presumed to arrive 2 working days after the date of posting on the letter.

If the date printed on the letter plus 2 working days exceeds 14 days from the event, the parking company has failed POFA compliance.

Why This Is an Unbeatable Defence

Private parking companies only know who the Registered Keeper is from DVLA records; they do not know who was driving.

If they miss the 14-day deadline, they lose the statutory right to transfer liability to the registered keeper. So long as the keeper never discloses who was driving, the operator has no legal basis to pursue the keeper.